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Who is the best rock’nroll Frontman?

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Honored Social Butterfly

Who is the best rock’nroll Frontman?

You know who I’m talking about, he or

she is the one that sets the stage on

FIRE in the group. So who is your

favorite rock Frontman? Let us know
why, if you want, 
or you can even rank

your top 10 or more.

(Bands who don’t have a dedicated

frontman, such as the Beatles, probably

don’t qualify)

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Contributor

 Freddy Mercury was the best frontman I have ever seen.  Just recalling the Live Aid performance Queen gave at Wimbley Statium and the worlds response it enough said.

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Honored Social Butterfly

Sting.  Whether it's with a punk/reggae/rock trio, a jazz/rock band or alone on stage, he's mesmerizing.  

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Honored Social Butterfly

David Bowie

I saw Bowie in 1987 for his Glass Spider

Tour. From start to finish, what an amazing

show. Bowie was a great entertainer, an

absolute showman, who kept you

entertained from start to finish. I still

miss his music to this day

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Bronze Conversationalist

I saw Bowie for the Serious Moonlight Tour in 1983 and the Reality Tour in 2004. His stage presence is beyond compare and the band players are so tight no matter who is playing with him. Earl Slick is a favorite! I still feel sad when I think there will be no more new David Bowie songs, but I feel grateful that I saw these two unbelievable shows

 

 

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Honored Social Butterfly

I have a bunch of favs here, but today I’m

gonna go with the incredible Mick Jagger.

His high energy combined with his

dancing and facial expressions

still amaze me! Just love him 💜🎼

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Honored Social Butterfly

Now that's a tough one!

 

For pure energy and showmanship, as well as powerful vocals, I'd go with Roger Daltrey and Mick Jagger. They both have a masterful stage presence.

 

For sheer vocal ability, I'd have to say that they don't get much better than Ian Gillan in his prime. He had an amazing range with a lot of control, and timbre in his voice. He was hired to sing the role of Jesus on the rock album JC Superstar. They offered him the stage role, but he declined since he was ready to go on tour with Deep Purple. He also had those remarkable high note banshee screams that were on pitch and with vibrato, at times. Sadly, that voice gave way too early in his career. He seemed to have a lot of respiratory problems, was known to smoke a lot, and those screams do take a toll on the vocal chords. (He writes about it in his autobiography).

 

I will also put Klaus Meine on this list. This band has always had a lot of energy, and Klaus can sing those great power ballads, as well as the hard hitting rock songs. He also has a good range, even now.

 

All four are still active. I won't bother to rank them. They are all great.

 

“When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.” - Jimi Hendrix
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Social Butterfly

Bruce Springsteen

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Diana Ross

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David Gilmour

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Freddie Mercury

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Smokey Robinson

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Jon Bon Jovi

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Bono

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Tom Petty- May you Rest in Peace

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David Bowie- May You Rest in Peace

 

 

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Steven Wilson-his band and with 2 other projects: Porcupine Tree and Blackfield

 

 

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Joan Jett

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Roger Waters

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Jeff Beck- What else can I say!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Anthony Kiedis- The Red Hot Chili Peppers

 

 

 

 

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Lindsey Buckingham, The Mac

 

He was so good they had to replace him 

with TWO guys! I saw The Mac in concert

three times and the energy he brought to

the stage and his connection with the

audience is unbelievable. A huge loss to
all of us by 
moving forward without him 

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Bronze Conversationalist

I have seen Fleetwood Mac a few times but it was a Lindsey Buckingham solo show in 2006 that has left me thinking of his performance of "I'm So Afraid." It literally took my breath away. Fleetwood Mac is not the same band without him. A disappointing move to let him go.

 

 

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Honored Social Butterfly

I would also have Bono and Jon Bon Jovi on my top 10 list. (So I'm up to 6 of 10 now, in no particular order).

 

Bono moves around the stage like a whirling dervish, climbs over all sorts of stuff. Once he went up on a catwalk and just dove into the crowd. Sometimes the band has no idea where he is. I had the good fortune to see U2 in concert, 2001 Elevation Tour. (I'll post it in the concert topic.)

 

I tend to think of David Bowie as a solo artist, rather than a frontman for a band. He was one of the most influential artists of the 20th century, no doubt about it. He is missed very much. There are some really good video concerts of him posted on YT. I have watched a few of them.

 

 

“When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.” - Jimi Hendrix
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Honored Social Butterfly

I hesitated to list Bowie but as he was

already mentioned and he did have a

band with him, I decided to go with it!

I am enjoying all the posts and everyone’s

stories 💜🎼 

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Glen Frey

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David Ruffin

 

What would the Temptations and My Girl been without him.

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John Fogerty

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Prince

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Steve Perry and Journey

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Rounding out my top 10 list: 

 

Grace Slick - amazing vocalist, a leader in the psychedelic rock movement, and major influence on other women rock vocalists that followed.

 

Linda Ronstadt - another ground breaking female rock vocalist who could stand with the best of them, and another major influence on those who came after.

 

Ann Wilson - legendary female rock vocalist, considered one pf the best heavy metal vocalists of all time. If you haven't heard this cover of Stairway to Heaven honoring Led Zeppelin, it's amazing, one of the best performances I've ever seen. Plant was in tears. I posted it under Great Covers topic a long time ago.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFxOaDeJmXk

 

Robert Plant - And speaking of LZ, no way could I leave him off of a top 10 list!

 

So many others that could be here (Janis Joplin, James Hetfield), but those are my favorites, and the ones that really stand out for me. My picks tend to be geared toward early classic rock, especially hard rock, b/c that's what I've always listened to.

 

“When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.” - Jimi Hendrix
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