Mr. Big



Mr. Big are a rock band from Los Angeles, California. They performed the song Take Cover, which is played during the end credits of two episodes of the Mega Man cartoon series. The song was written by guitarist Paul Gilbert, lead vocalist Eric Martin and Andre Pessis, and is played during the end credits of the episodes "Bad Day At Peril Park" and "Mega X". The song is also featured on the show's soundtrack album.

History
The band was formed in 1988 by David Lee Roth's former bass player Billy Sheehan. The other members were lead vocalist Eric Martin, who had previously recorded as a solo artist and had even auditioned for Van Halen at one point as a possible new lead vocalist before the Van Halen brothers chose Sammy Hagar, guitarist Paul Gilbert, formerly of Racer X, and drummer Pat Torpey. The band released their self-titled debut album in June of 1989. The album peeked at #45 on the Billboard 200 album chart. In 1990, they opened for the Canadian rock band Rush on the tour to promote their album "Presto".

In 1991 they released their second album "Lean Into It", which went to #15 on the Billboard Hot 100, and is the band's most successful album in the US. 1992 gave Mr. Big their "big" break, when their single "To Be With You" hit #1 in 15 countries. After that, they managed to get two other Top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart:"Just Take My Heart" (#16), and a cover of Cat Stevens' song "Wild World" (#27).

In 1996, they released the album "Hey Man", which debuted at #1 in Japan, and featured the song "Take Cover", which was featured in the Mega Man cartoon series a year earlier, and was released on the show's soundtrack album in April of 1996. The song hit #1 in Japan, but it was never released as a single in the US. Paul Gilbert left the band after the tour to promote the album and was replaced by Richie Kotzen (formerly of Poison). They released two albums with Kotzen. "Get Over It", released in 1999 in every country but the US, where it was released a year later, and Actual Size, which was released in 2001, but never in the US until 2006 when Wounded Bird Records reissued it. The latter of these two albums featured the song "Shine", which was the ending theme to the anime "Hellsing".

Due to tensions within the band, they set out on a farewell tour and disbanded in 2002, but in 2009, due to requests from fans, the original line up with Paul Gilbert reunited, releasing a CD/DVD combo Best Of collection that year, and released their 7th studio album "What If..." in 2011.

In 2014, shortly after completing their 8th studio album "...The Stories We Could Tell", drummer Pat Torpey was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease. He passed away on February 7th, 2018 from its complications.

Discography
Mr. Big (1989)

Raw Like Sushi (1990)

Lean Into It (1991)

Live (1992)

Raw Like Sushi II (1992)

Bump Ahead (1993)

Japandemonium (1994)

Hey Man (1996)

Channel V At The Hard Rock Live (1996)

Big, Bigger, Biggest! The Best of Mr. Big (1996)

Live At Budokan (1997)

Get Over It (1999/2000)

Actual Size (2001/2006)

In Japan (2002)

Greatest Hits (2004)

Next Time Around: Best of Mr. Big (2009)

Return To Budokan (2009)

What If... (2011)

Live From The Living Room (2011)

...The Stories We Could Tell (2014)

Defying Gravity (2017)