October 1987: Whitesnake Turn Down to Blow Up with IS THIS LOVE
![IS THIS LOVE](/sites/g/files/g2000012691/files/styles/article_image/public/2021-03/IS%20THIS%20LOVE.jpg?itok=9mO62UZv)
The year 1987 was very good to the band Whitesnake. After going through major upheaval in the band, singer David Coverdale and guitarist John Sykes recruited a new cast of players to record the self-titled follow-up to 1984 full-length, Slide It In. The LP was powered by a re-recording of 1982 track, "Here I Go Again." The third single (and its music video, starring actress Tawny Kitaen) from the album was a smash, storming all the way to #1 on the Hot 100 for the week of October 10, 1987.
The next single from Whitesnake, "Is This Love," translated some of that "Here I Go Again" energy (and another steamy video featuring Kitaen) into a storming power ballad. Released in October 1987, the tune raced up the charts, peaking at #2 for the week of December 19, 1987, when George Michael's "Faith" refused to relinquish the top spot.
It's a song that very nearly ended up in the hands of the "Private Dancer" herself, Tina Turner: "'Is This Love' had a bit of a different lyric, which I really enjoyed," Coverdale explains in this video about a trip to the south of France for a writing session. "I was messing about with this idea for Tina Turner, the amazing, luminous Tina Turner - I would still love to hear her perform it. I was playing it on piano ... [Sykes] said, 'What is that?' I went, 'It's not for us.'"
Once Sykes heard the melody, he worked to transform it into a Whitesnake song. The rest is history.