To many fans of hard rock in the late '80s, Britny Fox were just the poor man's version of Cinderella. While that is a debate for another day (Yes, I've actually had the Cinderella vs. Britny Fox argument with friends before), what a lot of folks don't know, or remember, is that Britny Fox actually changed lead singers three albums into their career.
Switching from CBS Records to EastWest, a label owned by Warner Music Group, the band went into the studio for their Bite Down Hard album with Las Vegas native, Tommy Paris, in the lead vocalist slot. Using the name Don Jillson, Paris previously had fronted an obscure AOR (with a hair metal look) act called Jillson. Deadly Girl, Jillson's only album, is worth the hunt, if you like that sort of thing.
But I digress.
The reason I'm writing this post is to highlight "Look My Way," a power ballad from the Bite Down Hard record.
Co-written by Paris and bassist Billy Childs, "Look My Way" features the honeyed verses and the "wait for it, here it comes" kind of chorus that often made the ballads on hard rock albums the biggest hits these kinds of bands ever had. If "Look My Way" would have been released a year or two earlier, it would have been a Dial MTV staple. It's that good. I'm talking Trixter "One in a Million" level good.
Paris had a raspy vocal tone, much like his predecessor, "Dizzy" Dean Davidson, had, but unlike Davidson, Paris held back on the rasp a bit, using it a bit more tastefully (I can't believe I just typed that) throughout his time in Britny Fox.
"Look My Way," like the rest of the songs on Bite Down Hard, died a quick commercial death. The band was eventually dropped by EastWest and went their separate ways in 1992. The Paris version of Britny Fox reunited for one studio album, 2003's Springhead Motorshark, before breaking up again.
