Lee Aaron

V

ocalsist Lee Aaron (Real Name: Karen Lynn Greening) emerged out of the eastern Ontario, Canada railway town of Belleville. She first achieved notice from a nude of her she naively posed for and allowed to be published in the naughty Canadian magazine 'Oui', on the advice of a dishonest manager. This created a struggle for her to prove she had other talents.

Recorded with the support of Triumph's Rik Emmett, as well as other Canadian hard rockers Rick Santers (bass/co-writer), Mark Santers (drums), Earl Johnson (guitar), The Lee Aaron Project album was launched in 1982. It featured her powerful voice, but the clichéd lyrics brought the over-all property value down. Still, it was a strong and positive start. Domestic label 'Attic' took interest and the resulting follow-up, Metal Queen (1984), was a marked improvement. John Albani (ex-Wrabit; guitar) and George Barnardt (guitar/vocals) joined in to help in its construction, with the latter becoming her regular songwriting partner. Jack Meli (bass/vocals) and Attila Demjin (drums) joined in to augment the album's sound.

Simon Brierly (guitar) then replaced Albani with Spyder Sinnaeve replacing Meli on guitar while Jerry Mercer moved in on drums to replace Demjen for Call Of The Wild. Call Of The Wild (1985) was a more sophisticated effort despite it taking a beating from critics for the production being flat. Headlining shows, as well as a spot supporting Bon Jovi, helped Aaron maintain a European profile. Hiring Jim Gelcer for keyboards, Chris Brockaway (bass/vocals) and Randy Cooke (drums/percussion) she would re-enter the studio. The resulting self-titled, Lee Aaron (1987), saw her publish ballads and radio friendly soft rockers. To this point her style was more on a hard rock/heavy metal style but her musical interests varied as the years progressed with her dabbling in jazz and pop as well.