ARRA is starting a new monthly feature where Tyler Holcomb will be singing versions of the band's favorite songs. They will even be taking FaceBook polls where fans can tell them what songs they want to hear him tackle. The first one of 2022 is Tyler's choice and it's SteelHeart's "I'll Never Let You Go." Check out Tyler's version here...
"I'll never forget the first time I heard this song on "103.5, The Blaze" in the fall of 1990", Tyler remembers. "It was so anthemic and uplifting I couldn't wait to hear it again. You see, it was back in the days when if you didn't catch the name of the song, you had to hope you'd hear it again and pray the D.J. would tell you who the artist was. It was about after the third or fourth time I finally caught the name of the band, and I swore I'd never forget it."
"I'll never forget the first time I heard this song on 103.5, The Blaze in the fall of 1990", Tyler remembers. "It was so anthemic and uplifting I couldn't wait to hear it again."
Tyler continues, "It was later that winter that my brother Trey and I were up late one night, and we saw SteelHeart perform their hit on one of the late-night talk shows. I actually thought about this recently and was able to find that performance on YouTube (Gawd I love YouTube)." It has since become one of the most iconic live performances from an 80's singer in rock history. You can see that performance here.
SteelHeart lead singer Miljenko Matijevic or Mili as his fans know him, has the quintessential rock voice of the 80's that many singers have long since tried to emulate. "What makes him so hard to copy is his ability to slide into a head voice that's just as strong as his chest voice. Normally when male singers do this, you hear a degradation in power, tone, or pitch. None of this happens to Mili", Tyler explains. "This tricky transition is called the passaggio and it's where most fail. Mark Slaughter is another Hair Metal singer that does this very well."
Many don't know that Matijevic also played a huge part in ROCK STAR, the 2001 movie, by lending his voice to Mark Wahlberg's character Chris Cole in a Steel Dragon cover band and later as his alter ego Chris "Iggy" Cole of Steel Dragon. And even one of his songs, "We All Die Young" was used as the main theme song in the movie.
"It was fun tackling this song after decades of trying different tactics to hit those notes in my shower and car. I'm just glad there was no glass broken or dog complaints in the neighborhood during the making of this cover", Tyler laughs.
You can listen to his version here.
It's a great song, it really should have been a hit. It's a shame that it didn't stay in the top for long. To make this song popular again, you can use effective promotion on Apple Music and iTunes: https://artistpush.me/blogs/news/how-to-carry-out-apple-music-itunes-promo
A very *powerful* proper tribute to Mili and Steelheart. What a feat and what a treat, Tyler! I truly hope to hear you belt this LIVE with Arra this summer!
Outstanding job, Ty! ... Very tough song to cover vocally, you nailed it!