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Twisted Sister

Band formed in Long Island City, NY

Disbanded in 1987

Twisted Sister's Genre:

Pop-Metal, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Hair Metal

Biography

A product of New York City's early-'70s glam rock scene, Twisted Sister were eager students of the New York Dolls, with the theatrics of Kiss and the shock rock of Alice Cooper thrown in for good measure. While providing an excellent role model from an artistic standpoint, the Dolls' disappointing record sales and subsequent implosion would make it difficult for such faithful disciples as Twisted Sister to land a record deal, and the band wound up struggling for nearly a decade before finally getting their big break in the early '80s. Unfortunately, when this break finally came, the band would then embody one of the most gruesome examples of record company overexposure in the history of rock & roll (or at least since Kiss' late-'70s decline), bringing an abrupt end to their brief moment of glory.

Founded in December 1972 by guitarist Jay Jay French (who as John Segal, legend has it, played in a pre-Kiss band called Rainbow with Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley), Twisted Sister based their every move on the aforementioned New York Dolls. Their apprenticeship on the local club scene was a slow one, but by late 1975 a somewhat stable lineup had coalesced around French, fellow guitarist and high school buddy Eddie "Fingers" Ojeda, bassist Kenneth Harrison Neil, and drummer Kevin John Grace. A number of different vocalists filed through their ranks, but it was only with the arrival of Dee Snider in early 1976 that the band found its true leader. Snider brought a strong Alice Cooper influence to the band, giving their by then antiquated, fey glam sound a welcome kick in the ass. He also quickly developed into the band's dominant songwriter, and with new drummer Tony Petri in tow, Twisted Sister really started making a name for themselves in and around the city.

A significant growth spurt ensued; Snider wrote a wealth of original material and the band's live performances grew in local legend, setting attendance records that still stand in many clubs and culminating in a fruitful May 1978 recording session that would yield most of the material released 20 years later as the Club Daze album. Twisted Sister's transformation from glam rock also-rans into metallic hard rock contenders was completed later that year with the arrival of ex-Dictators bass player Mark "The Animal" Mendoza. November 1979 saw another studio session (this time at Electric Lady Studios with famed Hendrix engineer Eddie Kramer), which resulted in their first single, "I'll Never Grow Up Now!," released on the band's own TSR label in early 1980. Another single, "Bad Boys of Rock'n'Roll," followed that summer, but for all their hard work, come 1981 the band had only a growing collection of record company rejection slips to show for their efforts. Finally, independent Secret Records decided to take a chance on the group and after cutting the four-track Ruff Cuts EP, the group flew to England with new drummer A.J. Pero (ex-Cities) to record their first full-length album, Under the Blade, under the direction of UFO bassist Pete Way as producer. And despite obtaining only a mediocre sound from the inexperienced Way, the album became a surprise underground success, generating enough buzz to attract Atlantic Records, which came calling with a major distribution contract -- the final ingredient for Twisted Sister's assault on the charts over the next two years.

1983's seminal You Can't Stop Rock 'n' Roll laid the groundwork for things to come with its more polished production values and more consistent material, yielding only one chart-flirting single in the title track (for which the band filmed their first, incredibly cheesy, but rather amusing video) but garnering serious cred with the metal crowd. Later that year, L.A.'s Quiet Riot topped the charts with their smash hit Metal Health (the first heavy metal album to do so), and Twisted Sister took advantage of this sympathetic musical climate to unleash their own definitive statement, Stay Hungry. Digging deep into his pop and glam roots, Snider infused added commercial appeal to the band's hard rock onslaught, and with such monster hits as "We're Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Rock" leading the way to radio and MTV saturation with their hilariously tongue-in-cheek videos, the album soon exceeded multi-platinum sales. The extensive touring that followed guaranteed the album's stay near the top of the charts for many months to come and, against all odds, helped make the "sick mo-fos" from Long Island into household names in America.

Of course the backlash, when it came, was equally sudden and incredibly vicious. Overexposed to the breaking point after converting every angry teenager in America and most of their parents, Twisted Sister had lost the edge of their dangerous image, not to mention the respect of their loyal but terribly possessive core metal fan base. To complicate matters, 1985's Come Out and Play album was very uneven; attempting to cater to both the band's hardcore elements and their newfound pop constituency and introducing an excessively glammed-up image makeover to boot, it quickly slid off the charts. Not even Atlantic Records' timely reissue of Under the Blade (with an added bonus track, "I'll Never Grow Up Now!") could staunch the bleeding, and a dumbfounded Twisted Sister found themselves quickly transformed from media darlings to favorite whipping boys.

