Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider weighed in on the ongoing debate among Bon Jovi fans over who truly carried the vocals in the band. He shared his thoughts during a Q&A session on his X account.
The exchange began when a fan asked Snider which song he wished he had written first. This prompted him to praise both the music and the vocal contributions of Richie Sambora.
“There’s a few… ‘Wanted Dead or Alive’ [by Bon Jovi] is one,” Snider said. “Richie Sambora’s vocals are underrated too. I didn’t realize how much singing he did (all the high parts) until I watched them from side stage. He’s the singer in that band.”
The conversation continued as fans expressed surprise at Snider’s claim. One fan noted they had always assumed Jon Bon Jovi sang the high parts.
“It ain’t,” Snider replied plainly.
When another fan pushed back, asking whether Sambora was responsible for the high parts even on the early track “Runaway,” Snider drew a clear distinction.
“No. That’s BR (before Richie),” he said. “Jon gets full ‘credit’ for the high part at the end!”
The comments sparked further discussion among fans, highlighting the often-overlooked vocal role Sambora played throughout Bon Jovi’s career.
Snider’s remarks add a notable outside perspective to a conversation that has been growing louder since Sambora’s departure from the band. The conversation touches not just on vocals, but on the broader question of what made Bon Jovi sound like Bon Jovi.
Wikipedia notes that Sambora was a member of Bon Jovi from 1983 to 2013, serving as the band’s lead guitarist while also providing backing vocals. He played a major role in songwriting throughout his three-decade tenure. His harmonies were widely regarded as a core element of the band’s signature sound, though his contributions behind the microphone were rarely spotlighted in the way his guitar work was.
That creative partnership, however, appeared to fracture before his 2013 exit. WJRZ reported that Sambora alluded to being squeezed out of the songwriting process. He revealed that Jon Bon Jovi had begun collaborating with producer and guitarist John Shanks without him — a decision Sambora said “shook” him. He also stated that the new material “didn’t sound like the band,” a sentiment that, in hindsight, lends weight to Snider’s argument that Sambora’s presence was inseparable from the band’s identity.
Sambora has since indicated he would be open to a return. He has also suggested that Jon Bon Jovi’s shift toward a more solo-oriented direction may have made his departure feel inevitable. The dynamic he described points to a band where the frontman’s name on the marquee increasingly overshadowed the contributions of those performing alongside him — including, as Snider now makes clear, on the vocal front.
The evidence has become harder to ignore in recent years. Following Sambora’s departure, many fans and observers noted that the high notes once woven seamlessly into Bon Jovi’s live performances began disappearing from set arrangements altogether. As one commenter noted on a John Fogerty Facebook post featuring a Sambora cover performance: “Jon needed Richie’s vocals. His voice is shot now, many of the high notes Richie supported have been taken out of the song arrangements.” Dee Snider’s candid remarks from the side stage only reinforce what the live performances have quietly confirmed for years.
