Early life
Sixx was born Frank Carlton Feranna Jr.[4] on December 11, 1958 in San Jose, California. He was raised by his single mother, Deana Haight, and her abusive boyfriend, after his father and namesake, Frank Ferrana abandoned the family. When he was six, he and his mother moved to Mexico for a short time, after which they moved to Jerome, Idaho, with his grandparents. The family moved several more times, to El Paso, Texas, then to Anthony, New Mexico, back to El Paso, and then returned to Jerome.
While living in Idaho, Sixx became a teenage vandal, breaking into neighbors' homes, shoplifting and being expelled from school for selling drugs.[5] His grandparents sent him to live with his mother, who had moved to Seattle. He lived there for a short time, and learned how to play the bass guitar after buying his first instrument with money made from selling a guitar he stole from a music store.
At the age of 17, he moved to Los Angeles on his own; he got jobs at a liquor store and manufacturing plant and auditioned to play in a band called Sister with Blackie Lawless of W.A.S.P. before joining London, a local glam outfit whose major claim to fame to that point was that its singer, Nigel Benjamin, had sung with a late version of Mott the Hoople. Nikki soon left the band, convinced that his ideas for world domination would never come to fruition with Dane Rage and Lizzie Grey as his partners in crime. Soon after leaving London, Nikki formed Mötley Crüe with Tommy Lee and Mick Mars; soon after Vince Neil also joined the band.
Mötley Crüe
By 1981, Sixx had developed a plan to create the ultimate "theatrical" band for the new decade. He found guitarist Mick Mars, drummer Tommy Lee, and singer Vince Neil to share in this vision. The band Mötley Crüe rose quickly in the musical environment of L.A.'s Sunset Strip, although at first no label would sign them due to their erratic stage performances. They decided to self-record their debut album Too Fast for Love, which was subsequently released in November 1981 on the band's own Leathür Records label. After signing with Elektra Records they re-released Too Fast for Love. The album was re-released on a deal cut by the band, to save the album from being dropped by the new CEO of Elektra. Part of the deal was that the album have a less dirty sound to it. Too Fast for Love was released successfully with Elektra after the deal. The band then went on to record and release Shout at the Devil, raising the band to national fame.
Like his bandmates, Sixx took advantage of the excess that rock n' roll allowed, surpassing the level of abuse of his bandmates by binging on alcohol, cocaine, and most notably heroin. Sixx has often stated that he would use his body as a human chemistry set, mixing excessive amounts of drugs on a regular basis to search for a new "high". On the night of December 23, 1987, Sixx was declared dead after an overdose, only to be revived by paramedics with two adrenaline shots to the heart (this incident was the inspiration for the song "Kickstart my Heart"). In an interview, Sixx states that after he was declared dead, the ambulance arrived, but one of the paramedics in the ambulance was a Motley Crüe fan. Apparently, the paramedic took one look at me and said, "He's not gonna die." On an earlier trip to London, Sixx overdosed at a dealer's house and, while he wasn't declared dead, he was put into a trash bin by the dealer after being beaten with a baseball bat in an attempt to stop Sixx's convulsions. This incident was the inspiration behind the lyric "Valentine's in London, found me in the trash" from the song "Dancing on Glass."
Soon after his overdose, he and his bandmates sought sobriety through rehab. It was then that the band would produce their most successful record, Dr. Feelgood, in 1989 with producer Bob Rock. The album would stay on the charts for 109 weeks after its release. When Mötley Crüe reformed at the end of 2004, Sixx declared himself sober. Whilst Mötley Crüe have received a large amount of criticism from the press due to their excesses, Sixx is often referenced in the same sentence as other legendary "live fast" rockers, such as Lemmy and Ozzy.
Being the central creative influence of the band for much of the 1980s, Nikki wrote most of the Crüe's material. This is particularly true for the earlier period of the band's career, as Tommy Lee and Mick Mars were still developing as songwriters. Nikki penned such classic tracks as "Live Wire", "Home Sweet Home", "Girls, Girls, Girls", "Kickstart My Heart" and "Dr. Feelgood". His songs are known for their distinct heavy and hard sound largely resulting from Nikki and Mick's instruments being tuned down and their fast (almost punk) tempo. The first album with John Corabi marked a move away from their classic 80s sound to a more alternative and experimental style reminiscent of Alice in Chains and alt rock movement of the early 90s. With a change in decade came a change in the songwriting duties for the band, with all four members contributing to the material on the albums. Many fans and music critics believe this to be the reason for the change in band's sound away from the style that had defined them through their career until then.
As of 2006, Mötley Crüe have finished a reunion tour featuring all four original members. They've stated that they will record demos for a 2007 album. An exact target release date has not yet been set. Mötley Crüe also embarked on a 2006 tour co-headlining with Aerosmith, called "The Route of All Evil".