For his part, Snider remained in the camera eye, however, appearing before a Senate committee later that year (along with such rock & roll luminaries as Frank Zappa and Bob Denver) to testify against the Parents Music Resource Center's demands for music censorship legislation. Sadly, it would prove to be Twisted Sister's highest profile appearance all year, as their concerts were frequently marred either by low attendance or crowd animosity. Adding insult to injury, drummer Pero had rendered his resignation at tour's end, opening the door to a very troubled 1986 for Twisted Sister, as rumors ran rampant about an irreparable rift between Snider and French over the band's direction. They eventually re-emerged with 1987's Love Is for Suckers, featuring new drummer Joey "Seven" Franco, but not even the services of flavor-of-the-month pop-metal producer Beau Hill could save the album from disappointing sales, and despite still getting by on the basis of their reliably fierce concert performances, Twisted Sister wound up disintegrating shortly thereafter.

Except for Dee Snider, who gamely soldiered on with an ultimately unsuccessful new hard rock band named Desperado (later renamed Widowmaker and featuring guitarist Bernie Tormé and drummer Franco), the members of Twisted Sister pretty much vanished from sight over the next few years. Grunge came and went, and posthumous releases like 1992's Big Hits and Nasty Cuts and 1994's Live at Hammersmith provided the only memory of Twisted Sister's meteoric flight across the hard rock firmament. As the '90s wore on, Snider's voice was heard promoting the New York State Lotto as often as shouting "I wanna rock!" and by decade's end he'd transitioned into a widely syndicated radio DJ and even sometime movie producer. He wrote and starred in the 1998 horror flick Strangeland, for which he also managed to reunite Twisted Sister's final lineup to record a brand new song entitled "Heroes Are Hard to Find."

His reconciliation with TS founder Jay Jay French (who'd kept busy managing bands, most notably nu-metallers Sevendust) eventually paved the way to a never-dreamed-of, full-fledged reunion of the "classic" Stay Hungry lineup, which performed publicly for the first time in almost 15 years at a post-9/11 benefit concert for New York City. By then, Spitfire Records had reissued much of Twisted Sister's original catalog, along with a pair of Club Daze collections documenting the band's "lost" '70s recordings, and, in 2004, released a re-recorded Stay Hungry (retitled Still Hungry) to mark its 20th anniversary. All of this activity fostered further demand for a more permanent return to action -- they even released a holiday album (Twisted Christmas) in 2006 -- and Twisted Sister has since toured sporadically across the globe, even, as documented by 2005's Live at Wacken DVD, performing to massive European festival audiences. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia

AOL Radio Stations Twisted Sister is Featured on (9)

Party Metal

Party Metal on Slacker Radio is a groupie's dream. If you owned anything spandex, fringe leather, a Trans-Am and 5 different brands of hairspray, then Party Metal is your backstage pass to the glam side of the '80s rock scene. The era lives on with bands like Poison, Motley Crue, Iron Maiden and Judas Priest. So, throw up your devil horns and let's party!

Eclectic Holiday

Sometimes the holidays aren't all chestnuts and tinsel. That's why Eclectic Holiday on Slacker Radio showcases the best in non-traditional, left-of-center and unheard songs that celebrate the most wonderful time of the year!

Classic Metal

Classic Metal on Slacker Radio plays music from the artists that established and helped define Heavy Metal. From '81 to '91, Classic Metal delivers head-banging tunes from ass-kickin' bands like Metallica, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Megadeath, Black Sabbath and many more.

Party Rock

Party Rock on Slacker has your party tunes covered with classics from AC/DC, Metallica, and The Stones. You'll also hear the latest from the Foo Fighters, Korn and System of a Down to keep your party rocking for hours. Have a few drinks, and party hard. We will rock it for you.

'80s Rock

The '80s was the decade of decadence and music was no exception. From bands like Poison and Cinderella who celebrated excess to U2 and R.E.M., that rebelled against it, '80s Rock on Slacker Radio covers the best rock the ‘80s had to offer.

Rock The Halls

Get the edgier side of holiday music with a great mix of holiday favorites from Rock, Alternative and Indie artists. Hear a wide range of holiday tunes from Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Presley, U2, Coldplay, Sarah McLachlan, Death Cab for Cutie, Sufjan Stevens and many more.

