Thursday Thirteen # 16 - We Are The Champions My Friends

I was watching VH1 classics the other day and they played Bohemian Rhapsody followed by Van Halen. I remarked to Kidlet that there were two of the greatest Front Men of all times. Which in turn gave me the idea for this list. Now first off, I had 13 choices people. 13. *13* That is not many. And I didn't include people like Hendrix or James Brown or Prince who God knows, OWNS as a Front Man. Why did I not list them? Mostly because when you think of them, you pretty much think of them and not a "band." Same goes for Springsteen. There are no Beatles on that list because unlike the Stones, they all sang. Now Ringo was no Lennon and I know that, but I think of the Beatles more as a "collective."

So without further ado I bring you my list, incomplete though it may be, of 13 Great Frontmen!


1. Freddie Mercury - Hands down the single greatest in my humble opinion. There was Freddie and then there was everyone else. We lost a huge talent there.

2. Diamond David Lee Roth - He may be just a Gigolo and Van Halen may have been reduced to a joke, but in their day, boy howdy. Saw them in concert. Twice. Still have hearing loss. And Dave? Dave was the man.

3. Robert Plant - The Tall Cool One. Although it is very nearly impossible to think Plant and not think Page as they played off of each other so much. But Robert had an intensity that pretty much locked you on his performance.

4. Bono - How many other front men double as the Messiah? And admit it? Bono is the man. And if you have seen them in concert you would be surprised to find that he is not quite the saint he is made out to be in the press. And he has a thing for the ladies ;)

5. Axl Rose - Will Axl sing? Will Axl scream at the crowd? Will Axl start throwing punches? Who knows, but you damn sure wanted to stick around and find out. Cause when he sang, Axl saved Metal from bands like Poison.

6. Michael Hutchence - Um ok, look I could totally go on about his talent, cause he was hugely talented. But people I saw the man in concert when I was 17. White shirt, black leather pants. I still get wobbly thinking about it. Hutch had talent and HUGE sex appeal.

7. Jim Morrison - The font of all shamanesque sex appeal and the Lizard King of the black leather pants. Morrison was Morrison. What more do I need to say?

8. Kurt Cobain - Patron saint and martyr of Generation X. Regardless of who killed him, we all helped with our adulation. Kurt was goofball in person. Something I think you would have had to have seen very early on in his career before he became the voice of a generation. We really lost a good one there.

9. Mick Jagger - The Original Bad Boy. Got to love The Mick. How can you NOT love The Mick? Who else would have the balls to write and sing Under My Thumb? Mick did and does and manages to make you wanna be under that thumb all at the same time. That is talent.

10. James Hetfield - James-AH has-Ah an entire-Ah speech pattern-AH all to-Ah himself -AH. Plus he set himself on fire on stage. That totally rocks! The Napster thing, not so much.
PS...Lars you are a dink.

11. Billie Joe Armstrong - Pint sized but my God does this boy have energy. Billie actually sounds like Billie live. He is not one of those canned in the studio voices. He is also all OVER that stage and totally gets involved with the audience. Hands down the best rock show I have seen. (Desert honey, don't get pissed, U2 shows are more like a religious experience, mmk?)

12. Joe Strummer - Citizen Strummer was the man. I was beyond fucking bummed when he died. Just crushed. I totally was holding out for a reunion. And yes, Mick Jones sang too, blah blah blah, bite me. Joe Strummer WAS The Clash.

13. Johnny Rotten - What can one say about Johnny that he has not already said himself? The tag line to 24 Hour Party People comes to mind. Genius. Poet. Twat. John went beyond being a front man. He was a movement.