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Glam-metal band Cinderella was formed in 1983 when bar-band veterans Tom Keifer (vocals) and Eric Brittingham (bass) met up with Michael Kelly Smith (guitars) while they were playing in a cover band called Saints In Hell. Tony Destra was recruited on drums. They chose the name ‘Cinderella’ after watching a porno movie called “Cinderella Liberty”. Around 1983, they started flooding record companies with demo tapes and also honed their talents in the clubs and bars around Philadelphia. Smith and Destra departed and went on to form and play in the band Britny Fox. Jeff La Bar (ex-White Foxx) joined the band on guitars and Jody Cortez was recruited on drums.
The band was spotted by Jon Bon Jovi during a particularly wild club gig in 1985 and he recommended them to his label, Mercury, which signed them the next year. They started recording their first album, “Night Songs” which was released in 1986, selling about three million copies worldwide. Drummer Fred Coury replaced Cortez during the recording sessions and so the classic Cinderella lineup was born. Bon Jovi also did some back-up vocals on the album which was produced by Andy Johns.
The band left on a 14 month tour opening for David Lee Roth and Bon Jovi and also supported Loudness and Poison. A video “Night Songs” was released in 1987 which also included live footage. Cinderella released their second album in the same year, called “Long Cold Winter” which saw the band follow a more blues-metal direction. Keyboardist Rick Criniti featured on this album and also toured “unseen” with the band. Brittingham decided not to tour the US while his wife was having a baby and was replaced by Dio’s Jimmy Bain on bass for that leg. More tours with Judas Priest and AC/DC followed and the band found themselves playing before a crowd of over 100,000 at 1987’s Castle Donnington festival. Cinderella also found themselves playing the huge Moscow Music Peace Festival with Skid Row, Bon Jovi, Motley Crue, Ozzy Osbourne and the Scorpions in 1989
1990’s “Heartbreak Station” saw the bands direction following a softer sound complete with horns, gospel singers, and strings arranged by ex-Led Zeppelin John Paul Jones. This gave the band an entry to MTV and classic-rock formats and secured their headliner status. This release saw Fred Coury's departure to join ex-Ratt vocalist Stephen Pearcy’s Arcade and was briefly replaced by ex-Shadow King drummer Kevin Valentine.
Keifer experienced some throat problems and this necessitated a lengthy break before the recording and release of “Still Climbing” in 1994. John Mellencamp drummer Kenny Aaronoff helped out while Cinderella auditioned new drummers over the Internet. The full-time replacement was found in Kevin Conway and again in Ray Brinker during the recording sessions. However, MTV refused to support the band and this time also saw the grunge curse taking over. The band's sound seemed to have fallen out of favor with the fans and Cinderella split up in 1995.
Tom and Ray worked together on Tom's solo material and Eric had been writing with Marshall Coleman. Fred Coury continued to be a touring drummer for various bands, as well as maintaining his Nashville recording studio. The classic lineup's members were reunited for a benefit concert in New Jersey in 1996 and the result was the Cinderella greatest hits CD "Once Upon A...." which was released in 1997. Besides a selection of their greatest hits, a previously unreleased cover of Janis Joplin's ‘Move Over’ and a new song ‘War Stories’ were included. The band then signed to Portrait Records.
Cinderella started the successful ‘Unfinished Business’ tour of the U.S. in 1998 but the tour got interrupted for a couple of months while Tom Keifer recovered from throat surgery. Besides the four core band members, the touring band also included keyboardist Charlie Lawrence. The band also joined Poison, Faster Pussycat and Winger on the Hollyweird World Tour in 2002. A live CD and DVD recorded on the ‘Unfinished Business’ called "Live At The Key Club” will be released in 2003 and the band also started work on a new studio release.
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