George Lynch On Don Dokken: ‘He Lied About Everything. I’ve Been The Benefactor Of His Cheating’

The decades-long friction between Dokken guitarist George Lynch and frontman Don Dokken is one of hard rock’s most well-documented feuds. However, in a revealing new interview, Lynch offered a surprisingly pragmatic assessment of the singer’s character flaws, admitting that Don‘s alleged tendency to lie was actually the catalyst that launched their careers.

Speaking on the “Tone-Talk” podcast, Lynch was asked about the frontman’s history of dishonesty regarding songwriting credits and business dealings, rather than simply condemning his former bandmate, Lynch acknowledged that Don‘s manipulative nature was a double-edged sword that ultimately worked in the band’s favor during their formative years.

“I think people that are disingenuine [sic] and lie as part of their character, it’s just part of who they are, the fabric of their makeup,” Lynch said (as transcribed by Blabbermouth). “It’s cheating in a way, but it’s also — well, I’ve been the benefactor of his cheating due to his lying in a big way. We wouldn’t be sitting here doing this interview if it wasn’t for Don‘s lies.”

Lynch reflected on the Southern California scene of the late 70s and early 80s, where his band The Boyz (later Xciter) was competing with the likes of Van Halen. He credited Don‘s aggressive—and perhaps deceptive—hustle with getting them out of the clubs and onto the international stage.

“He lied about everything, but ultimately he’s such a great bulls**t artist that he made it happen,” Lynch admitted. “[That’s the] bottom line. I would’ve never been able to make [it happen], ’cause I’m not capable… I’m just saying I am not capable of doing that. And that’s maybe not a good thing as far as propelling your career. But he’s willing to go to places that I wasn’t willing to go and most people aren’t. And I think that’s the main reason why he’s successful. So it’s kind of a back-handed compliment.”

The interview also touched on the contentious issue of money. Don Dokken has previously gone on record stating that splitting the band’s income equally four ways was a mistake, specifically lamenting that drummer Mick Brown made “millions” despite having a minimal role in the songwriting process.

Lynch, however, defended the equal-split philosophy, arguing that it was a strategic move to ensure quality control. By paying everyone equally regardless of who wrote the hits, the band avoided the common trap of members forcing subpar material onto albums simply to secure publishing royalties.

“I was the proponent of the quarter splits for the band because I feel that that was really healthy because it kept the less capable writers out of the mix from forcing their bad ideas on us,” Lynch explained. “If you have a weak-link writer and they’re going, ‘The only way I’m gonna get paid is if we use my songs,’ and your songs s**k… So, it’s the best thing for the record, I think, is to just pay everybody equally.”

Lynch used Brown as an example of how this system worked effectively, though he did clarify that the drummer made key contributions, specifically noting that Brown had “concrete contributions with the lyrics of ‘Tooth And Nail‘.”

“Like, ‘Mick, just go play pool, ride your motorcycle and pop in once in a while, check in. And we got it. And it’ll be a great record, and we’ll have fun. Every time we make a dollar, everybody makes a quarter,'” Lynch said.

Ultimately, Lynch views the conflict as a clash of fundamental philosophies: the collective versus the individual.

“Don was the complete other way of thinking. He wanted it to be all about him, but he wasn’t willing to put out the work and his work wasn’t the best work, so that wasn’t fair,” Lynch concluded. “So neither one is fair, but I’m more of a band guy and Don is less of a band guy; he’s more of a kind of ‘him’ guy.”

Despite the history, Lynch insists he isn’t bitter about the past. “Why are we re-litigating stuff from 35, 40 years ago? I don’t know. Who cares? I mean, we’ve all done okay. We’re all fine. We’re still alive, we’re still breathing, we’re still making music.”