# Greatest Frontmen/women **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 6, 2013, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-frontmen-women/652228 "2013-03-06T21:22:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-frontmen-women/652228/1 "2013-03-06T21:22:26Z")
Please vote for 5, I am compiling a list of 16 for a bracket. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-frontmen-women/652228/2 "2013-03-06T21:34:54Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > Please vote for 5, I am compiling a list of 16 for a bracket. Crap I selected the wrong option. OK pick 1. Use whatever criteria you want, but keep in mind that a frontman is singer and a showman. ---
**Author:** ![Disheavel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@Disheavel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disheavel)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-frontmen-women/652228/3 "2013-03-06T21:54:37Z")
I’ve got to say the results so far really surprise me- given how the board tends to view the world. ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-frontmen-women/652228/4 "2013-03-06T21:59:18Z")
Really? There’s a lot of Queen fans around here. I’ve only seen three on the list, and I voted for the one I most wish to have seen in his prime. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-frontmen-women/652228/5 "2013-03-06T22:04:07Z")
Yeah, I voted Freddie Mercury myself. I don’t own a single Queen album, but, to me, he is in a league of his own when it comes to frontmanship. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-frontmen-women/652228/6 "2013-03-06T22:25:56Z")
IMHO you should judge a showman on having seen the show, so voted for the best I saw (Plant). I suspect that if I’d seen Mercury in action, then daylight would be second. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-frontmen-women/652228/7 "2013-03-06T22:47:35Z")
No Springsteen, no vote, sorry. And he does count, live he’s very much the frontman of the E Street Band. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-frontmen-women/652228/8 "2013-03-06T22:50:52Z")
> [@penultima\_thule](#): > > IMHO you should judge a showman on having seen the show, so voted for the best I saw (Plant). On this basis, I voted for Wilson, the only one on this list that I have seen. These days I’m quite sure she would even surpass Plant who seems to have lost that “frontman” quality to him. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-frontmen-women/652228/9 "2013-03-06T22:53:28Z")
If the requirement is “singer and showman”, I would think Pete Townshend would qualify. True, Roger is the voice of the band, but Pete’s guitar work, stage antics and to a lesser degree, vocals make him just as much the focus of attention as Daltrey is. ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-frontmen-women/652228/10 "2013-03-06T22:54:55Z")
> [@Steophan](#): > > No Springsteen, no vote, sorry. And he does count, live he’s very much the frontman of the E Street Band. Yeah, I always get peeved when people nitpick a tough, selective group, but the lack of The Boss is too egregious. Carry on… ETA: Decent list, otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-frontmen-women/652228/11 "2013-03-06T23:01:31Z")
> [@Southern\_Yankee](#): > > Yeah, I always get peeved when people nitpick a tough, selective group, but the lack of The Boss is too egregious. Carry on… > > ETA: Decent list, otherwise. I considered the Boss but I limited myself to unnamed frontmen of bands because it becomes to hard to figure out who should and who should’t count. Tom Petty? David Bowie? Joan Jett? I understand though, it’s a bit nitpicky, but at least it is consistent. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-frontmen-women/652228/12 "2013-03-06T23:04:30Z")
> [@Steophan](#): > > No Springsteen, no vote, sorry. And he does count, live he’s very much the frontman of the E Street Band. No **James Brown**? **Prince**? Mick Jagger is getting votes, deservedly, but would be the first to admit that James Brown blew him off the stage. ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-frontmen-women/652228/13 "2013-03-06T23:08:59Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > I considered the Boss but I limited myself to unnamed frontmen of bands because it becomes to hard to figure out who should and who should’t count. Tom Petty? David Bowie? Joan Jett? > > I understand though, it’s a bit nitpicky, but at least it is consistent. Just to be clear, I was saying I get peeved when people nitpick _other people’s_ lists. I don’t think your list is bad. But Bruce would have won my ballot outright, so I said what I did. Totally don’t mean to thread shit. I hope the poll goes well. Fun topic. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-frontmen-women/652228/14 "2013-03-06T23:10:39Z")
No Prince, no vote. ---
**Author:** ![Dave\_Hartwick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@Dave\_Hartwick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dave_Hartwick)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-frontmen-women/652228/15 "2013-03-06T23:29:38Z")
Could’ve used some criteria to consider (and then promptly ignore). Also, I could only vote for one, but it says pick 5. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-frontmen-women/652228/16 "2013-03-06T23:50:59Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > If the requirement is “singer and showman”, I would think Pete Townshend would qualify. True, Roger is the voice of the band, but Pete’s guitar work, stage antics and to a lesser degree, vocals make him just as much the focus of attention as Daltrey is. Yeah, the Who didn’t have a frontman. Or else they had only one guy who _wasn’t_ the frontman. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-frontmen-women/652228/17 "2013-03-06T23:55:34Z")
> [@Southern\_Yankee](#): > > Just to be clear, I was saying I get peeved when people nitpick _other people’s_ lists. I don’t think your list is bad. But Bruce would have won my ballot outright, so I said what I did. Totally don’t mean to thread shit. I hope the poll goes well. Fun topic. No problem at all. ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-frontmen-women/652228/18 "2013-03-06T23:57:02Z")
No Jordan Knight, no vote. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2013, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-frontmen-women/652228/19 "2013-03-07T00:02:02Z")
Freddie Mercury, and it’s not even close. And that’s coming from someone predisposed to vote for Jim Morrison. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2013, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-frontmen-women/652228/20 "2013-03-07T00:06:50Z")
> [@bienville](#): > > No Jordan Knight, no vote. I was gonna say the same for Scott Stapp 😉 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-frontmen-women/652228.md?page=2)