The country song that became Def Leppard’s only US #1 hit

Behind The Song: Classic Rock Chronicles · Nov 2, 2022 · 14m

When you think about Def Leppard, country music is probably the last thing that comes to mind. This band helped usher in the second wave of British heavy metal and made it appealing to the masses with a polished, pop element to their songs that are all a far cry from the country genre. But on their fourth album, 1987’s Hysteria, an album created after the horrifying car accident that took drummer Rick Allen’s arm, the band said yes to recording a little song that their producer Mutt Lange brought to them, an acoustic number he had originally written as a country tune that became “Love Bites,”…