Whitesnake’s David Coverdale Announces He’s Retiring From Music: ‘It’s Time For Me To Call It A Day’

Whitesnake‘s David Coverdale is calling it quits at 74-years-old, and announced he’s done with music.

In a caption-less video posted on Instagram on Thursday (Nov. 13), Coverdale sat sipping a glass of wine as he delivered the unfortunate news that he was retiring.

“Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, brothers and sisters of the Snake, a special announcement for you,” Coverdale said. “After 15 years plus…the last few years have been very evident to me that it’s time really for me to hang up my rock and roll platform shoes and my skin-tight jeans. And as you can see, we’ve taken care of the lion’s wig. But it’s time for me to call it a day. I love you dearly. I thank everyone who’s assisted and supported me on this incredible journey. All the musicians, the crew, the fans, the family. It’s amazing.”

He ended his video departure with a tribute to a Whitesnake track called “Fare Thee Well.”

At their peak, Whitesnake achieved an amazing amount of success. The band’s 1987 smash “Here I Go Again” hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent 28 weeks on the chart, while “Is This Love” hit No. 2 later that year. Their self-titled album hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in 1987 as well, and a few of the band’s other songs like “Is This Love,” “The Deeper The Love” and “Fool For Your Loving” eventually broke onto the Hot 100. Whitesnake’s last album was in 2019, and the band’s last concert was in 2022.