The Greatest Frontman of All-Time - Elimination Tournament
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
Brackets:
Charisma Bracket:
David Lee Roth Vs Paul Stanley - To me this one is very easy - my only concerns on DLR is the fact that as lead singer of Van Halen- ultimately he was replaceable.
Sammy wasn’t as good, but he made people forget about Dave. And Dave, didn’t hold up well as a solo artist or even in his rebooted VH appearances.
One question - was Paul Stanley replaced in KISS for a bit as well??
But if I rank these guys in any of our five categories - David Lee Roth beats Paul Stanley in all 5 — “Jump” was nominated for a Grammy in 1985 (As well as several VMA’s and AMA’s, etc) - Kiss did win a People’s choice award in 1977 for “Beth” but this matchup is a cake walk for diamond dave.
Kurt Cobain vs Dave Grohl - Hot Take on Grohl vs Cobain - I like Foo Fighters better than Nirvana. I agree that Dave Grohl has become a better front man… but, what if none of it would’ve happened without Kurt Cobain. Kurt Cobain gave Grohl a platform and Grohl ran with it — but there’s an argument that Curt was good and made Nirvana so big, that he is the reason Dave is even in our consciousness. Curt is an ICON — part of what hurts his case is a brief career — but part of what helps his case is his brief career
Sizzling moves/ stage presence - I gotta go with Grohl
Singing Ability - I gotta of with Grohl again / but it’s a larger and more broad sample size
Distinctiveness of Voice - Cobain easy
X Factor — I think for as much as Grohl has done to become an ICON over 20 years — Kurt Cobain was the whole enchilada from Jump street
Commercial success Critical acclaim - Well you pretty much give Grohl at least some credit for Nirvana’s success and you can’t give Kurt ‘direct’ credit for Foo Fighters’ success
Foot fighters have been nominated for 91 total awards, winning 26 of them - including 27 grammy nominations and 11 grammy wins
Nirvana has been nominated 25 times with 12 wins, including 7 grammy nominations and 1 win
I’m picking Cobain
Energizer Bunny Bracket:
Mick Jaggar Vs Eddie Vedder
This is a heavy weight battle -
Sizzling moves/ Stage presence: Jaggar all day, Maroon 5 didn’t write “Moves like Vedder” they wrote “Moves like Jaggar”
Singing Ability - this is tough for Mick cuz now we’re seeing 70 year old Mick since - but overall I think maybe Eddie in a close one
Distinctiveness of voice — same deal this is really tough - two incredibly distinct voices — I’m voting for a “push”
X Factor - In terms of true Front Man persona - I gotta go with Mick - In 7th grade Mick Jaggar was in my english class encyclopedia wearing a Philadelphia eagles jersey on stage the Encyclopedia company deemed him worthwhile enough to document as existing — that’s X factor people
Commercial success/ Critical Acclaim: Pearl Jam 37 nominations including 12 wins - 15 grammy noms with 2 wins - Rolling Stones won 2 Grammys in 1994 for Voodoo Lounge and Love is Strong
I’m going with Mick Jaggar
Bon Jovi vs Bono
Another heavyweight matchup - two polarizing figures
Sizzling Moves: This is very tough — I’d say in the 80’s it was JBJ thanks for the Glam Rock era of antics and showmanship. I’d say in the 90’s it would shift to Bono - I’m punting on this category for now
Singing ability: Again - super tough - both guys have range, versatility, etc — I’m going slight edge to Bono
Distinctiveness of voice — JBJ is usually distinctive, Bono is always distinctive
X Factor — Bono is tough to beat in this realm — but I gotta go slight edge to JBJ - he’s even charmed Bill Belicheck as a super fan
Commercial Success/ Critical Acclaim: Bon Jovi 68 nominations with 22 wins, including 9 grammy noms and 1 win - U2 has won 95 awards including winning 22 grammys - U2 wins this category hands down
I’m taking Bono is a marathon death match
Epic Voice Bracket:
Axl Rose vs Anthony Keidis - Anthony could be a huge match up problem for a lot of people on this list — and so could Axl Rose - it’s fitting that they are up against each other
Sizzling Moves: Nobody is going to question that Keidis’ career is based upon sizzling moves — but Axl in the 1980’s and frankly Axl last summer does such a great job still, that I’ll give Keidis the win in this category but not by a lot
Distinctiveness of voice - again two dudes who totally stand out in a crowd. I’m going with Axl though
Singing Ability: Axl... Nuff said… next question
X Factor: here’s a hot take - Both Axl and Keidis are beneficiaries of at least 1 other mega persona in their respective bands - Slash and Flea.
My ultimate take away is that Red Hot Chili Peppers are an X-Factor band (with at least two virtuosos at their peak Flea and John F - plus Chad Smith is no slouch). GNR is not fully respected as GNR without Axl and Slash on stage together. Duff matters a lot to legitimizing that lineup too, but Axl ain’t Freddy Mercury and neither is Keidis. I’m going with a “push” on this one
Commercial Success/ Critical Acclaim: GNR 27 nominations w 10 wins, 3 grammy noms 0 wins — RHCP 68 nominations, 23 wins - 16 grammy nominations and 6 wins — Keidis wins this (with help from his band)
Robert Plant vs Chris Cornell
Battle of the big time voices - might be the two best singers in this whole tournament
Sizzling moves — neither one of these dudes is big on the captivating moves - but Rosco talk about seeing Cornell’s one man show again…
Distinctiveness of voice: Cornell has distinctive voice — but Robert Plant is pretty singular — i’m going Robert Plant
Singing Ability: This is such a tough call — but i think Cornell’s versatility (Audio Slave, Sound Garden, Ave Maria) gives him the edge
X Factor: The partying antics of Zeppelin count a lot here - Almost Famous was based off of Zeppelin - Unless Rosco can sway me, I’m going Robert Plant
Commercial Success and Critical Acclaim: Led Zeppelin has been nominated for 896 awards, winning 638 of them. Including 7 Grammy Noms with 5 wins /// Soundgarden 10 noms total with 4 wins — 8 grammy noms with 2 wins - Cornell was nominated for 3 more grammys with Audio slave and 3 more as a solo artist with 2 more wins - Soooo Cornell is in the mix
Triple threat Braket:
Freddy Mercury vs Chuck D
Tough Matchup for Chuck D
Sizzling Moves - Nobody is beating Freddy
Distinctiveness of Voice: Chuck D is distinctive, Freddy is more distinctive
Singing ability — Well Chuck D’s rapping ability is fantastic — but Freddy can sing his face off
X Factor — very strong category for Chuck D - but I’m still going Freddy
Commercial Success / Critical Acclaim - Queen very surprising only 3 noms and zero grammy wins /// Public Enemy has 6 grammy nominations and zero wins
Steven Tyler vs Scott Weiland
Steven Tyler took a lot of heat getting into this thing /// Scott Weiland had a love fest getting in (despite being a 3 seed)
Sizzling moves: Steven Tyler has great moves, especially pre-Year 2000
Distinctiveness of voice: Steven Tyler again, I’d say
Singing ability: Scotty Weiland
X Factor: Steven Tyler has a lot of this, he truly does — but I gotta go with Scotty Dubs on this one
Commercial Success/ Critical Acclaim: STP 4 Grammy noms Zero Wins, Velvet Revolver 3 noms with 1 win for Slither in 2005 /// Aerosmith 79 total noms with 32 total wins. 17 Grammy noms with 4 grammy wins