Yes, he became a freak show later in life, but as long as we're including solo artists, Michael Jackson definitely belongs. Rick James was right there, too.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
#1 Frontman of all time
- Thread starter ClaytonMUSE
- Start date
Only saw one vote for my favorite....
Eddie Vedder!!!!
Best I've seen live and in person. Dave Grohl wasn't too shabby either. Wish I could've seen some of these other legends posted.
Eddie Vedder!!!!
Best I've seen live and in person. Dave Grohl wasn't too shabby either. Wish I could've seen some of these other legends posted.
+10000000
Are we all crazy? James Brown means GREAT SHOW... look it up in your dictionary!
I havn't read this thread in a while, I stopped getting emails around page 3 haha.
I didn't actually give a list of who I like, I just mentioned Matt Bellamy. I shall do so now, 6 months on. My favorite frontmen(within my music taste):
Matt Bellamy
Freddie Mercury
The weird and wonderful Les Claypool
Prince
Robert Plant
James Brown
Serj Tankian
Zach De La Rocha
Geddy Lee
Elvis Presley
Thom Yorke
Michael Jackson
Those aren't necessarily the greatest of all time, just my favorite, and who I can think of at the moment
I didn't actually give a list of who I like, I just mentioned Matt Bellamy. I shall do so now, 6 months on. My favorite frontmen(within my music taste):
Matt Bellamy
Freddie Mercury
The weird and wonderful Les Claypool
Prince
Robert Plant
James Brown
Serj Tankian
Zach De La Rocha
Geddy Lee
Elvis Presley
Thom Yorke
Michael Jackson
Those aren't necessarily the greatest of all time, just my favorite, and who I can think of at the moment
Tortelvis from Dread Zeppelin. Who else could mash up Lionel Ritche with Zep, and do it to a reggae beat! 
WOW, the right name has not been listed yet. Also, what's happening here is a popularity contest that has nothing to do with accurately measuring success. lets set the bar with some qualifications.
First, All these rock guys sing mostly to teenagers. Not adults and certainly not to an audence of other performers. 9 pages of hacks with only a few real contenders in the list. Cab Calloway And Satchmo are close but simply don't meet the level set by the greatest performer of all time.
Al Jolsen.....
80 hit records.....
He was the first to introduce Jazz to White Audences....
He had to perform 7 nights a week on broadway simply because all the performers from all the other shows only had sunday off. Jolsen worked sundays performing exclusivly to the other broadway performers who would take there one night off just to catch him live........
He consistantly let shows run on until the wee hours of the morning and even then took the party home to continue because people wouldn't leave.........
As a front man, he fronted THE ENTIRE MOVIE INDUSTRY we know today and was the very first star in a movie with sound. When Hollywood began, it was Jolsen that introduced it to the world.........
Like Bird, Jolsen to this day can be heard as an influance in modern music sung by people who have no idea they are copying styles from people who were influnced by Jolsen.....
So, these rock musicians playing to groups of teenagers in an age of communication never seen before will never reach the level this guy did in an age gone by.
Seriously, without a doubt, he was the worlds greatest entertainer, Have a look for yourself, I've only breifly described his impact on music:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Jolson
-eSmith.
First, All these rock guys sing mostly to teenagers. Not adults and certainly not to an audence of other performers. 9 pages of hacks with only a few real contenders in the list. Cab Calloway And Satchmo are close but simply don't meet the level set by the greatest performer of all time.
Al Jolsen.....
80 hit records.....
He was the first to introduce Jazz to White Audences....
He had to perform 7 nights a week on broadway simply because all the performers from all the other shows only had sunday off. Jolsen worked sundays performing exclusivly to the other broadway performers who would take there one night off just to catch him live........
He consistantly let shows run on until the wee hours of the morning and even then took the party home to continue because people wouldn't leave.........
As a front man, he fronted THE ENTIRE MOVIE INDUSTRY we know today and was the very first star in a movie with sound. When Hollywood began, it was Jolsen that introduced it to the world.........
Like Bird, Jolsen to this day can be heard as an influance in modern music sung by people who have no idea they are copying styles from people who were influnced by Jolsen.....
So, these rock musicians playing to groups of teenagers in an age of communication never seen before will never reach the level this guy did in an age gone by.
Seriously, without a doubt, he was the worlds greatest entertainer, Have a look for yourself, I've only breifly described his impact on music:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Jolson
-eSmith.
I know he's nowhere near the greatest of all time but MY personal favorite in the genre of music i like would be Chino Moreno of the deftones.
If I had to put aside my opinions and try to do this objectively...
Jim Morrison
Robert Plant
Freddie Mercury
and
James Brown
...immediately come to mind.
Jim Morrison
Robert Plant
Freddie Mercury
and
James Brown
...immediately come to mind.
I recently read an article in a magazine where Liam Gallagher of Oasis was crowned greatest frontman of all time, I don't really agree (He should be somewhere very high up though).
My favorite frontman has got to be Matt Bellamy of Muse, who is your number #1 Frontman, and what would you say makes a good one?
After seeing MUSE at Staples center a few weeks ago, I have to agree with you. Dude was amazing. Powerslides, spinning while playing, trashing super expensive guitars, all around awesome.
I can't believe it took six pages of replies before Iggy came up. He's the first one that came to mind when I saw the thread topic, and he'd be my choice. I've seen most of the rockers mentioned in this thread perform live (I'm old), and all three times I saw Iggy he simply blew everyone out that I'd seen before. Nope, no peanut butter, no razor blades, no broken glass... just unbelievably athletic, confrontational performances. If you like rock and roll in yo face, he has no equal IMHO.
James Brown has been mentioned (rightfully so, IMO) a few times. Just so nobody forgets exactly what this guy could do take a look.
