what was the first artist you really became a fan of?

jstate wrote:

All started with Ozzie. Heard Flyin High Again on a K-tel comp and that's pretty much where my music fandom began.

Yeah I remember being completely obsessed with Ozzy and Sabbath around 4th grade. So obsessed that I got sick of it and became a classical nut.

The Beatles, then Queen. I had a good start. Then I started getting into Deep Purple, Yes, Rush, Zeppelin, and other hard/progressive rock stuff because of my dad, and here we are today!

I grew up in a christian home (Still am a Christian and proud of it), where I listened to oldies, meaning the 60's, Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, Benny Hester, and salsa music.

For me it was Petra. The first album I got was NOT OF THIS WORLD, which I still love to this day.

For secular music, it probably was Iron Maiden. My friend let me borrow his SOMEWHERE IN TIME CD. I was hooked immediately. Loved it.

Then it was Intense Record's Hot Metal IV video which introduced me to Tamplin, Angelica, Deliverance, Ransom, Tourniquet, and Vengeance Rising. That started my path into what I listen to today.

Meatloaf - A friend played the Bat Out Of Hel album on his discman (remember those?) on schooltrip with our school in Slovenia when I was about 8 years old - I was simply amazed by the music, especially the title track - Everytime I hear that brilliant guitar lead after the intro, I get goosebumps - I'm still a fan to this day, though I only consider the Steinman albums to be "real" Meatloaf.

He also had an old madonna cd with him, and we enjoyed that as well

It wasn't a metal band that's for sure. It was Michael Jackson. There goes all me cred! haha

The first song of his I really dug, was "Beat it." However, what really grabbed me about it was the guitar playing, and the solo by Eddie Van Halen. So, I already had a liking for the "sound." I picked up THRILLER on cassette, and my mom had OFF THE WALL which I snagged from her. I couldn't do the moonwalk worth a damn, though! I also got into Van Halen for the reason stated earlier.

Marvin Gaye as a child, because my mom played one of his greatest hits CDs during car rides for many years. It conjures up nothing but the fondest of memories to this very day, and it still manages to put a smile on my face whenever I hear his music...

The first band I became truly obsessed with was definitely BLACK SABBATH: my mother was driving me to either fifth or sixth grade one morning, and knowing that I had recently taken an interest in heavier stuff like Maiden and Metallica, held up an old cassette of Paranoid. All I know is that I saw some guy holding a shield and wielding a sword, and this struck me immediately as something incredible, because I'd always loved the Zelda games and fantasy. So, she put it on, and that's all I could think about from that moment on.

I think I might have failed every test in school that day.

TheDoctor'sScarf wrote:

Marvin Gaye as a child, because my mom played one of his greatest hits CDs during car rides for many years. It conjures up nothing but the fondest of memories to this very day, and it still manages to put a smile on my face whenever I hear his music...

The first band I became truly obsessed with was definitely BLACK SABBATH: my mother was driving me to either fifth or sixth grade one morning, and knowing that I had recently taken an interest in heavier stuff like Maiden and Metallica, held up an old cassette of Paranoid. All I know is that I saw some guy holding a shield and wielding a sword, and this struck me immediately as something incredible, because I'd always loved the Zelda games and fantasy. So, she put it on, and that's all I could think about from that moment on.

I think I might have failed every test in school that day.

Your mom sounds like a cool lady, introducing her son to Black Sabbath, does not get any cooler then that.

She also likes Priest, Nazareth, BOC, and Zeppelin!

Yup, she's the best mom! I owe a lot to her.

I remember riding around with my uncle When I was in 6th grade listening to Poison - Flesh and Blood, Shortly thereafter a friend of mine from down the street let me borrow his copy of "To Hell with the Devil." I heard Petra very soon after and "Beyond Belief" was the first album that I ever bought. To this day I still cannot stand Nirvana, even tho they exploded that summer.

Poison, Stryper and Petra were the first bands that I fell in love with. The second 2 still see regular play time in my Van. sad to say that while I still enjoy Poison, they have not weathered the times as well.

I think the first band I remember really loving was Scorpions when I was a little kid. I saw the video for "Rock You Like a Hurricane" and later my older sister gave me a copy of Love at First Sting on cassette. That was pretty much what started my love for metal in retrospect. I was pretty fortunate to have a family that was into a lot of different music, hard rock and metal included.

TheDoctor'sScarf wrote:

She also likes Priest, Nazareth, BOC, and Zeppelin!

Yup, she's the best mom! I owe a lot to her.

My mom liked / still likes Maiden, Priest, Dio, Queen, etc, and I inherited her Zeppelin vinyls. Hail to heavy metal moms! \m/

arachnoplasma wrote:

I think the first band I remember really loving was Scorpions when I was a little kid. I saw the video for "Rock You Like a Hurricane" and later my older sister gave me a copy of Love at First Sting on cassette. That was pretty much what started my love for metal in retrospect. I was pretty fortunate to have a family that was into a lot of different music, hard rock and metal included.

TheDoctor'sScarf wrote:

She also likes Priest, Nazareth, BOC, and Zeppelin!

Yup, she's the best mom! I owe a lot to her.

My mom liked / still likes Maiden, Priest, Dio, Queen, etc, and I inherited her Zeppelin vinyls. Hail to heavy metal moms! \m/

I don't have a metal mom, but my dad is pretty metal. He's got Sabbath, Zeppelin, Zappa, UFO, and a whole bunch of other great vinyls. I was raised well!

The first I can remember were J Giles and AC/DC.

Elvis Presley 1964...
Johnny Cash 1965...
Marty Robbins 1966...
The Beatles 1968...
Black Sabbath 1969...
And then the music world forever changed for me and I have been on a quest for Metal since...
And yeah...I am an old Smurf!

HeartsOfMetal wrote:

Elvis Presley 1964...
Johnny Cash 1965...
Marty Robbins 1966...
The Beatles 1968...
Black Sabbath 1969...
And then the music world forever changed for me and I have been on a quest for Metal since...
And yeah...I am an old Smurf!

Johnny Cash rocks!!

Yeah he did. 'Ring of Fire' always has been my fav of his. So complex, yet simple...He was Metal and didn't even know it!

It was KISS. My neighbors who were a little older than me were huge fans and when I heard the band I was hooked.

I would say the first 2 artists I became a fan of were Metallica and Iron Maiden.

This was back in the early 90s.

I got into both bands around the same time as I received albums by both as a gift from family.

The first band for me was Disturbed......

The_Jayroh wrote:

The first band for me was Disturbed......

Disturbed was one of my transition bands into metal, and being in a band with guys that love Disturbed, I've grown to appreciate them again.