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Aquanet hairspray flew off the shelves when the new wave synth-pop acts of the early 1980s gave way to an onslaught of glam rock a few years later. Hair got longer and taller, clothes got tighter, and the music got louder, faster and, well, louder.
Motley Crue - the hard-rocking, hard-living L.A. foursome formed in 1981 by bassist Nikki Sixx, guitarist Mick Mars, vocalist Vince Neil and drummer Tommy Lee - led the "hair metal" phenomenon with a string of hit albums, racy videos and large-scale tours. Their third major-label release, Girls, Girls, Girls, found the band at the height of their career. Their 1983 debut, Shout at the Devil, and its follow-up, Theatre of Pain, had hit triple-Platinum. As they entered the studio to record Girls, Girls, Girls, Lee's highly publicized marriage to actress Heather Locklear was barely a year old, Sixx had checked himself into a methadone clinic to kick a pernicious heroin habit and the video for their power ballad "Home Sweet Home" still aired consistently on MTV.
While Theatre of Pain had a slicker, more pop-oriented sound than the wicked Shout at the Devil, the Girls, Girls, Girls album contained nothing but sleazy rock 'n' roll, albeit with a commercial bent. Tom Werman, who had produced all of the band's records since their 1983 signing with Elektra, says that the album's more straightforward sound and relatively easy recording process stemmed from the band's maturity level. "The difference was mostly chemical," he says, referring to the members' respective drug and alcohol abuse. "They were much more serious, more relaxed and more professional about this album. Also, Mick [Mars] had found a guitar tech who really helped refine his guitar sound. The band was just better in every way. Nikki was better at his instrument, and I knew "Girls, Girls, Girls" - the song - was a hit from the first time I heard it."
During pre-production, Werman and the band worked hard on drum and bass parts, some rhythm guitar and song structure. "Because "Girls, Girls, Girls" has such an up-front guitar lick, it was pretty much there from the start," says Werman. "It was a very straightforward song rhythmically, too: just four on the floor, bang, straightaway. Excellent song. We...