Y&T (originally known as Yesterday & Today) is an American hard rock/heavy metal band that formed in Oakland, California; the classic lineup that recorded the first album was cemented in 1974.

[2] In 1972,[3] Leonard Haze, Bob Gardner, and Wayne Stitzer formed an unnamed band in Oakland, California, that jammed only cover tunes when Dave Meniketti joined that same year as guitar player.

"[6][3] The band's first two studio albums under A&M, Earthshaker (1981) and Black Tiger (1982), though critically acclaimed around the globe, did not gain mainstream exposure in America.

Black Tiger was recorded at Ridge Farm, in Dorking, County of Surrey, England and produced by Max Norman.

By 1983, Y&T had started to play larger venues such as arenas, stadiums, and amphitheaters across America and Europe with a variety of acts including AC/DC, Alice Cooper, Blackfoot, Dio, Iron Maiden, Marillion, Mötley Crüe, Ozzy Osbourne, Twisted Sister, and ZZ Top,[8][9] garnering far more mainstream recognition in Europe and Japan than they did in their native United States.

The success of In Rock We Trust, which saw the band continuing to perform at arenas and stadiums (including opening for Rush and Dio on their tours for Grace Under Pressure and The Last in Line respectively, as well as shows with Whitesnake, Twisted Sister, Ratt, Dokken, and Night Ranger),[9][11][12][13] and participating in the 1984 edition of Monsters of Rock at Donington Park in England,[14] gave Y&T better exposure than they'd had previously.

[15] It received airplay worldwide, played frequently in the Baywatch television series, featured in several feature films (including Real Genius), received heavy rotation on MTV as well as MTV's top video playlists, and continues to get regular airplay today on classic rock radio stations throughout the United States.

[6] In 1995, Y&T resumed with the same lineup of Meniketti, Burns, Kennemore, and DeGrasso, releasing Musically Incorrect in 1995 and Endangered Species in 1997.

In 2006 as Haze's drug abuse continued creating issues, he was asked to step down and was replaced by Mike Vanderhule on drums.

It was their first studio album in thirteen years (since 1997's Endangered Species) and was consequently licensed to the Italian label Frontiers Records for the rest of the world.

On October 19, 2013, in Bellagio, Italy, Stef Burns joined the band onstage for four songs ("Black Tiger", "Dirty Girl", "Midnight In Tokyo", and "Hurricane") in a reunion of sorts since Burns had been busy touring with Huey Lewis and the News and Vasco Rossi.

[22] Lang's friend Aaron Leigh (Frank Hannon Band) stepped in, his first show on April 14 at the Canyon Club in Agoura Hills, CA.

On June 29, 2016, Y&T and Lang announced separately on their own Facebook pages that they had mutually and amicably parted ways, confirming that Leigh would remain as the band's bassist.

Original drummer Haze died on September 11, 2016, at the age of 61 after a long battle with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

[23][24][25] Original rhythm guitarist Alves died on March 12, 2017, at the age of 63 from ulcerative colitis and inflammatory bowel disease.

"Summertime Girls" has been the band's most widely recognized song, along with fan favorites such as "Mean Streak", "Contagious", "Rescue Me", "Forever".

"Summertime Girls" appeared on the soundtrack to the 1985 film Real Genius[30] as well as an episode of Season 1 of HBO's Peacemaker (TV series).

The Story of Anvil, in the bonus feature interview Lars Ulrich of Metallica talks at length about seeing one of his favorite bands, Y&T, for the first time at a club in Hollywood in December 1980.

Ulrich credits Y&T as the reason he decided to become a musician, saying: "That was the turning point for me wanting to play music.