Matthias Jabs has provided lead guitar for hard-rock veterans the Scorpions

since 1978. Though the band started without him seven years earlier, Jabs

has been a key reason for the group's longevity.

Jabs was born Oct. 25, 1955, in Hannover, Germany. Prior to joining the

Scorpions, Jabs played guitar in the bands Fargo and Lady. Meanwhile,

the Scorpions formed in Hannover in 1971, with the lineup of guitarist

brothers Rudolf and Michael Schenker, singer Klaus Meine, drummer Jurgen

Rosenthal and bassist Lothar Heimberg.

The Scorpions endured personnel changes and record label problems before

signing with Mercury Records in 1979. Lovedrive added Americans

to the group's growing fanbase. Despite its original cover, which many

found obscene, it was the band's first LP to chart in the United States.

Michael, who had quit the group, rejoined for the album. Jabs had been

hired to replace him but was fired when Michael returned. Michael opted

to leave again, however, leaving the lead guitar spot to Jabs, who has

claimed it since.

Jabs was fully installed as a Scorpion on Animal Magnetism (1980),

to which he contributed as a songwriter. Blackout (1982) went

platinum and gave the band its first U.S. hit in "No One Like You."

The Scorpions had a double-platinum smash with Love at First Sting

(1984), featuring the hit "Rock You Like a Hurricane" (RealAudio

excerpt). Four years later they released Savage Amusement

and became the first hard-rock band to tour the former Soviet Union.

"Wind of Change," the Scorpions' top-five ballad from Crazy World

(1990), was released in a Russian-language version and earned the band

a meeting with Soviet premier Mikhail Gorbachev. Face the Heat

(1993) contained songs such as "Alien Nation," which dealt with Germany's

reunification.

The Scorpions suffered commercially during the heyday of grunge in the

early '90s. The band's 1996 effort, Pure Instinct, was supported

by a tour with Alice Cooper.

PolyGram issued the double Scorpions best-of disc Deadly Sting —

The Mercury Years in 1997. The same year brought World Wide Live,

highlighting the band's effective combination of power-chord crunch and

melody.

The Scorpions remain one of the most popular rock groups ever to come

from Germany, despite their less-than-blockbuster success this decade.

Earlier this year, they issued Eye II Eye, which included cuts

such as "Mysterious," "Mind Like a Tree," "To Be No. 1" and "Obsession."

Other birthdays on Monday: Helen Reddy, 58; Jon Anderson (Yes), 55;

Kathy "Taffy" Danoff (Starland Vocal Band), 55; John Hall (Orleans), 52;

Glenn Tipton (Judas Priest), 50; Christina Amphlett (Divinyls), 39; Chad

Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers), 37; John Leven (Europe), 36; Speech

(Arrested Development), 31; Ed Robertson (Barenaked Ladies), 29; Jerome

"Romeo" Jones (Immature), 18; and Robbie McIntosh (Average White Band),

1950–1974.