My votes go to Mick and James Brown. On the female side I'd have to go with Janis and Tina Turner.

I ain't stupid, I'm just guitarded.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2005-04-12 04:27 by RankOutsider.

It still has to go to Mick. Who else is there when you really think about it ? Who is left ? And whoever there was, all they did was try to take Mick's stage presence a little further. Axl Rose wasent bad, David Lee Roth was good, Steven Tyler is good, but none really "OWN" a stage like Mick. He practically stalks the stage and claims every part. I think he is the best front man ever.

Milo, NYC
The bands onstage and it's one of those nights

Jim Morrison & Keith Richards.

Elvis, Mick, David Bowie.

"The wonder of Jimi Hendrix was that he could stand up at all he was so pumped full of drugs." Patsy, Patsy Stone

Mick, Elvis and James Brown

Mick, his highness the Lord Redlands, (Keith), Bowie, Iggy, Elvis. By the way, both Elvis and Bowie were born on January 8th... Magical date?

Elvis
Jim Morrison
Iggy Pop

Mick is great but all of his moves seem far too choreographed and predictable to me. Iggy Pop just goes for it - sometimes brilliant sometimes not.

Andy

Onstage: Mick and in the 70s Keith too. Offstage: Brian.

James brown, jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Elvis, Roger Daltry.....

Elvis
Mick
Bruce

James Brown and Elvis and Jagger are all untouchable. I like this phrase of "owning the stage". Sinatra owned his corners. But check a band like the Clash. They were so united in fashion and spirit and music. I loved watching them come out and rule, dominate not just the stage but the crowd and the entire room. Many might disagree but IMO Bono has never really been that great of a fornt man. The main thing Bono lacks is sex appeal. Some lonely chicas will disagree but sex has never been his thing. IMO a superb performwer needs to ooze sex too.

Did the Opening headline say: "---entertainer" or "---Show Biz Person"?
- No! Therefore I find it remarkable that noone else mention Jim Morrison;
who could before or after dominate a place like he did
and change or twist the worldview for the audicence?
...What´s Micks twitty dance steps in that perspective?
He´s a nice dancer, but that´s all, a good show biz man
& a business man; his voice, (at times) singing intensity but most of all
his energy and song-/lyric-writing abilities is what makes him so great.
And most of all: That he´s one of the Stones.

I forgot Elvis above; but he´s also sheer entertainment.
I´m from the punk generation. Music shall kick ass!
...So I will put in two new names here: John Lydon "Johnny Rotten"
and Sid Vicious (whatever his real name was)...

Well, there are some people that don't need to do anything special to make the atmosphere thrilling and are able to "own the stage" (yes, nice description) by their plain presence.. just to walk in and stand there and do his art.. I am talking about Bob Dylan.

- Doxa

I think Jagger did very much to shape political views. Never directly but his input into society's mindset can not be underestimated. His sexual ambiguity, his look, his dance, shit his whole persona, just his existence changed people's perception of things. What they did with that perception's result then was their affair. I mean you can get up on stage and yell "Don't go to war! Burn your draftcard!" and achieve a certain result. Or you can also be more ambiguous about it and get out there and sing "I see this red door and I want you to paint it black...". And you can wear woman's makeup while singing it. And smoke some dope too. I believe that the audience might go home and not only burn their draftcard but also get to thinking and maybe even start their own band. Take it one step further. Jagger (James Brown too) were never big on directly takibng a side. But it was always inferred. implied.
It's only in the latter years of his career that Jagger became a capitalist. Rimshot! Crack!!
Jim Morrison wrote some decent poetry. I have tried to get excited by him as a rock performer but always found him ultimately boring. He was a drunk lout who like to pull his pants down. I think the mentioning of Johnny Rotten for the same reasons as Morrison makes a lot more sense. Johnny delivered all the way and necver hid. I have not concrete way of knowing this but I am convinced that Morrison was in the end a coward. Wouldn't mind getting into this a little more but this is a Stonesboard

But if we are here thinking that the essence of being "frontman" is mostly do with physical moves, dancing, clowning and doing theatrics and so on to catch the attention of audience, I suppose Freddie Mercury is one of the best ever. Jimi Hendrix for sure, too. And I can only guess what were like the performances of the old blues giants like Muddy Waters and Howling Wolf back in the golden days of Chicago (like Howling Wolf showing his cock to audience, etc. You heard that, Morrison?)

