Vince Neil

Vincent Neil Wharton (born February 8, 1961) is an American musician and singer. He is the lead vocalist of heavy metal band Mötley Crüe, which he fronted from their 1981 formation until his departure in 1992. Neil reunited with the band in 1996 and continued with them until the band's 2015 retirement, and again from the band's 2018 reunion onwards. Outside of Mötley Crüe, Neil has also released three studio albums as a solo artist – the most recent of which, Tattoos & Tequila, was released in 2010. Neil's visual aesthetic and distinctive singing voice are considered synonymous with the American glam metal movement of the 1980s.

Early life Neil was born in Inglewood, California, to Shirley (née Ortiz) and Clois "Odie" Wharton. He has Mexican ancestry on his mother's side and Native American ancestry on his father's. During the 1960s, his family moved around Southern California from Inglewood to Watts, before finally settling in Glendora, attending Sunflower Intermediate School and later Royal Oak High School. His biggest musical influence in the early days was Van Halen, imitating the look and the attitude of their frontman David Lee Roth. He also cited AC/DC, Aerosmith, Creedence...