Hair Metal Bands
Their mile-high manes helped launch these bands to success throughout the ‘80s, early ‘90s and beyond. Tune up those air guitars and tease those tresses — we’re reminiscing about some of the heroes of hair metal.
Poison
Though glam-influenced hair metal group Poison formed initially as Paris in the area around suburban Harrisburg, Pennysylvania, Michaels, Dall, Rockett and original guitarist Matt Smith soon decided to pursue their dreams of rock and roll stardom in the more appropriate showbiz climate of Los Angeles. After the quartet relocated to the West Coast in 1985, Smith left the band and was replaced by DeVille. With its classic lineup now in place, the group began to hone its sound in Sunset Strip clubs, exhibiting a full-tilt glam image through makeup and costumes that often overshadowed its music.
Quiet Riot
If you had suggested to someone in the early ‘80s that the road to quick riches and radio fame would be to cover some tunes by the band Slade, well, I'm sure more than one record executive rolled their eyes at the time and said "No, thanks." That would be like expecting pop and punk groups to achieve success singing the Simon and Garfunkel catalog! Yet, these things happen. There is no logic to explain why "Cum On Feel the Noize" should suddenly become a radio anthem in 1983 after it had already been a hit a decade earlier. But it did and people got paid and careers were established and people like me went back to writing horoscopes and weather predictions.
Twisted Sister
They deserve to be here for their videos alone. Sure, they were obvious and crass. Their tunes were juvenile and filled with self-parodic rage. They weren't going to take it. And if it I knew what "it" actually was, I probably wouldn't take "it" either.
Winger
Poor Winger. Once the loser friend on Beavis And Butthead showed up wearing their shirt, it was all over. Crowds eager to hear "Seventeen" and "Headed For A Heartbreak" suddenly didn't want to be seen listening to them. But Winger guitarist Reb Beach deserved a better fate than this. And he did go on to play in Alice Cooper's band! But he also got stuck playing with Dokken. But when time rewrites history--or, heck, when I rewrite it--Winger will finally get that Aretha Franklin-accorded R-E-S-P-E-C-T.
Cinderella
Cinderella were the one glam band who started making other plans before the bottom fell out. They'd mastered the pop metal genre with Long Cold Winter but with
Motley Crue
Mick Mars may be the creepiest looking guy in music--and that's saying something. And Tommy Lee may only be "lovable" to women who regularly appear in centerfolds. But I wasn't planning on inviting these guys to dinner. On some level, you expect to hear that your rock stars do not behave like choir boys or even decent human beings. Whether they drink the blood of goats or indulge in enough recreational narcotics to have a poppy field named after them, it goes with the territory. Their greatest sin isn't heroin, it's their inherent corniness.
Whitesnake
Whitesnake are an English rock band, founded in 1977 by David Coverdale (formerly of Deep Purple). The band's early material has been compared by critics to Deep Purple but by the mid 1980s Whitesnake had moved to a more commercial heavy metal style. Whitesnake was named the 27th greatest hard rock band of all time.
Warrant
Warrant is an American glam metal band from Hollywood, California that experienced success from 1989-1996 with five albums reaching international sales of over 10 million. The band first came into the national spotlight with their debut album Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich, and one of its singles, "Heaven," reached #1 in Rolling Stone and #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. The band continued its success in the early 90's with the 2x Platinum album Cherry Pie and the gold album Dog Eat Dog, both albums providing more charted singles. The band continued performing and recording albums through out the 1990's and the 2000's despite several changes to their line up.
Britny Fox
Britny Fox was an American glam metal band from the Philadelphia area, initially active from 1985 to 1992 then subsequently reforming in 2000. They are best known for their music video for "Girlschool" and their hit "Long Way to Love"
RATT
"Round And Round" and "Back For More" were two catchy hits and for that RATT contributed more to the total sum of human knowledge than most groups with far greater critical pedigrees. That the band could never quite recapture their early success is pretty typical of the fickle musical world. Had they only figured out the right Slade songs to cover...
Bon Jovi
There will be those who argue that these boys from New Jersey should be higher on this list. And if these boys didn't embrace every cliché as if they'd discovered a brand new idea, they might have moved up a few notches. But there's no shame in coming in just below the legal limit. And "You Give Love A Bad Name" makes up for "Bad Medicine" and "Wanted Dead Or Alive" and kept them off the "Worst" list for good. I'm originally from New Jersey. We have no cowboys. We do have Bruce Springsteen. I understand your confusion.
