Greatest Front man (or woman) of all-time - Selection Show
Greatest front man ever (or front women) aka the greatest Front Person of all-time
Quest is to name the greatest front man of all time — and i’ve now shared this idea with two people — both said unsolicited — Gonna be tough to pick anybody over Freddy Mercury
True story — but just as the Super Bowl trophy is named after Vince Lombardi, everyone once in a while somebody rights an article about maybe it should be renamed for another great coach. First question, is Freddy Mercury too good to be on this list, or does he have to earn a victory to get this trophy named after him?
My original questions to Rosco P were as follows - and Rosco can answer:
Do we get to count people like Bruno mars?
Do we put an era limit / genre limit on this - ie is James brown too early or not? Are we counting country singers/ Raggae singers?
Is anyone too good to be included - Freddy Mercury for instance?
Can anyone not get a fair trail ? Bruce Springsteen wouldn’t but we’re excluding him any way
Are all people like Tom Petty out? Because they are technically a solo act w a backing band?
Are we essentially looking for David Lee Roth types? Fronted an actual band?
Thinking 1981-2016 edition. Couple names to get it going - Anthony kedis Gwen stefani no doubt era. Scott weiland. All of the Seattle big 4. Axl. David Lee Roth? Steven Tyler?
Rosco thoughts - off the dome I would say no genre of era limit. No solo acts (Michael Jackson, Madonna, Prince, Bruno Mars). Tom Petty is a tough call. I think he's I'm but need to think more about it. James Brown and Hendrix are tough calls. Probably out but not sure yet.
Beatles - Out — they had 2 and a half front men — if this was best bands ever — sure Beatles win it But this is about front men (or women) of bands
Drillings 3’s should’ve been called “2 and a half frontmen”
311 has a similar issue
Rolling stone did 100 best singers, and that’s where you’ll find Elvis and Johnny Cash and Ella Fitzgerald and Prince and Mary J Blige
Criteria for eligibility: Can’t be a solo artist or the named singer fronting a back-up band
Actual lead singers of actual bands — that’s who qualifies — it wasn’t Freddy Mercury & Queen — it was Queen
Format - 8 auto bids - Rosco Picks 4, Gavin picks 4 — and then 8 at-large bids
Fan vote: hit us up on Twitter, on Facebook, on soundcloud, on iTunes or on FilibusterFreestyle.com and nominate someone we might’ve missed
It’s gonna be a bracket style elimination tournament
if Rosco and Gavin agree on any of their 4, it opens up another at-large bid (Fans of the freestyle — send us your suggestions
Here are the areas the judges will be grading on
- Sizzling dance moves/ stage presence
- Singing ability
- distinctness of voice (which is close to number 2, but also very important
- X Factor/ It Factor/ and or legendary partying stories from the road/ antics
- Commercial success/ critical acclaim
Steve Perry from Journey - Good command of Arena crowds all over the globe, BIG TIME VOICE, very distinct voice, not any off the dome X factor stories, huge commercial success to say the least
Sting of The Police — Decent stage presence, fantastic singer, uber distinct voice, Tantric references alone are off the charts here, huge commercial success (though arguably more as a solo artist)
Adam Levine - Maroon 5 (That’s a pass for me)
Trent Reznor (Is he truly eligible?)
Chris Martin of Coldplay — I’ve seen this due on the old Palladia / Glastonbury Days — this guy owns crowds. Great voice, distinct voice, not a ton of X factor stories i’m aware of, massive success
Robert Smith of the Cure — Not enough of a front man — but probably one of the best song writers on here
Ann Wilson of Heart (did Nancy Wilson sing too much to count here) // while we’re here Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane??
Brendan Flowers from the killers - I love this guy — i don’t think he’s gonna get in
Caleb Followill from kings of Leon (voice distinctiveness matters a bit) — I really love this guy - Decent stage presence, very good voice, ultra distinct voice, tons of booze bender related stories, fantastic critical acclaim
Joe strummer. from the Clash Meh?
