White Lightnin’

Hey there Zoo Freaks, the Zoo Crew just dropped the needle on a real scorcher from the mid-nineties that still packs a wallop if you dig your rock with a little swampy edge. "White Lightnin’" comes straight off Lita Ford’s 1995 album Black, that sixth solo effort where she shifted gears a bit from the big-hair metal days and leaned into some bluesy grit and even a touch of that alternative vibe that was floating around then. Clocking in at just under four minutes, the track sits right near the end of the record, co-written by Lita herself with Michael Dan Ehmig, and cooked up at Cherokee Studios out in Hollywood with the Robb Brothers handling production. You can hear that raw energy in the way the guitars bite and the rhythm section drives it forward, with Larry “Bones” Dennison on bass and Rodger Carter slamming the drums, plus some Hammond organ and harmonica color from Bruce Robb and Jimmy Z to give it that hoodoo flavor.

The lyrics paint a wild picture right from the jump, talking about being born to a gypsy woman with lightning crashing all around the crib, a doctor who takes one look and gets zapped, a hoodoo man with rock and roll attitude, and the whole house coming down while the cradle rocks. Lita jumps out of that cradle, grabs a black cat bone, and declares she was born to storm. Then the chorus hits with that image of being a wild cat when the thunder sounds, white lightning striking, a six-string hammer to scratch the itch, and this white witch with long blonde hair inviting you into her electric chair. It’s pure attitude, that kind of born-under-a-bad-sign swagger that fits the rock n roll biker spirit we love spinning here on THE ZOO. Black as an album marked a real pivot for her, blending the metal roots with more blues and even some grunge influences while she kept that guitar fire burning bright. After the big success of the late eighties, this one didn’t chart the same way, but it shows her stretching out and not staying stuck in one lane, which is exactly why deep cuts like this one still light up the airwaves for folks who know the catalog inside and out.

Speaking of catalogs, you can dig into the full story and catch up on where Lita’s headed next by swinging over to her official site at litafordonline.com, where Black sits right there in the discography alongside the earlier solo records and the Runaways stuff. If you want to follow the latest from the road or the studio, her Facebook page is the spot at facebook.com/litaofficial, and the Instagram account under @litafordofficial keeps the photos and updates rolling. Over on X it’s @LitaFord, the official handle she’s used for years. For the hardcore supporters, there’s an active Facebook group called LITA FORD WORLDWIDE FAN CLUB where folks share stories, tour memories, and keep the flame going; you can find that at facebook.com/groups/1240500036583231.

Now, how did Lita even get started in all this? Born Lita Rossana Ford in London back in 1958 to an English father who had served in the war and an Italian mother, she landed in Long Beach, California, as a little kid when the family moved for better weather and opportunities. By the time she was around eleven she was already hooked on heavy sounds, asking her mom for a guitar and getting a Sears acoustic model that she tried to force into Black Sabbath and Deep Purple riffs. It just didn’t have the balls she was after, so she stepped up, got another acoustic, then lied about her age to land a job at the hospital where her mom worked and saved up a few hundred bucks for a chocolate-colored Gibson SG after seeing Tony Iommi tear it up. That first concert of hers was Black Sabbath at the Long Beach Arena when she was thirteen, and she walked in smelling the pot and hash, watching people hanging from the rafters, and knew right then this was the path. No more Barbie dolls; it was all about the electric guitar and that dark, low-end power.

She taught herself the leads from Hendrix, Page, Blackmore, and Iommi, practicing until neighbors would stop by just to hear her shred. At sixteen she got the call from Kim Fowley, the guy putting together an all-girl band called the Runaways. He was looking for a bass player after hearing she had filled in for somebody, but she told him straight she was a guitar player. He said they needed one of those too, so she showed up to the audition and tore through Deep Purple’s “Highway Star” with Sandy West on drums and Joan Jett already in the mix. They clicked immediately, and she became the lead guitar firebrand for the band, bringing that hard rock edge to the classic lineup with Cherie Currie and Jackie Fox. The Runaways made their mark in the late seventies, touring, recording albums, and proving that girls could play with the same intensity as the guys, even if a lot of people just saw them as something else at first. Lita has talked about how they had to push past the prejudices, how she felt she had to match every male player out there until she realized they were just guitarists too and she didn’t need to be intimidated.

After the band split in 1979 she went through a rough patch, even selling cologne at a department store for a while, until Eddie Van Halen showed up and basically told her to stop sitting around and get back to being the best female rock and roll guitar player in the world. That kick in the pants got her rehearsing hard, building a solo career that eventually exploded with the 1988 Lita album, hits like “Kiss Me Deadly,” and that unforgettable duet with Ozzy Osbourne on “Close My Eyes Forever.” She has always credited those early influences and the Runaways years for forging the player she became, the one who could deliver both the flashy solos and the deeper cuts like the one spinning right now. So Zoo Freaks, crank it up, feel that white lightning hit, and remember this is the kind of freeform rock we live for here. Stay tuned for more deep cuts and stories from the crew.