PEARL JAM: Song of the Day

In anticipation of the upcoming PJ concert I will be attending, I'll be posting a song of the day, each and every day. Enjoy today's tune!

SONG: "Unthought Known"
ALBUM: Backspacer
YEAR: 2009

PEARL JAM: Song of the Day

In anticipation of the upcoming PJ concert I will be attending, I'll be posting a song of the day, each and every day. Enjoy today's tune!

SONG: "Breath"
ALBUM: Singles soundtrack, Rearviewmirror
YEAR: 1992

PEARL JAM: Song of the Day

In anticipation of the upcoming PJ concert I will be attending, I'll be posting a song of the day, each and every day. Enjoy today's tune!

SONG: "All Night"
ALBUM: Lost Dogs
YEAR: 2003

PEARL JAM: Song of the Day

SONG: "Just Breathe"
ALBUM: Backspacer
YEAR: 2009

PEARL JAM: Song of the Day

SONG: "Ghost"
ALBUM: Riot Act
YEAR: 2002

MY 7 CLASSIC CONCERT MOMENTS

I am not an avid concert go-er, but I have been to a few - and have had a few pretty interesting experiences. I thought it might make a fun blog. Initially I considered doing the best concert moments - like amazing performances or even ranking the shows I've been to, but in the end, I decided to simply do a countdown of moments out of the ordinary. Moments that most people probably have not experienced. The moments that I couldn't wait to recount to friends afterwards! Read on!

7. The Freaky Falling Finn Fiasco (almost...)

In a recent concert, we were treated to a very talented, very dynamic opening set by Liam Finn. Liam creates instrumental layering by using an effects pedal to loop the sound. For example, he'll play the guitar for a bit and then loop what he just played over and over while he moves to the drums to play. Instead of having a guitarist, drummer, and vocalist, Liam does it all (along with backing vocalist EJ Barnes). It's pretty cool. And Liam REALLY gets into his music...During one song, Liam had all his instuments looping and came to the front of the stage with this joystick looking thingy (can you tell I am NOT a musician?) and began to kind of fling himself around. For a few seconds, my thoughts raced: "Oh my God - He's about to fall right on top of me. I'm going to have to catch this guy. What if he injures me? I don't want to leave the concert. Can I just sit here hurt until it's over?" In retrospect, I find it amusing that I was thinking these thoughts. And you really can't fully enjoy a concert without some good, irrational fear, can you? But luckily, Liam Finn did not fall on me!

A look at Liam Finn...this isn't the song he was performing when he almost fell on me, but it's a good one to share. A little after the 3 min mark, he will loop the guitar and move to the drums...

6. The Guitar Marx

In April of 2007, my husband and I went with some friends to a show in Nashville called Tin Pan South. Tin Pan South is an annual songwriters festival. Richard Marx was one of the performers - and my friend is a BIG fan (he told her she smells good). That night, before the show, we were standing in line - waiting to get in, when suddenly, a figure appeared down the street - engulfed in fog. It was Richard Marx himself - looking suave in a leather jacket and perfectly coifed hair. He strutted down the street with his guitar case in hand. It was seriously like a scene from a movie - the famous musician, the fog, the cool leather jacket, the expensive guitar. And then - right there in front of everyone, BAM, he smacked the bumper of a new car with his guitar! Richard was visably alarmed, but kept walking - after all, the swarms of fans were only a few yards away, ready to pounce. A few moments later, a couple of burly crew guys came out to inspect the damage. It wasn't bad, but Richard Marx definitely left his mark!

Richard - moments after the incident:

5. The Loggins

Tin Pan South again! When we first arrived in Nashville, we decided to go over to the venue and see what the situation was. I'm such an early bird. And - as usual - it paid off! The place seemed pretty empty when we got there, but we could hear music inside. As it turned out, it was sound check - because a few minutes later, Kenny Loggins himself walked out a side door. He was on his cell phone - talking to a stock broker, it seemed! He saw us standing there, put his call on hold, and chatted us up, gladly posing for a picture. He was very cool! And the show was great - he did some of his best songs, like "I'm Alright", "Return to Pooh Corner", "Footloose" and my favorite - "Conviction of the Heart":

4. The Looping Arc

If you don't know Pearl Jam's song, "Arc", check out the video below to hear it. It sounds like many, many voices, but it is only Eddie Vedder's voiced, layered and layered over itself. It was something I never thought I'd witness live in concert -- but I did! And it was awesome! Using the same looping technique as Liam Finn (see #7 above), Ed was able to produce a FLAWLESS performance of the song. And, at the end, he left the vocals looping as he stepped to the edge of the stage and proceeded to shake hands with as many people as he could reach (us included!). Definitely a very, very cool moment!

