Big’s second album, “Lean Into It”, which was released on March 26th 1991, that the group rose to the limelight, breaking through with their two successful ballads, “To Be With You” which reached number 1 on the Hot 100, and “Just Take My Heart” which was a top twenty song in the US. They signed with Atlantic Records in 1989, and released their self-titled debut album that same year.
With Herbie Herbert who had managed, Santana, Europe and Journey behind them, the sky was the limit. He already had an impressive CV, having recorded Impelliteri, Stan Bush, Belinda Carlisle, The Knack and Ted Nugent. Pat Torpey later joined the band, moving to LA from Arizona.
He recruited Eric Martin on lead vocals, and then Paul Gilbert who already had a great reputation as a guitarist with his band Racer X. It was bass player, Billy Sheehan, who left David Lee Roth’s backing band in 1988 and began a new project with the help of Mike Varney from Shrapnel Records, a label that were more focussed in the shredding genre.
