Dee Snider recently took on the endless debate about who might be the greatest frontperson of all time when a fan tweeted how much of a great ‘frontwoman’ Ann Wilson was. Twisted Sister rocker, however, seemed to disagree, tweeting:
“And here we go again… Does a great voice make them a great front person, or does it make them a great singer? Ann Wilson is without a doubt one of the greatest female vocalists of all time, but I’ve seen her live… She does not own the stage. But she doesn’t have to.”
As Snider felt having a great voice didn’t necessarily mean being a brilliant performer, one fan then pointed out how Alice Cooper could be the model frontman with his stage theatrics. However, the argument wasn’t enough to convince Dee, as the rocker shared why Cooper also didn’t fit the shoe, stating:
“Uh-oh. Last time I gave my analysis of Alice [one of my biggest influences], his manager wasn’t happy with me. In my honest opinion, Alice [like Michael Jackson] is in a 3rd category… Performer. Frontmen are more spontaneous [and] interact with the audience. Performers are more choreographed.”
Upon seeing how the singer defined the qualities of the model frontman, fans then started naming Freddie Mercury as the greatest of all time, but Snider also had none of that, as he picked who he thought could upstage Mercury, revealing:
“For what it’s worth, in my considered, educated opinion, the greatest singer [and9 frontman in history, bar none is… James Brown. Watch any doc on the man [usually produced and financed by Mick Jagger], James Brown was staggering.”
However, when Mercury’s fans resisted his stance with Brown, continuing to list the Queen singer as the ‘greatest showman of all time,’ Dee didn’t step back from his words about James, stating how he thought the late rocker could’ve rocked harder than Freddie:
“Freddie was amazing! [But] James Brown would eat him for lunch. Just saying!”
Snider then continued his tweets by praising his other picks, including Mick Jagger, Steven Tyler, Bruce Dickinson, and Judas Priest’s Robert Halford, writing about how they managed to become great vocalists and impressive showmen.
And here we go again…
Does a great voice make them a great front person or does it make them a great SINGER?
Ann Wilson is without a doubt one of the greatest female vocalists of all time, but I've seen her live…she does NOT own the stage. But she doesn't have to! https://t.co/al3xJVZjOZ
— Dee Snider🇺🇸🎤 (@deesnider) June 1, 2023
Uh-oh. Last time I gave my analysis of Alice (one of my biggest influences) his manager wasn't happy with me.
IMHO Alice (like Michael Jackson) is in a 3rd category…performer.
Frontmen are more spontaneous & interact with the audience. Performers are more choreographed. https://t.co/hrG2M8pcWg
— Dee Snider🇺🇸🎤 (@deesnider) June 1, 2023
For what it's worth, in my considered, educated opinion, the greatest singer/frontman in history, bar none is…JAMES BROWN.
Watch any doc on the man (usually produced and financed by @MickJagger), James Brown was staggering! https://t.co/I9cS8K0YDF
— Dee Snider🇺🇸🎤 (@deesnider) May 31, 2023
Freddie was AMAZING!
James Brown would eat him for lunch.
Just sayin'…. https://t.co/kwtut3CCoU
— Dee Snider🇺🇸🎤 (@deesnider) June 1, 2023
