40 Best Frontmen of Rock (according to me)

Submitted by blindsider on Mon, 02/02/2009 - 12:55

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Music

1. Mick Jagger (Rolling Stones)
2. Jim Morrison (The Doors)
3. Freddie Mercury (Queen)
4. Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin)
5. Ozzy Osbourne (Black Sabbath, Ozzy)
6. Steven Tyler (Aerosmith)
7. David Lee Roth (Van Halen)
8. Michael Stipe (REM)
9. Axl Rose (Guns N Roses)
10. Ronnie James Dio (Black Sabbath, Dio)
11. Rob Halford (Judas Priest)
12. Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden)
13. Bono (U2)
14. James Hetfield (Metallica)
15. Steve Perry (Journey)
16. Roger Daltrey (The Who)
17. Robert Smith (The Cure)
18. Sting (The Police)
19. Lemmy Kilmister (Motorhead)
20. Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails)
21. Brian Johnson (AC/DC)
22. Ronnie Van Zant (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
23. Kurt Cobain (Nirvana)
24. Iggy Pop (The Stooges)
25. Vince Neil (Motley Crue)
26. Eddie Vedder (Pearl Jam)
27. Sammy Hagar (Van Halen)
28. Johnny Rotten (Sex Pistols)
29. Serj Tankian (System of a Down)
30. Thom Yorke (Radiohead)
31. Scott Weiland (Stone Temple Pilots)
32. Chris Martin (Coldplay)
33. Anthony Keidis (Red Hot Chili Peppers)
34. Zack de la Rocha (Rage Against the Machine)
35. David Coverdale (Whitesnake)
36. Joe Strummer (The Clash)
37. Ian Gillan (Deep Purple)
38. Joey Ramone (The Ramones)
39. Ian Astbury (The Cult)
40. Billie Joe Armstrong (Green Day)

AdamJLawton01/25/2011

James Brown, Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Otis Redding, Tina Turner, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, Prince, Bruce Springsteen... So many left off the list...

blindsider01/26/2011

All solo artists...

suspension08/06/2011

Solo artists aren't frontmen? HUH? And regardless, Bruce Springsteen is with out a doubt, a member of a band, not a solo artist. Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band is a band.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/frontman someone who leads a musical group blah blah blah. James Brown led a musical group, did he not? Otis, Prince, also didn't perform on stage ALONE if I remember correctly. They didn't play all the instruments so we can assume they were part of a group.

....Just sayin' Also. I'm wondering why you put Plant at 4. He's a good frontman, but I've thought that the likes of Daughtly, and especially Bono had a much stronger live prescense.

blindsider08/07/2011

This list is subjective, so it's simply based on my opinion. I believe Robert Plant is just fine at 4, but other opinions may differ

Yeah, yeah, solo artists could be considered 'frontmen' but I didn't feel like calling this list 'greatest frontmen of various bands' or whathaveyou.

It's an old list, and I'll probably leave it the way it is

Have you considered making a list of your own?

suspension08/07/2011

Definitely... expect a "Greatest Frontmen in rock" from me. Might do a favorite movie list at some point

AdamJLawton01/26/2011

Yeah, all solo artists, but they all have bands supporting them, and they all have the vocal duties on their albums. And a frontman is someone who is seen as the leader, eg. Elvis Presley. Nobody thought he was in a trio with Scotty and Bill taking equal importance. And besides, a great frontman is someone who has great crowd control and can make the masses go wild (eg. Freddie Mercury at Live Aid). A frontman isn't just the lead person of a band.

blindsider01/27/2011

I know a frontman isn't 'just the lead person in a band'. Thus, why I titled this '40 best', for reasons you described (captured the audience, crowd control).

True, solo artist have supporting bands, but they aren't members of that band. The band is simply there as a necessity. Elvis was a solo artist. A frontman is the lead singer in a band. Elvis is not, in my belief, a frontman. He is a solo artist. Was, rather

AdamJLawton01/27/2011

A frontman is the person most recognisable on the concert stage. Elvis was that, by many magnitudes. A frontman is not necessarily restricted to being in a band.

megairondragondeth02/02/2011

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40 Best Frontmen of Rock (according to me)

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