Dokken - Alone Again

What this video is

Released in 1985 to support Dokken's breakthrough album Tooth and Nail (Elektra Records, 1984), 'Alone Again' arrived at the precise moment MTV was institutionalizing the power ballad as a mandatory commercial vehicle for glam metal acts. The song itself originated from a mid-1970s cassette demo by Don Dokken, resurrected and reworked with bassist Jeff Pilson after Elektra requested a ballad in line with…

Why it matters

A foundational document of the mid-1980s glam metal power ballad form, 'Alone Again' exemplifies how heavy metal acts used MTV-era music videos to humanize their image and cross over to mainstream audiences. The video's directorial approach by a then-emerging Wayne Isham established visual…

The director

Wayne Isham (born December 2, 1958, Vinita, Oklahoma) is an American film and music video director who attended UC Santa Barbara in the 1970s. Inspired by David Bowie's 'Ashes to Ashes,' he built one of the most extensive music video portfolios in the…