Best “Front Man” of All Time

[Bobref]

Trying to find things to occupy my mind and relieve the boredom, all while sheltering in place. 

So, who is the greatest “front man” in rock & roll history? Share your thoughts and, if possible, maybe a YouTube clip or something. For me, call me “old school,” but it’s pretty hard to get beyond Jagger.

 

[Irishman]

Hard to argue that one. I always leaned more toward the Stones than I did the Beatles, but the Beatles did not have a clear front man. Freddie Mercury's career was cut short, but he is a close 2nd, in my mind. Our age difference may show a bit here though Bob, but U2's Bono is right up there. I know I am a bit ( ok a LOT) bias because they are my favorite band. But longevity and tour success have got to be factors, right? :) I guess we can include Robert Plant in this elite group. 

Others to strongly consider: Steven Tyler, Stevie Nicks??? Again though FM falls victim to not having a clear front"man", Geddy Lee Bon Scott (career cut WAY too short), Brian Johnson, Roger Daltry (But was Pete Townsend just as strong?), James Hetfield (have to appreciate their ability to stay around) Jim Morrison (life ended WAY too soon), and Dennis DeYoung. 

OK, not many in that category, but next tier might be more crowded.....Steve Perry, Jon Bon Jovi, Brad Delph, Kevin Cronin, Debby Harry, Axl Rose, Eddie Vedder, Jerry Garcia, Dave Grohl, Ray Davies, Phil Collins, and Michael Stipe. I am sure I have missed a few. 

Some great musicians would include Tom Petty, Bob Seger, and Jimi Hendrix, but to me, they were not really just a role player in a band. The supporting bands behind them changed to some extent, so I excluded them.  

Back to the top...Mick still rules. In his prime, he did not just break a mold; he was beyond outrageous, and this wave of music was completely new. They had a great mix of rock and blues. And he was the first of his kind in so many ways. 

[gonzoron]

John Kay gets my vote. I'm definitely biased. 

John Kay (born Joachim Fritz Krauledat, 12 April 1944). Kay was born in Tilsit, East Prussia, Germany (now Sovetsk, Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia).[1] His father Fritz, born 13 June 1913 in Absteinen (Opstainys in Pagėgiai Municipality), near Pleskau[4] was killed a month[5] before Kay was born. In early 1945, his mother fled with him from the advancing Soviet troops during the Evacuation of East Prussia in harsh winter conditions. Their train got stuck near Arnstadt, which was first occupied by Americans, but then became part of the East German Soviet occupation zone. In 1949, they crossed the already fortified border to resettle in Hanover, West Germany (as recounted in his song "Renegade" on the album Steppenwolf 7). Now living in the British occupation zone, the young Joachim, who suffered from eye problems, listened to broadcasts by the British Forces Broadcasting Service, like the Uprising of 1953 in East Germany. He also saw a news reel about the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, shot and smuggled out by László Kovács of later Easy Rider fame. Kay and his family moved to Toronto in 1958. Five years later, they moved to Buffalo, New York.

 

[Bobref]

22 minutes ago, Irishman said:

Hard to argue that one. I always leaned more toward the Stones than I did the Beatles, but the Beatles did not have a clear front man. Freddie Mercury's career was cut short, but he is a close 2nd, in my mind. Our age difference may show a bit here though Bob, but U2's Bono is right up there. I know I am a bit ( ok a LOT) bias because they are my favorite band. But longevity and tour success have got to be factors, right? :) I guess we can include Robert Plant in this elite group. 

Others to strongly consider: Steven Tyler, Stevie Nicks??? Again though FM falls victim to not having a clear front"man", Geddy Lee Bon Scott (career cut WAY too short), Brian Johnson, Roger Daltry (But was Pete Townsend just as strong?), James Hetfield (have to appreciate their ability to stay around) Jim Morrison (life ended WAY too soon), and Dennis DeYoung. 

OK, not many in that category, but next tier might be more crowded.....Steve Perry, Jon Bon Jovi, Brad Delph, Kevin Cronin, Debby Harry, Axl Rose, Eddie Vedder, Jerry Garcia, Dave Grohl, Ray Davies, Phil Collins, and Michael Stipe. I am sure I have missed a few. 

Some great musicians would include Tom Petty, Bob Seger, and Jimi Hendrix, but to me, they were not really just a role player in a band. The supporting bands behind them changed to some extent, so I excluded them.  

Back to the top...Mick still rules. In his prime, he did not just break a mold; he was beyond outrageous, and this wave of music was completely new. They had a great mix of rock and blues. And he was the first of his kind in so many ways. 

You omitted my #2: The Lizard King!
 

https://youtu.be/kE32pvvaDT8

[Irishman]

1 minute ago, Bobref said:

You omitted my #2: The Lizard King!
 

https://youtu.be/kE32pvvaDT8

I have him in my list of others to strongly consider. 