But jeez, when the people saw Bob Dylan doing a few dance steps with his left feet few years ago, weren't people thrilled? You bet they were!!

- Doxa

Right; we could meet under these user names in Doors message board (within 24-30 hours?) and continue [messageboard.thedoors.com] .
I wanted to make more of this too.
Stones´ greatness are multidimensional; and no group in the Milky Way has made such an impact on mankind - only Jesus, Allah and probably Buddha is comparable -as has the Stones. But thread title was Live Front Person(s). See you.
(I can also send you a mail in private if thats ok.)

Mick Jagger with out a doubt...

But after that I would say
Jim Morrison, he had just about the same effect with women that the Beatles and Stones did.
James Brown
Elvis
Ian Anderson
Rod Stewart (early days)
Robert Plant

About Jagger... I read some time ago Elvis Costello's description of Jagger's recent performance. He compared Mick to a cheerleader. I think that was a nice and insightful metaphor. (He also described Keith's playing of guitar as a sort of jazzy saxophone phrasing in a big band.)

- Doxa

How could I forget those very two Doxa? Ready Freddie and Hendrix. Good call. I don't see anything wrong with May and Taylor wanting to continue music, or even keep playing their great tunes. But to CALL it Queen without Freddie or Deacon and WITH Paul Rodgers is heresy. Freddie M was great.
Hendrix is one of those performers who just oozed sex. And that is why again I would count him as one of the top front performers ever. I really think that is a key ingredient. In his heyday Elton John was quite a spectacle but he never made the girls scream or the guys want to be him.

50s : Little Richard
60s : Mick Jagger
70s : Mick Jagger

Mick, Elvis, Sinatra and his ratpack..! Wtihout doubts!

"But to CALL it Queen without Freddie or Deacon and WITH Paul Rodgers is heresy"

Yes. I don't know what to think about these recents tours of "Queen" and "The Doors". The same sort of anxious feeling that I got when I heard Keith Richards suggesting that The Stones might tour without Mick, being replaced for example by Roger Daltrey. That was back in the 80's, Dirty Work times.

Well, maybe that is the criteria of a great and essential frontman: no one can replace you. There aren't people of that caliber in the bands like Deep Purple, Ac/Dc, Black Sabbath, etc.

- Doxa

ChelseaD wrote: "--- It's only in the latter years of his career that Jagger became a capitalist. Rimshot! Crack!! --- "
Well, I wouldnt put it that way or use those words... But I got the point. But then, this process started pretty abruptly and 'all of a sudden' at the break with Klein, didnt it? It was soon after that he started cooperation with Loewenstein & began hangin out with the jet-set: of course Bianca has much to do with this lifestyle. - ...But, CD, we continue this in Doors board, right?

Only a comment: many people has named Keith as one of the best frontmen. Despite all of his coolness, I don't see him as a frontman as Mick or Bowie or Springsteen or Freddie Mercury. In fact his coolness (or however it's said) used to be in the way he was the anti-frontman rock hero: playing his guitar and don't trying to get the attention of the audience (see L&G).

[There'll be no wedding today...]

50s: Elvis Presley, Little Richard
60s: Mick Jagger, Jim Morrison
70s: Mick Jagger, Steven Tyler, David Bowie
80s: Mick Jagger,?
90s: Mick Jagger, Steven Tyler
00s: Mick Jagger, ?

50s: James Brown
60s: Mick Jagger
70s: Mick Jagger AND Robert Plant (what a voice!)

I truely love Paul Rodgers, but, singing Queen songs? Maybe they will become a blues band. If Aerosmith can do it surely Queen can

I ain't stupid, I'm just guitarded.

Mick Jagger
Jim Morrison
Elvis
David Bowie
Roger Daltry
Little Richard

Raise your glass to the good and the evil, Let's drink to the salt of the earth.