Motley Crue, ‘Live Wire’ – Butch’s Way Back Wednesday

As a music fan there is always something new and great, but there really is something special about the songs you grew up listening to. For me, that was 70′s and 80′s classic rock. If I am in a shi**y mood, I throw in a little Zeppelin or Rush and take a trip back to rolling in my mom’s T-Bird. Now every Wednesday you get to take that trip with me. It’s Way Back Wednesday with Butch, and today’s feature is a song from a dude who turned 55 years young today, and his band of course… Motley Crue's, "Live Wire."

It's hard for some of us to call Motley Crue classic rock, and I bet it's even harder for those same people to believe that the band's colorful bassist, Nikki Sixx, turned 55 today. The best part is that he is more active (probably because he is less stoned) today than he was 25 years ago.

To celebrate Nikki's birthday today we feature the first song his band put out, "Live Wire." The song came from the group's independent debut album 'Too Fast for Love," and In May 2006, it was ranked #17 on VH1's list of the 40 greatest metal songs of all time.

Musically the song is an introduction to the straightforward riffing that characterized early Crue, earning enough attention that the group got signed to Elektra, despite some detractors who felt the song borrowed too much from Girlschool's 'Yeah Right.'

The video is pretty badass too. It showcases the band's stage theatrics, such as Nikki Sixx setting himself on fire (due to lack of money to perform on stage pyrotechnics) and Mick Mars drooling blood.

Now take a trip back with us to 1982 here...