Rock

Rock on Slacker Radio is a tribute to all things rock, from AC/DC to Disturbed. You'll hear everything that rocks with no filler and no acoustic guitars.

'80s Hits

80's Hits takes the biggest hits from the decade of big hair and music videos and puts it together on one station. From the new wave of Duran Duran, to the arena rock of Def Leppard, from the end of disco to the beginning of hip hop (remember Tone Loc?), it's all on 80's Hits.

Twisted Sister

This station plays the best music from and music from related artists like Quiet Riot, Mötley Crüe, Skid Row, Guns N' Roses, Ozzy Osbourne, Poison, Scorpions, Whitesnake, Ratt, Def Leppard and more.

All Stations

Twisted Sister's Selected Discography (33)

Come Out and Play

201111 Songs

Love Is for Suckers

201114 Songs

A Twisted Christmas

2006 Razor & Tie200611 Songs

You Can't Stop Rock 'N' Roll

1983 Atlantic Recording Corporation for the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States.199013 Songs

You Can't Stop Rock 'N' Roll

201113 Songs

Stay Hungry

1984 Atlantic Recording Corporation for the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States.19909 Songs

Stay Hungry: 25th Anniversary Edition

2009 Rhino Entertainment Company, a Warner Music Group Company.200927 Songs

Still Hungry [Bonus Tracks]

2004 Eagle Rock Entertainment, Inc.200716 Songs

Under the Blade

1982 JEDMA Associates, Issued Under license to Spitfire Records Inc199910 Songs

Rhino Hi-Five: Twisted Sister

2007 Rhino Entertainment Company, a Warner Music Group Company20075 Songs

Under the Blade

DIGITAL201114 Songs

Club Daze: The Studio Sessions, Vol. 1

COMPILATION201113 Songs

A Twisted Christmas Live

(P) 2007 Razor & Tie201014 Songs

Live at Hammersmith '84

199916 Songs

Live at Wacken: The Reunion [DualDisc]

200537 Songs

A Twisted X-Mas: Live in Las Vegas

DIGITAL201214 Songs

Club Daze, Vol. 2: Live in the Bars

1999 IndieBlu Music Holdings LLCCOMPILATION200113 Songs

Come Out and Play

1985 Atlantic Recording Corp., manufactured and marketed by Rhino Entertainment Company, a Warner Music Group company199911 Songs

Love Is for Suckers

1987 Atlantic Recording Corp. Manufactured & Marketed by Rhino Entertainment Company, a Warner Music Group company198710 Songs

I Wanna Rock

The Video Years

200719 Songs

Still Hungry

200416 Songs

You Can't Stop Rock 'N' Roll

198310 Songs

Stay Hungry

200933 Songs

Under the Blade

20029 Songs

Come Out and Play [Video]

19856 Songs

Rhino Hi-Five

DIGITAL20075 Songs

Double Live: Northstage 82 & NY Steel 01 [DVD]

201127 Songs

Live at the Astoria

200816 Songs

A Twisted Christmas Live

200718 Songs

From the Bars to the Stars: Three Decades Live [Box Set] [DVD]

201180 Songs

Live at Wacken: The Reunion

201036 Songs

Live at Wacken: The Reunion

DIGITAL200911 Songs

All Albums

Artists Related to Twisted Sister (50)

