Twisted Sister is an
American heavy metal band from
New York City.
[www.twistedsister.com/french.php] Their work fuses the
shock tactics of
Alice Cooper, the rebellious mood of the
New Wave of British Heavy Metal, and the extravagant image of
glam rock bands such as
New York Dolls notably for the makeup. Musically, the band implements elements of traditional heavy metal bands such as
Judas Priest, along with a style that is similar to early
glam metal bands. The band is generally categorized as glam metal for their earlier work, although the band does not consider themselves to be so.
[ultmetal.tripod.com/twistedsister.htm][www.virginradio.co.uk/music/artists/twisted_sister/]
Although the band was formed by guitarist
Jay Jay French in December 1972, all of their songs were written by
Dee Snider from 1976 onward. Snider remarked to
Johnny Carson that the proposed name for the band was "This" but was rejected for fear of fans saying "this sucks". He describes Twisted Sister as "
Slade meets
Sex Pistols". Twisted Sister's most well-known hits include "
We're Not Gonna Take It" and "
I Wanna Rock", both popularized by regular airplay on
MTV in the 1980s. Many of the band's songs explore themes of parent vs. child conflicts and criticisms of the educational system.
History of Twisted Sister
Pre-Dee period (1972–1976)
Twisted Sister was formed in December 1972 by guitarist Jay Jay French under the name Silverstar. In February 1973 Silverstar changed its name to Twisted Sister. In 1975,
Eddie "Fingers" Ojeda, a former high school friend of French, joined as co-lead singer and second guitarist. He had previously recorded with a New York City band called
SPV. Kevin John Grace replaced Mel "Starr" Anderson on drums. Bass guitarist Kenny Neill (Kenneth Harrisson-Neill) completed the lineup. The band followed a
glam rock direction, influenced by
David Bowie,
Slade,
Mott the Hoople,
Humble Pie, and
New York Dolls. It played at local clubs without much success until 1976.