3. The Lollapalooza Lightning

Picture it...Knoxville...1996. After a hot, sunny day, Soundgarden (the band we were there for) took the stage. Suddenly, during "Black Hole Sun" it began to rain - and the rain came down, harder and harder, with each song. Finally, toward the end of their set, they started into "Jesus Christ Pose" - and lightning lit up the sky beyond the stage. It was timed so perfectly and created such an effect, it was almost as if God was a pyrotechnics roadie for Soundgarden! Try as I might, I cannot find video of this concert, but my husband and I agreed that this was one of the coolest concert moments we've experienced so far. And I'm sure my description doesn't do it justice. You just had to be there!

2. The Sweater

(aka "I went to see Pearl Jam in Birmingham and all I got was this lousy sweater!")

It was our FIRST front row seats at a Pearl Jam concert. We were a bit left of center - sort of between Eddie Vedder and lead guitarist Mike McCready. My husband and his brother were really getting into the music throughout the show and Mike seemed to feed off of their energy. He'd nod in our direction and smile from time to time. He even tried to throw a few guitar picks to us - but, as you know if you've ever been up close at a concert - people go NUTS trying to get those picks - and that night, there was some heavy competition. (Seriously, the dude next to us was HUGE and he managed to pretty much flatten us to steal every pick...) After awhile, I could tell that Mike was feeling a bit bad that the picks intended for us were not actually getting to us. But it wasn't a very big deal - I mean, it's a guitar pick. A piece of plastic. We weren't heartbroken. Still, what happened at the end of the show was pretty cool...Mike tried one last time to toss us a pick - this time, it sailed right by us, straight to a very giddy woman with major 80s hair in the second row. Totally made her night. So, what did Mike do? He took the sweater off his back, looked my husband in the eye, and tossed it to him! The sweater itself is no big deal - but the fact that Mike intentionally delivered it directly to us - in appreciation of our awesome spectatorship - well, that's pretty cool! (I meant to take a picture of the sweater - maybe I will and add it later!)


1. The Upgrade

Yes, I just blogged about this. But here it is again! The BEST, most CRAZY concert moment I've had. My husband and I ordered tickets to the Eddie Vedder concert in Atlanta. Our seats were in the absolute last row in the top tier of the place. Nevermind the fact that my husband had looked at a map of the venue and located our seats as being somewhere completely different. So, we were sitting there, chatting, making light of the situation, when a lone man approached us. He made a comment about how bad our seats were and we laughed. Then, he flashed a pass around his neck (my husband swears it said "Accountant" or something like that) and said "I work for Ed and he would like to upgrade your tickets...to the front row!" He pulled out two tickets - section AAA, row 1, seats 11 and 12...We went from back row center to front row center!

PEARL JAM! Focus on Ed...

In anticipation of the Eddie Vedder solo concert I'm going to this week, I wanted to do yet another Pearl Jam music post...These songs are the more solo-ish songs, focusing on Ed...

DEAD MAN WALKING


SOON FORGET


YOU'VE GOT TO HIDE YOUR LOVE AWAY



GUARANTEED


GONE

5 PEARL JAM SONGS FOR TODAY

CAN'T KEEP

BREATH

ELDERLY WOMAN BEHIND THE COUNTER IN A SMALL TOWN

LIFE WASTED

SEVERED HAND

Today's Five Favorites: Pearl Jam songs (of the moment)

Here's a top 5 - it's the 5 Pearl Jam songs I'm digging most right now! (Not my 5 all-time favorites!)