	Quiet Riot	For a very brief moment, Quiet Riot was a rock & roll phenomenon. Famously described as the first heavy metal band to top the pop chart (a claim that greatly depends on one's exact definition of heavy metal), the Los Angeles quartet became an overnight sensation thanks to their monster 1983 smash album Metal Health.
	Mötley Crüe	Mötley Crüe were one of the most influential hair metal bands of the '80s, boasting a striking visual presence and hedonistic reputation rivaled only by Guns N' Roses.
	Skid Row	Skid Row were one of the very last hair metal bands to hit the mainstream before grunge took over in the early '90s.
	Guns N' Roses	At a time when pop was dominated by dance music and pop-metal, Guns N' Roses brought raw, ugly rock & roll crashing back into the charts.
	Ozzy Osbourne	Though many bands have succeeded in earning the hatred of parents and media worldwide throughout the past few decades, arguably only such acts as Alice Cooper, Judas Priest, and Marilyn Manson have tied the controversial record of Ozzy Osbourne.
	Poison	In a decade fueled by party anthems and power ballads, Poison enjoyed a great amount of popularity, with only Bon Jovi and Def Leppard outselling them.
	Scorpions	Known best for their 1984 anthem "Rock You Like a Hurricane" and the 1990 ballad "Wind of Change," German rockers the Scorpions have sold over 22 million records, making them one of the most successful rock bands to ever come out of Continental Europe.
	Whitesnake	After recording two solo albums, former Deep Purple vocalist David Coverdale formed Whitesnake around 1977.
	Ratt	Ratt's brash, melodic heavy metal made the Los Angeles quintet one of the most popular rock acts of the mid-'80s.
	Def Leppard	In many ways, Def Leppard were the definitive hard rock band of the '80s. There were many bands that rocked harder (and were more dangerous) than the Sheffield-based quintet, but few others captured the spirit of the times quite as well.
	AC/DC	AC/DC's mammoth power chord roar became one of the most influential hard rock sounds of the '70s. In its own way, it was a reaction against the pompous art rock and lumbering arena rock of the early '70s.
	Cinderella	Hard rock band Cinderella gained success in the mid-'80s, turning out a series of million-selling albums and hit singles while placing music videos in heavy rotation on MTV.
	Kiss	Rooted in the campy theatrics of Alice Cooper and the sleazy hard rock of glam rockers the New York Dolls, Kiss became a favorite of American teenagers in the '70s.
	Warrant	With a pair of double-platinum albums and three Top Ten singles, Warrant were one of the most popular pop-metal bands of the late '80s.
	Judas Priest	Judas Priest was one of the most influential heavy metal bands of the '70s, spearheading the New Wave of British Heavy Metal late in the decade.
	Van Halen	With their 1978 eponymous debut, Van Halen simultaneously rewrote the rules of rock guitar and hard rock in general.
	Tesla	Although Tesla emerged during the glory days of hair metal, the band's music was equally indebted to contemporary blues and '70s-style hard rock, a fusion that helped differentiate albums like The Great Radio Controversy from its contemporaries.
	Iron Maiden	Known for such powerful hits as "Two Minutes to Midnight" and "The Trooper," Iron Maiden were and are one of the most influential bands of the heavy metal genre.
	Black Sabbath	Black Sabbath have been so influential in the development of heavy metal rock music as to be a defining force in the style.
	Great White	While one infamous nightclub show eclipsed their previous achievements, the hard rock/heavy metal band Great White would much rather you remember their Grammy nomination for Best Hard Rock Performance, the over six million records they sold, and their double platinum album .
	Metallica	Metallica was easily the best, most influential heavy metal band of the '80s. Responsible for bringing the genre back to Earth, the bandmates looked and talked like they were from the street, shunning the usual rockstar games of metal musicians during the early '80s.
	Dio	For a brief spell during the mid-'80s, the heavy metal quintet Dio were one of the top U.S. concert attractions, boasting one of the most over the top stage acts of its time loaded with props and special effects (lasers, explosions, a giant dragon, etc.
	Bon Jovi	After ushering in the era of pop-metal with their 1986 blockbuster Slippery When Wet and its hit singles “You Give Love a Bad Name,” “Wanted Dead or Alive,” and “Living on a Prayer,” Bon Jovi wound up transcending the big-haired ‘80s, withstanding changes in style and sound to become one of the biggest American rock bands of their time, selling over 120 million albums worldwide, and sustaining their popularity well into the new millennium.
	Slaughter	Former Vinnie Vincent Invasion members Mark Slaughter and bassist Dana Strum formed Slaughter with guitarist Tim Kelly and drummer Blas Elias in 1988 in an attempt to cross over to pop audiences.
	Queensrÿche	Although they were initially grouped with the legions of pop-metal bands that dominated the American heavy metal scene of the '80s, Queensrÿche were one of the most distinctive bands of the era.
