The Ultimate Frontman

The first three that come to mind for me are (not in order of rank) Dee Snider, David Lee Roth, and Blackie Lawless.

These three all have charisma, larger than life ego, stage presence, can work the room, and have instantly recognizable vocals. I know there is more to it than those characteristics, but it's late and I am pretty buzzed. Feel free to agree or disagree and/ or post your top 3 (or one, ha!) with a brief reason why.

Those are great ones and I'd add Sebastian Bach to the list.

But the greatest frontman of all-time in my opinion will and forever be...

Freddie Mercury!!!!!

Robert Plant was incredible. Jim Morrison was riveting.
I think of Ozzy in the early 80’s. He really brought metal in -
I thought the singer for Lynyrd Skynyrd - the concert videos - was great.

Good call on all those guys Glower.

Robert Plant and Ronnie Van Zandt could flat out sing their asses off.

Jim Morrison is a different animal.  I think his vocals are pretty "meh" but it's his showmanship that really shines.

Jim Morrison, charismatic and had an element danger
Bon Scott, rouge charisma and the stage always felt crowded because you became part of the band, not just the audience

and the ultimate was Freddie Mercury, the voice, the showmanship, he had it all.

manny wrote:

Jim Morrison, charismatic and had an element danger
Bon Scott, rouge charisma and the stage always felt crowded because you became part of the band, not just the audience

and the ultimate was Freddie Mercury, the voice, the showmanship, he had it all.

Yep!  There will never be a rock frontman who has the total frontman package that Freddie did.  He was a once in a lifetime performer IMO and I'm just glad he performed during my lifetime.  My only regret is never having seen him live.

Phil Lynott
Ronnie James Dio
Robert Plant

The first to come to mind when I saw the thread title was Roth, so good call there Sentinel. I agree with Toho on Freddie Mercury as well as those that listed Dio or Plant.So, picking someone not mentioned yet I’ll go with Bruce Dickinson. He’s got the vocal skills and knows how to work the crowd.

My nod goes to Bruce Dickinson. He was great back in the day, but what really is impressive is that he still has so much energy even now at age 60.

I also think Sebastian Bach was a very good frontman during the first two Skid Row albums.

Not sure what happened to my post earlier, but I picked Dio as the best I've ever seen. I can't speak of most of the others listed here since I've never seen most of them myself. I did get to see David Lee Roth a few years back and was not very impressed. Of course back in the day,I'm sure he was much better. Would have loved to see Freddie mercury and Robert Plant, cause I'm sure they were awesome judging by the various concerts I've watched.

Another nod goes out t o Phil Anselmo back in the 90's. When he was on, there was nobody better. Problem is, out of the six or seven times I saw pantera, and the one time I saw Super Joint Ritual, he was really bad too with not much middle ground in between.

I also thought about giving a nod to Phil Anselmo, but he had a noticeable decline in quality after Vulgar Dispay. I had never seen Pantera in concert, but from the videos I’ve seen of them in the late 80s to the early 90s, they were amazing. Unfortunately their constant drinking and partying affected them... (especially Phil’s drug addiction).

Bob Marley, backed by the Wailers. Can you name another frontman that united an entire COUNTRY, and to a lesser point after his death, an entire REGION? THAT, my friends, is a Front man.

UNCLE SAXON'S KICKASS CDS wrote:

Bob Marley, backed by the Wailers.  Can you name another frontman that united an entire COUNTRY, and to a lesser point after his death, an entire REGION?  THAT, my friends, is a Front man.

Nice!

As always, lots of great responses, brothers. I probably should have specified a decade to narrow it down, cuz there really are a lot of great choices. I was thinking '80's, cuz that's where my head is stuck, haha. I can't believe I forgot Mercury! But, it was late and I was tired. I would give some honorable mentions to Dio, Dickinson, and Halford, as well as Coverdale; but the three I mentioned (in their prime) really had the crowd in their hands, while the others seemed more rehearsed and samey night after night.

tohostudios wrote:

Those are great ones and I'd add Sebastian Bach to the list.

But the greatest frontman of all-time in my opinion will and forever be...

Freddie Mercury!!!!!

Good call on Baz. You see that dude at the mall and you just know he's a rock star.

Robert Plant for sure. He wrote the book on being a front man of a heavy metal band. Ten years later, in the 80's, everybody wanted to be like him.

David Lee Roth. One of the many followers of Plant, DLR perfected his act. Brings an insane amount of energy to the stage.

Bruce Dickinson. Everything he does is big. Starting with the way he uses his voice.

Not mentioned, Jim Dandy Mangrum of Black Oak Arkansas.

Bon Scott
Bruce Dickinson
Ozzy Osbourne
and my personal number one Ian Anderson

Can't argue with any mentioned but I'll add Geoff Tate in his prime. Saw him on the Empire tour and he was commanding on stage, the whole band was a well oiled machine but he was center. It's part of what makes him turning into a weasel so sad.
Also a nod to Steven Tyler, a consummate showman.

Troublezone wrote:

I also thought about giving a nod to Phil Anselmo, but he had a noticeable decline in quality after Vulgar Dispay. I had never seen Pantera in concert, but from the videos I’ve seen of them in the late 80s to the early 90s, they were amazing. Unfortunately their constant drinking and partying affected them... (especially Phil’s drug addiction).

First time I saw them was during the Far Beyond Driven tour, and to this day it was one of the best I've seen. He had a way with the crowd that was something special that night. Then of course I've seen the bad decline a few shows later where he was absolutely terrible.

Ozzy and Bon were great. Lemmy in his pomp was godlike. Halford. Udo and Alice Cooper  deserve a mention.

Freddie M is a close second but my No1 has to go to a guy that has been doing it longer than most.........Mick Jagger!

Oh and King Diamond was an awesome showman as well.

Basing my picks strictly on guys I have personally seen live:

Dee Snider, Paul Stanley, Bruce Dickinson...

Steven Tyler (in his prime) was a great one too.

Honorable mention to Steve Whiteman (Kix)

Good call on Jagger.  It's amazing he still runs all over the place on stage at his age.

Boris2008 wrote:

Oh and King Diamond was an awesome showman as well.

Doh! Can't believe I forgot the King! And the God, Lemmy.

Good calls, both are/were great frontman.