I GOT ID


YELLOW LEDBETTER


IT'S OK (originally by Dead Moon)


MAN OF THE HOUR


LOVE BOAT CAPTAIN

Shaking my head at another VH1 countdown... (part 2)

50) Red Hot Chili Peppers - Give it away
OK, but ranked too high for a hard rock countdown, in my opinion.

49) Iggy Pop and the Stooges - Search and Destroy
OK

48) Korn - Freak on a leash
OK. Don't care for it myself, but it's fine.

47) Kid Rock - Batwidaba
I copied and pasted this list from a vh1 message board and the person who typed it didn't know how to spell this song - and neither did I. And I don't care. I don't like it. I don't - and have never - considered Kid Rock to be hard rock. I don't know what genre it is...but this is one of those "which one doesn't fit" things. I say no to this one.

46) Anthrax - Madhouse
For sure - Anthrax is a lock on a countdown like this.

45) Foghat - Slow ride
OK. I don't like it, but I agree it should be on the countdown.

44) Cream - Sunshine of your love
OK.

43) Dio - Holy Diver
I don't remember this one. No opinion.

42) The Clash - Should I stay or should I go
I don't like this song. Surely there was a better Clash song out there.

41) Quiet Riot - Cum on feel the noise
OK.

40) Poison - Talk dirty to me
OK.

39) Boston - More than a feeling
Tough one. My first instinct is to say "ridiculous!" But I suppose it does qualify. So I will say OK.

38) Queen - Stone cold crazy
OK.

37) The Who - My generation
YES! I love The Who!

36) Van Halen - hot for teacher
??? I don't know what to say. I mean, I guess it can be on the countdown, but maybe it should be in the BOTTOM 50 rather than top. We're getting to some really big song now...I don't feel like this one fits in. No dislike for the song, but putting it ahead of The Who is...just...weird. My opinion, of course.

35) Alice Cooper - School's out
OK.

34) Heart - Barracuda
Another song I don't like. I personally would not include this on a hard rock countdown.

33) Greenday - Basket Case
NO! I actually like this song, but NO. It has no place on this countdown! Green Day is NOT hard rock. No way. NO WAY.

32) Ted Nugent - Cat scratch fever
Not to sound like a broken record (pun intended) but I don't like this song either. However, I can accept Nugent on the hard rock countdown.

31) AC/DC - Dirty deeds done dirt cheap
Sure. I don't like AC/DC, but sure. They are allowed on the countdown.

30) Pearl Jam - Evenflow
BIG YES! Of course.

29) Joan Jett - bad reputation
I hate to see it ahead of Pearl Jam. I hate to see it ranked to high. Not feelin' it.

28) Foo Fighters - Everlong
OK...again, it's ranked a little high...and it's a strange choice of songs - there are harder Foo Fighters songs out there.

27) Whitesnake - Still of the Night
I don't know this song, but I do consider Whitesnake to be a hard rock band, so I will allow it. Gosh, I hope it's not some pansy ballad or something. If that's the case, NO. Otherwise, yes. I really should look it up and give it a listen, but I really don't care that much about it.

26) Lynyrd Skynyrd - Freebird
YUCK. I can't even say anything else. Just YUCK. And why?

25) The Ramones - Blitzkreig Bop
Yes, OK.

24) Iron Butterfly - In-a-gadda-da-vida
OK.

23) Ozzy Ozbourne - Crazy train
OK.

22) The Jimi Hendrix Experience - hey Joe
OK, but why this song?

21) Led Zeppelin - Kashmir
OK.

20) Bon Jovi - You give love a bad name
OK. I think this is the right song for the list.

19) Rush - Tom Sawyer
YES! I'm so happy to see this here - and ranked so high!

18) Scorpions - Rock you like a hurricane
OK...but 18? A bit generous in my book.

17) Twisted Sister - I wanna rock
OK.

16) Kiss - Rock and roll all nite
OK.

15) Motley Crue - Dr. Feelgood
Yes, definitely.

14) Iron Maiden - Run to the hills
OK.

13) Def Leppard - Photograph
OK.

12) Judas Priest - Breaking the law
OK.

11) Deep Purple - Smoke on the water
OK.

10) Motorhead - Ace of spades
Don't like it.

9) Van Halen - Running with the devil
This is a much better Van Halen song for this countdown. OK.

