One of the greatest frontmen in the history of Rock turned 70 this week. Watching Robert Plant on stage in some of those classic performances with Led Zeppelin is truly magical and inspiring for anyone who has ever performed or just loves music.
Robert Plant is no doubt one of the best front men in rock history. He does not make my personal Mt Rushmore though. Full disclosure..I'm 49 so If there were 10 faces on Mt. Rushmore yes but here are mine.
What can I say. I heard "Boy" back in 1980 and was intrigued. Then after seeing a portion of their "Under a blood red sky" performance at Red Rock in Denver I sought out U2. Bono is the definitive first face on my Mt. Rushmore.
Silky smooth even when it was a balls out delivery. Chris Cornell outshined everyone in 90's and on into the 21st century. Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog, Audioslave. Even in one of his final efforts with Zac Brown it was so apparent that he was at another level of vocal excellence and rock persona.
Similar to Chris Cornell, Ed Kywolczyk just has a delivery vocally and then on stage that is so powerful but smooth at the same time. Just a rare combination. Ed will always be under rated because of the lack exposure that Live has had but from the firs few notes of the mental jewelry album I was a fan and started singing and woo wooing immediately! Watch and Listen to him sing the song "White Discussion" and get back with me. He's a bad ass.
And finally the black sheep of my Mt. Rushmore. Mr Ian Astbury. He is one of the most unapreciated front men in rock history as far as I'm concerned. A lot of that is on him. He's not very media friendly and probably because he has been perceived as an under achiever after stunting the growth of The Cult for many years during the 90's while battling his personal demons. His raw unpolished vocals and unapologetic attitude has always intrigued me. Love watching this guy do his thing!
I could not finish this piece without mentioning Dave Grohl. Dave Grohl goes on an entirely different Mt. Rushmore. Dave Grohl Isnt just a "front man" of a band. He is one of the faces on my Mt Rushmore of Rock Music Period! We will get to that later.
Well those are mine. Who are the faces on your Mt Rushmore for the best Rock "frontmen". I'd love to hear from you
crash@98rock.com