Lead singer of cheap trick ? Robin Zander — he’s got a sneaky good resume including Rock & Roll hall of fame — still a no for me
James Hetfield- Dave Mustane - these guys are metal — ozzy clearly take the Metal throne - so they’re out
Pick #2: Mick Jaggar - He’s one of my automatic bids - saw him in the encyclopedia one time - he was HUGE
Pick #3: Axl Rose - He’s one of my automatic bids (all the G n R stuff, plus AC/DC just hired him)
Pick #7: Anthony Kiedis - infinite charisma, limited singer, ultra distinctive voice, tons of X factor, tons of success and acclaim
Billy Joe Armstrong - Green Day — As far as Corporate Punk Rock from the 90’s goes — this guys has all the tools - i can’t rule him out
Geddy Lee - Rush — Geddy is lacking in stage presence, but that’s only cuz he’s slappa da bass, mon — great and distinctive voice
Brian Johnson - AC/DC — Stage presence check, limited singer, super distinct, tons of road antics, tons of success writing the same album 14 times in a row
Gwen Stefani from No Doubt days — I love the idea of getting her in — huge charisma, good voice, distinct voice, style and x factor for days, lots of success but more as a solo artist
Scott Weiland — Handsome as EFF, Charismatic as EFF, literally almost became the first guy to defeat heroin addition without quitting, really good voice, pretty distinctive voice, fantastic stories, fronted 2 big-time bands, out partied Slash and Duff from G N R, great commercial success
Pick #5: David Lee Roth — How can this guy, at his APEX, not get in? DO i even need to waste an auto-bid on Diamond Dave???
Paul Stanley - Kiss — Here’s the thing — i could talk about Paul Stanley all day — i love Paul Stanley. BUT, (DO A PAUL STANLEY VOICE) he ain’t no Stephen Tyler, He ain’t Diamond Dave, he’s a CARTOON CHARATERRRRRRR
Chris Cornell - Seattle — Eddie Vedder, Kurt Cobain, Layne Staley
Jack White ? Is this a band or a duet
Stokes singer- Julian Casablancas - probably
How about Pharrell in neptunes? Or Cee Loo in goodie mob / gnarls Barkley??
Dave Grohl — Grohl checks ever single box on this list at a high level — plus he was the drummer for NIrvana — maybe too much of a musician/ song writer for his own good?
Debbie Harry — X factor, first female punk star (plus they did some disco and some rap), Great voice, kinda distinctive, commercial successful
Jim Morrison - I respect this dude. I respect the Doors — but I kinda hate the doors, and feel biased
Pick #8 Bono — Lots of X factor and Charisma, Huge Voice, Distinct as eff, Crazy Successful to the point of being able to become a geopolitical ambassador (which might hurt his case in this contest)
Pick #6 Jon Bon Jovi— Watch out for JBJ — the guy has been relevant in 4 different decades — he’s an ageless, timeless, wonder. I might need to use an autobid on JBJ
Robert Plant — OK this guy - stage presence wasn’t his thing (in the classic front man sense), but who’s better looking? Who’s got a better voice? HIs voice is as distinct as anyone, and the success and acclaim of LED ZEP is at the top of the heap. plus, we haven’t even gotten into the “stories” the movie almost famous is based on them and you know it’s turned WAAAAY Down
Pick #4 Steven Tyler — How does he not get in — Has the best moves on this list, Great voice, Distinct voice, all kinds of stories about these dudes, all kinds of success in multiple decades, and helped launch Hip Hop as a commercially viable genre with their cross over video of Walk this way with Run DMC
Pick #1: Freddy Mercury - he is the list
Ozzy Ozborn - Ozzy is kind of the Metal version of Robert Plant - just not as good looking nor talented of a singer — but also bit the head off of a bat turning a meeting with his record company
Who’s in: Steven Tyler, Mick Jaggar, Freddy Mercury, Axl Rose, David Lee Roth, Jon Bon Jovi, Chris Cornell, Chuck D
Stevie Nicks ? Fleetwood Mac — Too much success as a solo artist?
Annie Lennox ???? The Eurythmics — Same question as Stevie
Iggy Pop - The Stooges - I’ll just say “NO”
John Fogarty - Creedance - Also a “No"
Thom Yorke - Radio Head — Also a “No"
Roger Daltrey - the Who — See i can make an argument that this guy is marginalized by The Who getting drowned out by the Stones and Beatles. Also, I feel like he and Robert Plant if they go toe to toe — it’s a lot closer of a contest then one would suspect. Better Moves on Stage, Voice is almost as good and almost as distinctive, Keith moon was in his band so he’s got “Stories/ antics” covered, they wrote the first “Rock opera” of all time
Chuck D - Just sayin’ - i think he’s got a legit case as a front man
Tina Turner? Smokey Robinson?
Lionel Ritchie Commodores