Mick Mars (Motley Crue)

Mick Mars (b. Bob Alan Deal in Terre Haute, May 4, 1951 - ) – Guitarist and songwriter. After his family moved from Indiana to California, Bob Deal dropped out of high school and played in a series of bands that all denied him of fame or fortune. At age thirty, he changed his stage name to Mick Mars, died his hair black, and his luck changed. After advertising his availability in an L.A. paper as a “loud, rude and aggressive,” guitar player, Tommy Lee and Nikki Sixx contacted him to form a new band. With the addition of singer Vince Neil and with Mars’s suggestion for a name, Mötley Crüe was born in 1981 with Mars as its lead guitarist. After a hip-replacement surgery and a hiatus from the guitar, Mars was back with the reunited Crüe for a tour in 2005-2006. Although arthritis played havoc on his ability to sustain his skills, Mars stuck through the band's final tour in 2014-15. After signing a contract to stop touring, the band members are now talking about getting back together in the studio. In short, Mars played a pivotal role in launching one the most celebrated heavy metal bands of the 1980s and 1990s.