[DanteEstonia]

Chris Cornell 

 

 

[Irishman]

Great one DE 

[gonzoron]

Jim Dandy Mangrum

 

[gonzoron]

Some others that haven't been mentioned yet: Ronnie James Dio, David Lee Roth, Sammy Hagar

[Bobref]

59 minutes ago, gonzoron said:

Some others that haven't been mentioned yet: Ronnie James Dio, David Lee Roth, Sammy Hagar

OK, you can’t mention David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar. Got to be one or the other. 😉

[Irishman]

31 minutes ago, Bobref said:

OK, you can’t mention David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar. Got to be one or the other. 😉

I would easily pick Sammy. If Roth had stayed true to form and not go "Hollywood" with the f'ed up hair and the tights, he could easily be in the conversation. But his ego was way too big. As far as Sammy goes, he just drifted too much. Even though he was with Van Halen for a while and they put out some great stuff, it is hard to get over the mindset that he was a sub. 

[TheStatGuy]

Freddie Mercury and its not even close..

 

His performance at live aide. Wow.

[Impartial_Observer]

Tough to argue with the frontman from the World’s Greatest Rock and Roll Band. 

When asking this question I think several factors have to come together, longevity, being more than a lead singer, more than a cult following, etc.

For me it is, was, and will always be Mick, and it’s not open to debate.

Irishman and have had this debate in the past, I will concede Freddy Mercury is probably in the conversation, but being the targeted demographic when Queen was in their prime, I never cared for their music. At the risk of offending a new generation of Queen fans since the movie came out, my thoughts are similar to Slim Pickens in Blazing Saddles when he caught his boys trying to teach his workmen to teach the hired help to sing. I recorded Live Aid in it’s entirety on cassette tape and when I edited it down to a copy of just music, Queen was left on the cutting room floor.

Bob I figured you to be a Lizard King guy, probably in the conversation as well, but to me The Doors have some music that stand the test of time, but most of it just gets dated and stale to me. When LA Woman comes on the radio, I will NEVER not turn it up and sing along.

This vid features what I think is one of the best guitar intros ever, although live it gets really obscure, as well as one of the best back up singers in the biz, Lisa Fisher.

 

[gonzoron]

10 hours ago, Bobref said:

OK, you can’t mention David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar. Got to be one or the other. 😉

 

9 hours ago, Irishman said:

I would easily pick Sammy. If Roth had stayed true to form and not go "Hollywood" with the f'ed up hair and the tights, he could easily be in the conversation. But his ego was way too big. As far as Sammy goes, he just drifted too much. Even though he was with Van Halen for a while and they put out some great stuff, it is hard to get over the mindset that he was a sub. 

Sure I can. But if I had to make a choice, I'd put Sammy in front. He's done a lot more than his time in Van Halen. And I always thought DLR was attempting to be Jim Dandy. I never really cared for Van Halen with either singer. I thought their music was "forced".

I did love Sammy's Montrose stuff, and Chickenfoot has some great songs. And who can argue with great tequila?

 

I will tend to agree with the initial post, though, Jagger has to be number 1, anyone else is just a matter of personal preference.

Edited April 18, 2020 by gonzoron

[gonzoron]

Also not mentioned yet is John Fogerty. Originally a 'front man'. Just a pure genius now. Still going strong.

 

[Irishman]

Maybe it is just our age, but what is noticeable is there is not a group from the last 20 years that has someone worthy of being in this conversation. 
IO, I agree with the comments about the Doors. LA Woman is one for me as well, but Break on Through is my top Doors tune. 
As far as the Stones....Gimme Shelter, hands down.....CRANK IT UP, and play it often. It is all of them at their absolute best, including Keith’s guitar work. Sadly though, hearing them play it over the last 30 years, it does lose the magic the original has. I was pumped for the Steel Wheels tour in 1989, and was not disappointed. 

[Irishman]

Similar topic. I did not create a separate one, but thought this would fit in well. We have mentioned Jim Morrison, Chris Cornell came up here, but they are in that category of gone too soon.

other frontmen gone too soon

I would have loved to see what Queen would have done, but part of me feels what we saw from Freddie at Live Aid was mainly because he knew his time was short.

Kurt Cobain....incredible poet, lacked an on stage presence, but it fed the persona or vibe of Nirvana

As I said above Chris Cornell, what a phenomenal talent. The possibilities were endless for him.Bon Scott....enough said
Michael Hutchence...just a sad and tragic story for someone so talented. 

others? 

