Tom Keifer Recalls Freezing While Making Classic Cinderella Video

Former Cinderella frontman Tom Keifer has detailed the icy experience he endured while making one of the band’s classic music videos.

Released in 1988, the power ballad “Don’t Know What You Got (Till It’s Gone)” became one of Cinderella’s signature tracks. The song was featured on the band’s second album, Long Cold Winter, and the music video’s director certainly took that album title to heart.

“It was like sub-degrees,” Keifer explained during a recent conversation with Sirius XM’s Eddie Trunk, describing the video shoot as “freezing cold.” Filming took place at Mono Lake in Northern California, “and they were trying to capture sunsets and sunrises.”

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As the singer explained, the bitterly cold temperatures were only made worse by the early hours they had to film.

“The only civilization was, I want to say, almost an hour away. The calls for the shoot on that were at like 4AM,” Keifer noted. “Because we had to get up, drive in the van out to this desolated lake that had drained – all the water had drained out of it – to catch the sunrise. That was freezing. It was freezing.”

Keifer Says the Shoot Was ‘Worth Getting Frostbite’

In the end, Keifer’s frosty experience proved worthwhile. “Don’t Know What You Got (Till It’s Gone)” became the most successful single of Cinderella’s career, peaking at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100. Meanwhile, its video garnered heavy rotation on MTV, further raising the band’s star.

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“It was worth getting frostbite on that piano sitting out in the middle of nowhere,” the singer joked.

Cinderella hasn’t played together since 2014. Keifer continues touring with a backing band, performing solo material and various songs from Cinderella’s catalog. He’s slated for an extended run of performance across the U.S. beginning in July.

Watch Cinderella’s Video for ‘Don’t Know What You Got (Till It’s Gone)’