1978–1983

Don Dokken formed his eponymous band Dokken in October 1978, after two years fronting a group called "Airbourne".^[1] The outfit's first recording was the single "Hard Rock Woman", on which Robin Trower band members Rustee Allen (bass guitar) and Bill Lordan (drums) performed, as Dokken was yet to hire an official band.^[2] By the time the release was printed, bassist Steven R. Barry and drummer Greg Pecka had been brought in, so they were credited on the sleeve as band members.^[3] For the band's first tour in Germany the same year, Barry was replaced by Juan Croucier.^[4][5] The tour spawned recordings for the EP Back in the Streets, recording on October 1979 and was released in 1989.^[6]

A second German tour followed on October 1980, which featured a lineup of Dokken with lead guitarist Greg Leon, bassist Gary Link and drummer Gary Holland.^[7]

Mick Brown joined Dokken with George Lynch in 1981 and remained the band's drummer until 2019.

In April 1981, Croucier and Blotzer returned to Dokken. On July new guitarist George Lynch and drummer "Wild" Mick Brown of band "Xciter" was joined.^[2] After signing with Carrere Records, the band recorded its debut album Breakin' the Chains until September, which was initially credited to Don Dokken as a solo release.^[8] Bass on the album was performed by Accept's Peter Baltes, as Croucier reportedly "missed the deadline to get to Germany" for the sessions.^[9]

After its release, the band returned to the US and, according to Don Dokken, "For a year and a half, nothing happened" – Croucier joined Ratt, while Lynch and Brown returned to "Xciter".^[10]

In the summer of 1983, Breaking the Chains was re-recorded with Croucier and released in 18 September by Elektra/Asylum Records.^[11] A few month before its release, Croucier left to commit full-time to Ratt.^[11]

1983–2002

Croucier was replaced after the release of Breaking the Chains by Jeff Pilson.^[12] This lineup remained constant throughout the rest of the 1980s, releasing the band's most successful albums in Tooth and Nail, Under Lock and Key, Back for the Attack and Beast from the East.^[13]

In March 1989, however, the group broke up due to ongoing tensions between Dokken and Lynch.^[14] Dokken has claimed that Lynch's excessive drug use was the reason for the split,^[15] while the guitarist has blamed disagreements over financial arrangements for the breakup, claiming that the frontman "decided that he wanted it all, he didn't wanna share it with us".^[16]

In late 1994, Lynch was convinced to reunite with Dokken to complete a reformation of the band's previous lineup, adding lead guitar overdubs to a new album released the next year, Dysfunctional.^[17] However, after one more album, Shadowlife, Lynch left again in late 1997.^[18] He was replaced by former Europe guitarist John Norum, who joined partway through an American tour before the end of the year.^[19] By the next summer, former Winger and Alice Cooper guitarist Reb Beach had taken over the position.^[20] Beach recorded one studio album, Erase the Slate, before Norum returned in July 2001.^[21] The group started recording a new album, but in October 2001 it was announced that Pilson had been replaced for the sessions by bassist Barry Sparks, although this was initially not a full-time replacement.^[22] The following month, however, Don Dokken confirmed that Pilson had officially left to focus on his various other projects.^[23]

2002–2016

In late 2003, Jon Levin took over as Dokken lead guitarist, a position he still currently holds.

After the release of Long Way Home, John Norum left again in June 2002.^[24] Although his departure was initially credited to an injury, the guitarist later explained that it was due to tensions with Don Dokken, claiming that "he became this awful person that I didn't want to have anything to do with."^[19] Following Norum's second departure, the band was temporarily joined by Italian guitarist Alex De Rosso.^[25] The 2002 tour also saw drummer Mick Brown replaced for one show by Adam Hamilton of L.A. Guns due to a recurring shoulder injury.^[26] By late 2003, Dokken had a new full-time lead guitarist in Jon Levin, formerly of Warlock, who debuted on Hell to Pay in 2004.^[27]

Following the release and promotion of Lightning Strikes Again, Sparks temporarily left to tour with UFO in the summer of 2009, with former Great White bassist Sean McNabb taking his place.^[28] Early the next year, Sparks had to step back from his duties with both bands in order to take care of a family member.^[29] McNabb subsequently remained, debuting on the 2010 collection of re-recordings Greatest Hits.^[30] He also performed on 2012's Broken Bones, before being replaced in November 2014 by former Yngwie Malmsteen vocalist Mark Boals due to his inability to commit full-time to Dokken.^[31] Within a year, however, Boals had been replaced by Chris McCarvill.^[32]

Since 2016

In June 2016, following months of rumours, it was announced that the "classic" Dokken lineup including guitarist George Lynch, bassist Jeff Pilson and drummer Mick Brown (still a regular member) were set to reunite for a short run of shows in Japan that October.^[33] Despite receiving offers to add more shows in various countries around the world, Don Dokken assured fans that a reunion would "never happen again" after the Japanese tour.^[34] Footage from one of the shows was later released as Return from the East Live (2016) in April 2018.^[35]