Also, I was trying to think of females who were the front “person”.
Stevie Nicks comes to mind. And even though Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie were lead vocals on several songs, Stevie’s personality was the dominant one for the group. I cannot wait for a movie to come out about Fleetwood Mac. If you have not seen it, it very well may be the best Behind the Music episodes on VH 1. 
Does Ann Wilson count? I know she and Nancy are always spoken of together. But Ann does all the lead vocals. 
I did a quick google search for female rock singers, and most of them have what I referred to as support bands, and really were not the front person of a group....if that makes sense. And the ones that were, like Belinda Carlisle of the Go Gos 🤪😍, I don’t think they have the staying power of any of the bands we have mentioned. 

 

 

[Impartial_Observer]

1 hour ago, Irishman said:

Similar topic. I did not create a separate one, but thought this would fit in well. We have mentioned Jim Morrison, Chris Cornell came up here, but they are in that category of gone too soon.

other frontmen gone too soon

I would have loved to see what Queen would have done, but part of me feels what we saw from Freddie at Live Aid was mainly because he knew his time was short.

Kurt Cobain....incredible poet, lacked an on stage presence, but it fed the persona or vibe of Nirvana

As I said above Chris Cornell, what a phenomenal talent. The possibilities were endless for him.Bon Scott....enough said
Michael Hutchence...just a sad and tragic story for someone so talented. 

others? 

Also, I was trying to think of females who were the front “person”.
Stevie Nicks comes to mind. And even though Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie were lead vocals on several songs, Stevie’s personality was the dominant one for the group. I cannot wait for a movie to come out about Fleetwood Mac. If you have not seen it, it very well may be the best Behind the Music episodes on VH 1. 
Does Ann Wilson count? I know she and Nancy are always spoken of together. But Ann does all the lead vocals. 
I did a quick google search for female rock singers, and most of them have what I referred to as support bands, and really were not the front person of a group....if that makes sense. And the ones that were, like Belinda Carlisle of the Go Gos 🤪😍, I don’t think they have the staying power of any of the bands we have mentioned. 

 

 

A couple of names you mentioned popped out:

Michael Hutchence I could not agree more. Tragic story, INXS figured prominently in The Lost Boys soundtrack, Good Times with Jimmy Barnes classic three chords and a cloud of dust rock and roll. Don’t Change is a song I have always loved, one can only wonder what might have been.

Belinda Carlisle I absolutely love her voice. I will occasionally endure the songs just to listen to her sing. Oddly enough just had this conversation with Gonzo, a lot of female acts with music that I can’t stand, but I will listen just to hear them sing. A current act comes to mind is Little Big Town. I love the harmonies and how their voices work together, but find the music/songwriting to be boring, predictable, top 40. 

This is of course a different conversation and I apologize for steering the thread in another direction. I’ll be honest, with these PPP loans and their impossible timelines my wife working at home having to process them, I’ve spent the better part of the last three nights listening to music on YouTube with my ear pods. 

[Irishman]

I could not have stated it better IO as far as current female voices go. Mine is Lady Antebellum. Hillary Scott has an amazing voice. A couple of their songs are typical pop/country; cheesy, but her vocals make them worth listening to. Need You Now comes to mind immediately. As good as she is, the dude is just average.....sounds too much like so many other male singers in current Country. That said, their tribute to Kenny Rogers is phenomenal. 
 

enjoy

 

[gonzoron]

2 hours ago, Irishman said:

Also, I was trying to think of females who were the front “person”.

Female fronted rock bands seem to be very short lived for some reason. Can't even think of 1 that 'made it' for a decade. Eurythmics, Blondie, Joan Jett, Pat Benatar, just didn't stick around. The Pretenders with Chrissy Hinde probably the most successful, but who knows what would have happened if Janis Joplin had lived?

[gonzoron]

7 minutes ago, gonzoron said:

Female fronted rock bands seem to be very short lived for some reason. Can't even think of 1 that 'made it' for a decade. Eurythmics, Blondie, Joan Jett, Pat Benatar, just didn't stick around. The Pretenders with Chrissy Hinde probably the most successful, but who knows what would have happened if Janis Joplin had lived?

There are some who are also great guitar players who don't get much attention, but they're probably more known as "Blues". Susan Tedeschi, Samantha Fish and Orianthi.

 

[gonzoron]

And at risk of derailing this thread further, great female artists most people have never heard of, if you watched the Black Oak Arkansas video you saw Ruby Starr. I 'discovered' her the way I found artists back in the 70's. Buy an album by looking at the cover and reading liner notes. She never really hit it big, but has a great voice.

 

[Impartial_Observer]

Surprised talk of female leads and no one mentions Candy Slice

 

[DanteEstonia]

22 hours ago, Irishman said:

Great one DE 

I’m a bigger fan of Cornell’s solo work than his stuff with Soundgarten.

[Irishman]

30 minutes ago, DanteEstonia said:

I’m a bigger fan of Cornell’s solo work than his stuff with Soundgarten.

Audioslave is good too.