8) Aerosmith - Walk this way
Yes, good one.

7) Nirvana - Smells like teen spirit
Hate to say it, but OK.

6) The Who - Won't get fooled again
YES!

5) Metallica - Enter sandman
100% yes -- and I don't even care for the song...or Metallica in general, but if they weren't top 5, something would be wrong w/the countdown.

4) Black Sabbath - Paranoid
Same as above. Black Sabbath must be top 5 for a legit hard rock countdown!

3) Led Zeppelin - Whole lotta love
I've said before, I'm not a huge Led Zeppelin fan, so maybe it's that...but...I don't get this song being one of the top 5 hard rock songs EVER. Seems to me the other one on the list rocked harder.

2) AC/DC - Back in black
OK. Gosh, I really do not like AC/DC. Just thinking about this song hurts my ears.

1) Guns N' Roses - Welcome to the Jungle
OK...but...well...I like it - I think it is by far the best GnR song, however it's weird to think this is #1. I almost think the stupid AC/DC song at #2 would've been a better conclusion to the countdown. By the way, I rock this song on Guitar Hero. I'm quite impressive indeed.

Shaking my head at another VH1 countdown... (part 1)

100 Greatest Hard Rock songs.

Some easy answers come to mind.

Some songs I don't even like, but can acknowledge their worth.

But it seems VH1 and I don't quite agree.

(I realize viewers vote, but VH1 only gives certain songs to choose from...)

What else is new?

After the idiotic 80s and 90s countdowns, I swore I was done...

But, let's face it - I freakin' LOVE countdowns.

I couldn't resist.

So, here is VH1's countdown. All 100.

Accompanied by my comments.

What do YOU think?

100. Sammy Hagar "I Can't Drive 55"

Blah. Whatever. I don't care about this song, but I don't have anything against it. Guess it's fine on the list.

99. Grand Funk Railroad "We're An American Band"

Same review as above. Whatever.

98. Buckcherry "Lit Up"

Well...it definitely is hard rock. Not really a favorite of mine, but it represents for the late 90s - a time when hard rock was nearly obselete.

97. The Edgar Winter Group "Frankenstein"

Never heard of this before. It's fine on the list.

96. Kansas "Carry On My Wayward Son"

Not into this one, but it's fine on the list.

95. Creed "Higher"

You have GOT to be kidding me. Ridiculous. Lame. Laughable. NO. Just NO.

94. The Darkness "I Believe in a Thing Called Love"

Yeah, I guess. OK.

93. Autograph "Turn Up the Radio"

BORING!

92. Night Ranger "Don't Tell Me You Love Me"

OK...ish.

91. Smashing Pumpkins "Bullet With Butterfly Wings"

YES! Awesome!

90. Jethro Tull "Aqualung"

I hate this song.

89. Andrew W.K. "Party Hard"

I guess this one is okay.

88. Alice in Chains "Would?"

YES! There are several AIC songs that could've been in the countdown. And ranked higher. But I'm happy Would? is on here. Love this song!

87. Winger "Seventeen"

OK.

86. Marilyn Manson "The Beautiful People"

OK. I guess.

85. Velvet Revolver "Slither"

OK.

84. W.A.S.P "I Wanna Be Somebody"

Not a fan.

83. Evanescence "Bring Me Back to Life"

I don't dislike this song, but...it just doesn't fit in this countdown to me. I would've never classified this as hard rock. Never. So, I guess my answer is no for this one. Shouldn't be on this countdown.

82. Rainbow "Since You Been Gone"

I don't know. Kinda lame if you ask me. Especially considering the song/band that follows it in the countdown.

81. Black Sabbath "Heaven and Hell"

Finally a song that I actually consider to be hard rock. Yes to this one. Shame that this one is sandwiched between two very lame NON-hard rock songs.

80. Journey "Any Way You Want It"

Journey is not hard rock. Come on! It's practically pop music. Guess my criteria for hard rock is too strict. I do like Journey, but I don't feel this one as hard rock. Still...OK.

79. Billy Idol "Rebel Yell"

Sure, I like this song a lot!

