Former Mötley Crüe singer John Corabi talked about the ups and downs of fame and money in an interview with Total Rock. He shared how his life changed a lot after joining such a big rock band. Corabi said sudden success affected his relationships and how he saw the music business.
He explained that once he joined Mötley Crüe, many people started giving him things for free, guitars, shoes, cars and the media announced him as the new singer.
“I learned a valuable lesson when I was in Mötley Crüe. Between them and the record labels, and all the people involved, I was having money thrown at me,” Corabi said. “The papers announced ‘John Corabi is the new singer for Mötley Crüe.’ Guitar companies wanted to give me guitars. Shoe companies wanted to give me shoes. Car companies said ‘Drive my car.’ People just threw things at me.”
But with that fame came some hard lessons. He found out many distant relatives and so-called friends started asking him for money. Corabi joked that he became like an ATM for people he thought were friends.
He also talked about dating during that time. Some women said they loved him, but when his music career slowed, they disappeared. He said chasing the dream felt exciting, but once he got success, he realized he had to protect what he had. His attitude changed from doing things for love of music or money to just holding on to what he earned. He called the music business “weird.”
Corabi was with Mötley Crüe from 1992 to 1996 after replacing original singer Vince Neil. During that time, they released a self-titled album in 1994 that reached number 7 on the Billboard 200 and went gold, though it didn’t sell as well as earlier albums.
Despite the challenges, Corabi said the experience helped him grow. He also mentioned that when Vince Neil came back in 1997, the band tried to change their style to stay popular, but that wasn’t really his taste.