	Dokken	At a time when the charts were ruled by pop-metal acts, Dokken was a major attraction throughout the 1980s.
	Aerosmith	Aerosmith were one of the most popular hard rock bands of the '70s, setting the style and sound of hard rock and heavy metal for the next two decades with their raunchy, bluesy swagger.
	Alice Cooper	Originally, there was a band called Alice Cooper led by a singer named Vincent Damon Furnier. Under his direction, Alice Cooper pioneered a grandly theatrical and violent brand of heavy metal that was designed to shock.
	White Lion	Of all the glam/pop-metal bands that crawled out of hair salons coast to coast during the mid- to late '80s, one of the more talented acts was New York's White Lion, led by singer Mike Tramp (originally from Denmark) and guitarist Vito Bratta.
	Queen	Few bands embodied the pure excess of the '70s like Queen. Embracing the exaggerated pomp of prog rock and heavy metal, as well as vaudevillian music hall, the British quartet delved deeply into camp and bombast, creating a huge, mock-operatic sound with layered guitars and overdubbed vocals.
	Night Ranger	Featuring ex-Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Brad Gillis and former Montrose keyboardist Alan Fitzgerald, Night Ranger was one of the most popular mainstream hard rock bands of the mid-'80s.
	Sammy Hagar	After spending several years as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for the mid-'70s hard rock band Montrose, Sammy Hagar began a solo career that produced several hits and made him an album rock favorite.
	Lita Ford	One of two solo stars to spring from the ashes of the '70s all-girl hard rock band the Runaways, Lita Ford has long been a more frustrating, contradictory proposition for critics than former colleague Joan Jett.
	ZZ Top	This sturdy American blues-rock trio from Texas consists of Billy Gibbons (guitar), Dusty Hill (bass), and Frank Beard (drums).
	Megadeth	After he left Metallica in 1983, guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine formed the thrash metal quartet Megadeth.
	Winger	A former member of Alice Cooper's band, bassist Kip Winger formed his own group in 1986; in addition to vocalist/bassist Winger, the group featured guitarist Reb Beach, bassist Paul Taylor, and drummer Rod Morgenstein, formerly of the Dixie Dregs.
	Damn Yankees	For a brief time in the early '90s, the supergroup Damn Yankees enjoyed a considerable amount of success on the arena rock circuit.
	L.A. Guns	Although veterans of the Sunset Strip's hair metal scene, L.A. Guns are also known for being one of the two bands (along with Hollywood Rose) that merged in the mid-'80s to form Guns N' Roses.
	Journey	During their initial 14 years of existence (1973-1987), Journey altered their musical approach and their personnel extensively while becoming a top touring and recording band.
	Firehouse	Firehouse arrived at the tail end of the pop-metal explosion of the late '80s and early '90s, releasing their first album in 1991.
	David Lee Roth	In the eyes of countless hard rock fans, David Lee Roth is the prototypical frontman. With a flamboyant, larger than life stage presence and a party-hearty surfer dude persona (not to mention his acrobatic leaps, long mane of blond hair, and skintight spandex outfits), Roth was an integral part of Van Halen's meteoric rise to global dominance from 1978 through 1984.
	Joan Jett	By playing pure and simple rock & roll without making an explicit issue of her gender, Joan Jett became a figurehead for several generations of female rockers.
	Foreigner	While quite a few arena rock acts of the '70s found the transformation into the '80s quite difficult, several acts continued to flourish and enjoyed some of their biggest commercial success: Journey, Styx, REO Speedwagon, and especially Foreigner.
	Billy Idol	Along with Duran Duran, Billy Idol was one the first pop/rock artists to achieve massive success in the early '80s due to a then brand-new U.
	Cheap Trick	Combining a love for British guitar pop songcraft with crunching power chords and a flair for the absurd, Cheap Trick provided the necessary links between '60s pop, heavy metal, and punk.
	Lynyrd Skynyrd	Lynyrd Skynyrd was the definitive Southern rock band, fusing the overdriven power of blues-rock with a rebellious Southern image and a hard rock swagger.
	Motörhead	Motörhead's overwhelmingly loud and fast style of heavy metal was one of the most groundbreaking styles the genre had to offer in the late '70s.
	Styx	Although they began as an artsy prog rock band, Styx would eventually transform into the virtual arena rock prototype by the late '70s and early '80s, due to a fondness for bombastic rockers and soaring power ballads.
	Bad Company	Formed in 1973, the British hard rock outfit Bad Company was a supergroup comprised of ex-King Crimson bassist Boz Burrell, former Mott the Hoople guitarist Mick Ralphs, and singer Paul Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirke, both previous members of Free.
	W.A.S.P.	One of the heavier bands to come out of the early-'80s L.A. metal scene, W.A.S.P. quickly rose to national infamy thanks to their shock rock image, lyrics, and live concerts.

All Related Artists

Top Songs by Twisted Sister (50)

We're Not Gonna Take It

3:40