78. Bad Company "Feel Like Making Love"

I'm sorry, did I just change the channel to "100 Lamest Songs Ever" countdown? Shouldn't this come between Barry Manilow and Elton John on some sort of soft rock countdown? NOT hard rock. Not at all. No. No. No. No. No.

77. Soundgarden "Black Hole Sun"

I'll say yes, but I personally would've chosen a different Soundgarden song. This one is not a favorite of mine...and I don't think it really "rocks". But as long as it gets Soundgarden on the countdown, I'll get on board.

76. Lita Ford "Kiss Me Deadly"

Yes.

75. The White Stripes "Seven Nation Army"

I guess. A half-hearted yes.

74. The Cult "Love Removal Machine"

OK.

73. Thin Lizzy "Jailbreak"

Never heard of it. There are some songs already covered that were way better than this, though.

72. Pat Benatar "Heartbreaker"

OK. Not my idea of hard rock, though.

71. Jane's Addiction "Mountain Song"

I dig Jane's Addiction. I'll second this one.

70. Foreigner "Hot Blooded"

OK.

69. Living Colour "Cult of Personality"

OK.

68. White Zombie "More Human Than Human"

Sure.

67. ZZ Top "Tush"

OK.

66. Europe "The Final Countdown"

I don't like this song, but OK. (I've got a lot of OKs in a row here - this countdown is lookin' better!)

65. MC5 "Kick Out the Jams"

Wouldn't be on MY personal countdown.

64. Rollins Band "Liar"

OK.

63. Survivor "Eye of the Tiger"

Another one that doesn't seem hard rock to me. But I guess it'll do. It's a good song.

62. Dokken "Breaking the Chains"

OK.

61. Ratt "Round and Round"

OK.

60. Skid Row - 18 and life

BIG YES! Love Skid Row!

59. Billy Squier - the Stroke

Ugh. Hate this.

58. Stone Temple Pilots - Interstate Love song

SOOOO not hard rock. There are WAY better STP songs to fit into this countdown.

57. The Kinks - You really got me

OK.

56. Warrant - Cherry Pie

OK, but shouldn't be ranked so high. Somewhere in the 80 range would be more fitting.

55. Blue Oyster Cult - Don't fear the reaper

OK. No - more than okay, because they included the SNL skit! Yay!

54. Faith No More - Epic

I like!

53. Steppenwolf - Born to be wild

Yes. I'm not wild about this song, but it's solid on this countdown.

52. The Runaways - Cherry Bomb

I wasn't familiar w/this song before seeing it on the countdown. My opinion...it sucks. Boo.

51. Megadeth - Peace Sells

Of course Megadeth belongs on a hard rock countdown! OK.

MY Top 10 Frontmen...

When I voted in the original poll, I only voted for 9. I just couldn't settle on a number 10 (though I was leaning toward Gene Simmons, even though I am not a KISS fan). But now, after giving it some thought - reading the bios and watching videos - I have chosen a frontman to round out my list of 10. And I am including my own video evidence for 3 frontmen I think were robbed!!!

#10

Steven Tyler or Aerosmith

I didn't vote for him originally. I'm not an Aerosmith fan, though I do like a few of their songs. But after watching countless vids on youtube and reading more about him on wikipedia, I think he absolutely deserves to be included on the list.

#9

Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin

I don't care for Led Zeppelin, so my vote for this guy says something about his frontman talent.

#8

Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones

Same as above. I'm not into The Rolling Stones at all, but you really can't deny MJ a place on the list.

#7

Geddy Lee of Rush

Robbed!

Lead vocalist, bass guitarist, keyboardist...Award winning musician...18 full length studio albums...AND ccording to the RIAA, Rush's sales statistics place them fourth behind The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Aerosmith for the most consecutive gold or platinum albums by a rock band!

#6

Freddie Mercury of Queen

#5

Layne Staley of Alice in Chains

#4

Michael Hutchence of INXS

Robbed!

Lyricist and enigmatic frontman. He WAS INXS.

#3

Roger Daltrey of The Who

ROBBED!

The Who is considered one of the greatest rock bands EVER. But Axl Rose made the countdown instead? That's just WRONG.

#2

Jim Morrison of The Doors

#1

Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam

BEST FRONTMAN #1: JIM MORRISON of THE DOORS

Jim Morrison was a singer, songwriter, poet, and film director. He is widely considered to be one of the most charismatic frontmen ever.