On May 7, 2019, Brown announced that he was "taking a break" from performing with Dokken.^[36] Within a couple of months of the announcement, Don Dokken added that Brown was permanently retiring, with his temporary replacement Bill "BJ" Zampa of House of Lords taking his place in the group.^[37] In 2020 the band released The Lost Songs: 1978–1981, on which Levin and Zampa performed some overdubs on old tracks.^[38]

Current

Image	Name	Years active	Instruments	Release contributions
	Don Dokken	1976–1982 1983—1989 1994–present	lead vocals lead guitar (1976–1980) rhythm guitar (1980–1983, 1994-1995, 2016)	all releases
	George Lynch	1981–1982, 1983–1989 1994–1997 2016 2020–present (touring guest)	lead guitar rhythm guitar (1984—1989, 1995—1997, since 2020) backing vocals (1982, 2016)	all releases from Breakin' the Chains (1981) to Shadowlife (1997) & subsequent live albums
	Jon Levin	2003–present	lead and rhythm guitar backing vocals	Hell to Pay (2004) Lightning Strikes Again (2008) Greatest Hits (2010) Broken Bones (2012) The Lost Songs: 1978–1981 (2020)
	Chris McCarvill	2015–present	bass guitar backing vocals	Heaven Comes Down (2023)
	Bill "BJ" Zampa	2019–present (touring 2008–2010)	drums backing vocals	The Lost Songs: 1978–1981 (2020) Heaven Comes Down (2023)

Former

Image	Name	Years active	Instruments	Release contributions
	Juan Croucier	1976–1977 1977–1978 1979–1980 1981–1982 1983	bass guitar backing vocals co-lead vocals (1982)	Back in the Streets (1979) Breaking the Chains (1983) The Lost Songs: 1978–1981 (2020)
	Bobby Blotzer	1976–1978 1981	drums	Breakin' the Chains (1981) (tracks 6–8)
	Paul Goldwin	1976	lead vocals	none
	Jeff Tappen	1977	bass guitar
	Greg Pecka	1978–1980	drums	Back in the Streets (1979) The Lost Songs: 1978–1981 (2020)
	Steven R. Barry	1978–1979	bass guitar backing vocals	none
	Greg Leon	1980	lead guitar
	Gary Link	1980–1981	bass guitar
	Gary Holland		drums
	Mick "Wild" Brown	1981–1982 1983–1989 1994–2019	drums backing and occasional lead vocals	all releases from Breakin' the Chains (1981) to Return to the East Live (2016)
	Warren DeMartini[39]	1982	guitar	Breakin' the Chains (1983) - track 10
	Jeff Pilson	1983–1989 1994–2001 2016	bass guitar backing and occasional lead vocals keyboards	all releases from Tooth and Nail (1984) to Live from the Sun (2000) & subsequent live albums
	John Norum	1997–1998 2001–2002	lead guitar rhythm guitar (1997–1998) backing vocals	Long Way Home (2002)
	Reb Beach	1998–2001	lead guitar rhythm guitar (1998–1999) backing vocals	Erase the Slate (1999) Live from the Sun (2000)
	Barry Sparks	2001–2009	bass guitar backing vocals keyboards	Long Way Home (2002) Hell to Pay (2004) Lightning Strikes Again (2008) Greatest Hits (2010)
	Alex De Rosso	2002–2003	guitar	none
	Sean McNabb	2009–2014	bass guitar backing vocals	Greatest Hits (2010) – two bonus tracks Broken Bones (2012)
	Mark Boals	2012 2014–2015	backing vocals bass guitar (2014–2015)	Broken Bones (2012)

Touring

Image	Name	Years active	Instruments	Details
	Mikkee D	2001	bass guitar	Mikkee stood in for Jeff Pilson, who was working on solo material, at the Sweden Rock Festival in 2001.[40]
	Adam Hamilton	2002	drums	Hamilton substituted for Mick Brown for one show in the summer of 2002 due to a recurring shoulder injury.[26]
	Greg Smith	2003	bass guitar backing vocals	Smith filled in for Barry Sparks, who was busy fulfilling other tour commitments, on several occasions.[41][42]
	Frankie Banali	2004	drums
	K.J. Hunter	2006		One off show in 2006 at the House of Blues.
	Vik Foxx	2007
	Jeff Martin	2008	drums backing vocals	Martin and Marks each filled in for Mick Brown during Dokken's touring in the summer of 2008.[43][44]
	Bobby Marks		drums
	Jimmy DeGrasso	2012		DeGrasso temporarily took over from Mick Brown during the summer of 2012, as he was touring with Ted Nugent.[45]
	Jack Russell	2017	lead vocals	Russell made a guest appearance on "Alone Again" at Dokken's M3 Rock Festival performance in April 2017.[46]
	Ira Black		lead guitar	Black temporarily substituted for regular guitarist Jon Levin during a tour in November and December 2017.[47]

Session

Image	Name	Years active	Instruments	Release contributions
	Bill Lordan	1978	drums	"Hard Rock Woman" (1979) The Lost Songs: 1978–1981 (2020)
	Rustee Allen		bass guitar
	Peter Baltes	1981		Breakin' the Chains (1981)