From answers.com:

As the lead singer and lyricist for the Doors, Jim Morrison ismost legendary and influential figures in rock & roll history. The disturbing, image-rich poeticism of Morrison's lyrics, perfectly supported by the Doors' swirling, eclectic psychedelic rock, have assured him continuing icon status, while his fondness for theatrical shock tactics and nihilistic angst have influenced countless imitators. Unlike other psychedelic artists, who tended to favor whimsy or mysticism, Morrison saw expansion of consciousness as a way of gaining access to the subconscious mind's dark, unacknowledged desires; his rampaging id dominated his songs with a lust for violence, sex, alcohol, drugs, self-destruction, anything forbidden for any reason by the authority of conservative middle America, and he tried to live out that lifestyle as best he could. Some of Morrison's work has been criticized -- both during his lifetime and afterward -- as too melodramatic and calculatedly outrageous, but even at his most frustrating, Morrison's ideas have achieved a lasting resonance with newer generations as well as his initial fans, and his best material remains some of the most original and visionary rock music ever recorded.

From wikipedia:
The single "Light My Fire" eventually reached number one on the Billboard Pop Singles chart. Later, The Doors appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show... Ed Sullivan requested two songs from The Doors for the show, "People are Strange", and "Light My Fire". The censors insisted that they change the lyrics of "Light My Fire" from "Girl we couldn't get much higher" to "Girl we couldn't get much better." This was reportedly due to what could be perceived as a reference to drugs in the original lyric. Giving assurances of compliance to Sullivan, Morrison then proceeded to sing the song with the original lyrics anyway. He later said that he had simply forgotten to make the change. This infuriated Sullivan so much that he refused to shake their hands after their performance. They were never invited back.

Fun fact: Out of everyone who participated in this frontman countdown, only four did not vote for Jim Morrison!

VIDEO EVIDENCE:

Ed Sullivan show:

BEST FRONTMAN #2: EDDIE VEDDER of PEARL JAM

"I look around the audience, and there's so many faces, and I've looked into the eyes of at least the ones I could see -- there's at least 1,000 faces -- and I've communicated directly to them and seen where they're coming from...One thing I don't feel is separation from the crowd. I don't feel like we're speaking from a platform, I feel like we are communicating on the same level."

-Eddie Vedder

Pearl Jam was formed in 1990, and their debut album, Ten, became one of the best selling alternative albums of the 1990s. Their sophomore album, Vs., set a record at the time for most albums sold in a week. The band quickly found itself overwhelmed by the sudden popularity of the Seattle music scene and the associated genre known as "grunge". A typical band and frontman would capitalize on that - over-promote their albums, make more videos, go on a world tour and sell tickets for top dollar. But not Pearl Jam, and not Eddie Vedder. Instead, Pearl Jam pulled back on album promotion, refused to make music videos, and launched a boycott of Ticketmaster for Ticketmaster's inflation of ticket prices AND set a cap on ticket prices to thwart ticket scalping. Less commercialism, more creativity.

Frontman Eddie Vedder is known for his intense live performances, thoroughly engaging with the crowd. In the early days, Vedder even participated in stage diving as well as crowd surfing. These days, Ed abstains from such antics, but delivers strong and very personal performances nonetheless. For example, he often waits until just minutes before taking the stage to formulate a setlist for the night's concert so he can get a feel for the setting and the crowd and put together a show to feed and feed off of their energy.

So far Pearl Jam has released eight studio albums and was named "greatest American rock band of all time" in a 2005 USA Today reader's poll and was named "the most popular American rock & roll band of the '90s" by Allmusic...

One of my personal favorites:

BEST FRONTMAN #3 (TIE): STEVEN TYLER of AEROSMITH

Steven Tyler wears many hats (er...scarves). Aside from being ranked #3 on Hit Parader's list of "Heavy Metal's All-Time Top 100 Vocalists" for his raw, sharp-edged vocals, Tyler also plays a wide range of instruments, including keyboards, harmonica, and various percussion instruments.

Aerosmith enjoyed some success in the 70s, but fell apart due to the fast-paced lifestyle and the friction of spending so much time together - both of which problems were fueled by drug use within the band. Fortunately, the band was able to reunite in the mid-80s, contingent upon Tyler's stint in a strict rehab program. A comment by Steven Tyler: "Sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll... take out the drugs and you've got more time for the other two."

But the 80s marked a new era for the band. Aside from all attending rehab, the band made a mark on music when they collaborated with Run DMC to remake their hit "Walk This Way". This move introduced a whole new generation to the music of Aerosmith, and as a result, the band became more popular than ever. The success continued though the 90s with multiple hit albums and theatrical music videos.

Aerosmith still tours regularly and is known for their stellar live performances. From wikipedia:

Tyler is also known for his usage of the microphone stand as a significant part of his performances. He almost always uses the microphone stand in concert.

Throughout much of his career, Tyler has also been noted for playing the piano or keyboards onstage, particularly during songs such as "Dream On" and "Darkness". However, he has rarely done this since the 1980s, except during special performances, since the band employs a touring keyboardist, and the piano playing would take away from Tyler's raw performances as frontman. Nevertheless, his piano and keyboard playing continues to be an integral part of the band in the studio, as Tyler will often write songs this way.

Steven Tyler is also known for his musical interplay with the other members of Aerosmith, particularly with guitarist Joe Perry. The two will often perform very close together side-by-side, particularly when Perry sings backup or adds vocal harmony, or during sit-down acoustic performances.

BEST FRONTMAN #3 (TIE): MICK JAGGER of THE ROLLING STONES

In their earliest days, the members of the Rolling Stones played for nothing - and even had to borrow equipment from other bands to perform. But a mere two years after their formation, two different opinion polls named the Rolling Stones as England's most popular group. Even more popular than The Beatles...

Frontman, Mick Jagger gained attention for his songwriting partnership with bandmate Keith Richards, his role as the defiant, troublemaking leader of the group AND his many, many, many romantic relationships.

"I wasn't trying to be rebellious in those days," Jagger once said in an interview. "I was just being me. I wasn't trying to push the edge of anything. I'm being me and ordinary, the guy from suburbia who sings in this band, but someone older might have thought it was just the most awful racket, the most terrible thing, and where are we going if this is music?... But all those songs we sang were pretty tame, really. People didn't think they were, but I thought they were tame."

And over 40 years later, Mick is still leading the Rolling Stones - and still making rock n' roll history.

He was knighted for Services to Music, as Sir Michael Jagger by the Prince of Wales in December 2003. And in September 2007, Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones made $437 million on their A Bigger Bang tour, landing them a spot in the Guinness World Records for most successful music tour.

When recently discussing when the Rolling Stones would retire, Jagger commented: "I'm sure the Rolling Stones will do more things and more records and more tours. We've got no plans to stop any of that really."

VIDEO EVIDENCE

THEN:

NOW:

Coming soon...#2...

BEST FRONTMAN #5: JON BON JOVI of BON JOVI

Bon Jovi has been making music for 25 years, putting out ten studio albums, altogether selling more than 120 million worldwide.

The band has had 19 top 40 hits, 5 reaching #1.(Living on a Prayer, I'll Be There For You, You Give Love a Bad Name, Bad Medicine, and JBJ's solo hit Blaze of Glory)

Bon Jovi's album, Slippery When Wet, holds the record for the most weeks for a hard rock album at #1. Their album, New Jersey, holds the record for most Top 10 singles from a hard rock album, with 5.


Frontman, Jon Bon Jovi, has made a name for himself not only as a singer and performer, but also as a songwriter and even actor, earning new fans in all venues.

From wikipedia, here is a list of the awards/honors Jon Bon Jovi has received over the years:

Awards
1985: Kerrang: Sex Object Of The Year
1987: Metal Edge Reader's Choice Awards: Best Male Performer.
1989: American Music Award: Best Pop/Rock Band, Duo or Group; award shared with his band.
1990: Golden Globe: Best Song, Blaze of Glory (from Young Guns II soundtrack).
1990: Academy Awards: Nominated, Original Song, "Blaze of Glory" (from Young Guns II soundtrack).
1991: ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards: Most Performed Songs from Motion Pictures for YOUNG GUNS II - Blaze of Glory.
1991: MTV Michael Jackson: Video Vanguard Award; shared with his band.
1996: Sky Sport: Special Olympics Awards.
1997: Kerrang Awards: Classic Songwriter.
1997: MTV Europe Music Awards: Best Male.
1998: Brit awards: Best International Male.
1998: ECHO: Best International Male Artist.
2000: People: Sexiest Rock Star.
2001: Humanitarian of the Year by The Food Bank of Monmouth & Ocean Counties for his charitable work on behalf of the people of New Jersey.
2001: Honorary doctorate in Humanities degree from Monmouth University in New Jersey, for his success as an entertainer and his humanitarian work.
2002: People: Sexiest Rock Star.
2002: My VH1 Music Awards: From The Tour to The Tube - Best TV for ,,Ally McBeal".
2003: People: Sexiest Rock Star.
2004: American Music Awards: Received the Award of Merit for their long career.
2005: World Music Awards:KUMAD Received the Diamond Award for sales of 100+ million albums.
2006: Help USA: Tribute Dinner Honnores.
2006: Inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame
2007: Grammy for Best Country Vocal Collaboration, "Who Says You Can't Go Home?" (with Jennifer Nettles).
2008: VH1 The Greatest: 100 Sexiest Artists (20 - 1): 14th Sexiest Artist
2008: MTV1 The Best: Best Selling Song Of The Decade 1980. Most popular rock song since 1980-s to Present.

And, this should be no surprise, ALL of Jon Bon Jovi's votes in this countdown came from female voters.

Next, at #4 and #3 -

WE HAVE A TIE!

Two aging rockers with big lips.

Not a very cryptic clue, is it?

BEST FRONTMAN #6: FREDDIE MERCURY of QUEEN

Freddie Mercury was a pianist, a songwriter - though he has stated that he could barely read music, and is often regarded as one of the greatest singers in rock music (thanks to impressive projection, rapid vibrato, and use of falsetto) with an effective range of 4 octaves.

But perhaps Freddie Mercury's biggest legacy was that of a theatrical rock performer. Queen favored stadium shows and Freddie encouraged participation from the large audiences.

Queen's 1985 Live Aid performance was voted the best live rock performance of all time in an industry poll

VIDEO EVIDENCE:

Check back tomorrow for #5 on the list:

The 1991 MTV Video Vanguard Award winner.

BEST FRONTMAN #7: AXL ROSE of GUNS N' ROSES

Axl Rose is considered by many to be one of the best frontmen ever. During the height of Guns N' Roses popularity, Kurt Loder (of MTV) referred to Rose as "maybe the finest hard rock singer currently on the scene, and certainly the most charismatic". Still, as famous as Axl Rose was for his music, he was equally as infamous for his antics and well-publicized fueds with everyone from his own band mates to Bon Jovi to Tommy Hilfiger. And since rock'n'roll loves a little controversy, this only made Axl Rose more and more popular.

From wikipedia:


Guns N' Roses has sold an estimated 100 million albums worldwide, including over 42 million in the United States. The band's 1987 major label debut album, entitled Appetite for Destruction, has sold 27 million copies worldwide and reached number one on the United States Billboard 200. In addition, the album charted three Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including "Sweet Child o' Mine" which reached number one. 1991's Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II debuted on the two highest spots on the Billboard 200 and have sold a combined 14 million copies in the United States alone.

Up next...

Britain's first Asian rock star!

BEST FRONTMAN #8: OZZY OSBOURNE of BLACK SABBATH

They started as Polka Tulk, featuring a slide guitarist and a saxaphonist...And then they changed their name, got rid of their slide guitar and sax, and became bluesy four-piece English band called Earth...But then, one night, they noticed people lining up to see a scary movie called Black Sabbath - and the idea was hatched - create the musical equivalent to a scary movie. And Black Sabbath - the heavy metal band - was born.

Ozzy Osbourne served as the ideal frontman for this venture, causing controversy at ever turn - offending parent/teacher associations, Christian groups, media content activist groups, and animal right groups. Osbourne's stage act was shocking, as intended. The constant controversy is what made him famous.

Next up at #7...

one of the best stage names ever...