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Queen illustrating a typical band layout during a 1984 concert. Lead vocalist (frontman) Freddie Mercury stands centre-stage in front of drummer Roger Taylor and positioned between bassist John Deacon and guitarist Brian May.

The lead vocalist is the member of a band who sings the main solo vocal portions of a song. They may also play one or more instruments. Lead vocalists are sometimes referred to as the frontman or frontwoman, and as such, are usually believed to be the "leader" of the groups they perform in (though this is not necessarily true), often the spokespersons in interviews and before the public. On some occasions, the frontman of the band is someone other than the lead vocalist (e.g. Rainbow, Manfred Mann, The Dave Clark Five and AC/DC.)

In certain types of music, notably Soul and Motown, there is a line-up of a lead vocalist with a named group of backing vocalists (Gladys Knight & the Pips, Smokey Robinson & the Miracles). Such line-ups can be very fluid, with both the lead vocalist and the backing group pursuing independent careers; and frequent personnel changes are not uncommon.

Ambiguous lead vocalists[link]

Some rock groups, such as The Beatles, Linkin Park, Hollywood Undead, Eagles, Gomez, Pink Floyd, The Beach Boys, KISS, Blink-182, Anti-Flag, 311, 10cc, The Band, Zebrahead, Atreyu, Mastodon, New Politics, Mushroomhead, Alkaline Trio, Lacuna Coil, Flobots, Slightly Stoopid, Crazy Town, Hüsker Dü, Set Your Goals, Four Year Strong, Great Big Sea, Just Surrender, They Might Be Giants, The Monkees, Squirrel Nut Zippers, and Barenaked Ladies have or had more than one featured vocalist, making it difficult to establish a single "lead singer" or "front man."

Other bands, such as Queen, The Clash, Cream,Type O Negative, Oasis, Depeche Mode, System of a Down, Goo Goo Dolls, Avenged Sevenfold, Creed, Alter Bridge, Alice in Chains, The Who, The Rolling Stones, Deep Purple, Wings, The Cars, Panic at the Disco, Sick Puppies, Taking Back Sunday, Rancid, Styx, Status Quo, Skillet, Tantric had, in addition to the designated "lead singer", one or more members who provided significant lead vocals in the course of the group's career.

While the lead vocalist often defines the group's image and personality to the general public, several bands, such as AC/DC, Iron Maiden, Van Halen, Alice in Chains, Fuel, INXS, Helloween, Threshold, Evans Blue, Blessthefall, Killswitch Engage and Escape the Fate have changed lead singers and maintained the original band name and, to some extent, identity. Other bands such as Fleetwood Mac, Journey, Genesis, Anthrax, Misfits, Petra, Drowning Pool, Adema, Deep Purple and Black Sabbath have gone in an almost completely different musical direction with the arrival of a new vocalist.

[edit] Frontman

The lead vocalist of a band is sometimes called a frontman. This term "frontman" refers to the duties of musical leader amongst the band and spokesperson for the band before the public. While lead vocalists or spokespersons for any musical ensembles can be called a frontman, the term is used very widely in rock music. Since the position commonly has an expanded role from simple lead vocalists, there have been cases in which the frontman for a band is someone other than the lead vocalist. For example, Pete Wentz, the bassist for the band Fall Out Boy, is generally called the frontman, both in the media and by the band members themselves, since he represents the band in most interviews and has most contributed to the band's image in the popular media.^[1] Additionally, Dave Clark of The Dave Clark Five was the group's drummer, not the main vocalist. Another example is Angus Young of AC/DC, who is the band's lead guitarist.

In several bands (such as Led Zeppelin, Queen and Oasis) the lead guitarist or bassist may share spokesman responsibilities with the lead singer. Usually, this is derived from that guitarist's specific role as a co-songwriter, co-founder and/or co-vocalist. Also in some cases, there are two frontmen, like in the band, Underoath, with singers Spencer Chamberlain and Aaron Gillespie (drummer). Another example is Blink-182, in which vocal duties are split between bassist Mark Hoppus and guitarist Tom DeLonge. Hoppus usually carries out most media either by himself or together with DeLonge, while the band's other member, drummer Travis Barker usually remains quiet. Linkin Park has two vocalists as well, Chester Bennington and Mike Shinoda, both considered as frontmen. Another example is the thrash metal band Metallica, in which James Hetfield (Lead vocalist and Rhythm guitarist) and Lars Ulrich (Drummer) share the spokesperson duties for being both founders and the only members that had never left the band.

See also[link]

• List of lead vocalists
• List of bands with a frontperson other than the lead singer

References[link]

Paul Stanley
Background information
Birth name	Stanley Eisen
Also known as	"The Starchild"
Born	(1952-01-20) January 20, 1952 (age 60) Manhattan, New York, United States
Origin	Queens, New York, United States
Genres	Hard rock, heavy metal
Occupations	Musician, songwriter, producer, painter, actor
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, bass
Years active	1970–present
Labels	New Door, Universal Music Group
Associated acts	Kiss, Wicked Lester
Website	www.paulstanley.com
Notable instruments
Ibanez PS10 and Destroyer (late 1970s and early 1980s, Mid 1990s) Washburn Signature Models (Mid-late 1990s and present) Silvertone Signature Models (Mid-2000s) BC Rich Guitars (1980s and Early 1990s) Gibson Flying V(mid 1970s), Gibson Explorer(late 1970s) Randall Amplifiers (1990s – 2010) Engl Amplifiers (Since 2010)

Stanley Eisen (born January 20, 1952), better known by his stage name Paul Stanley, is an American hard rock guitarist, singer, musician, painter and songwriter best known for being the rhythm guitarist and primary lead vocalist of the rock band Kiss. Also known for his wailing vocals and high-energy on-stage antics. He is of Hungarian and Austrian ancestry.

He is the writer or co-writer of many of the band's highest-charting hits. Stanley established the "Starchild" character for his Kiss persona. Hit Parader ranked him 18th on their list of Top 100 Metal Vocalists of All Time. Gibson.com Readers Poll also named him 13th on their list of Top 25 Frontmen.

Biography[link]

Kiss[link]

Before Kiss, Paul Stanley was in a local band, Rainbow (not to be confused with Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow) and was also a member of Uncle Joe and Post War Baby Boom. Through a mutual friend of Gene Simmons', Stanley joined Simmons' band Wicked Lester in the early 1970s. The band recorded an album in 1972, but as of 2010 it has not been officially released (although songs from the album appeared on Kiss's 2001 box set). Wicked Lester soon fell apart and Stanley and Simmons placed ads for a drummer and a guitarist in various New York papers. This resulted in Peter Criss and Ace Frehley joining the group, and they named themselves Kiss. Kiss released their self-titled debut album in February 1974.

The Starchild

Stanley's persona in Kiss was "The Starchild" utilizing one star over his right eye. For a brief time, Stanley changed his make-up character to "The Bandit", with a "Lone Ranger" style mask design make-up pattern. This make-up design would only be used during a few mid-1973 shows, soon to be replaced by the now famous "The Starchild" make-up design and persona. In his book Sex Money Kiss, Gene Simmons admits that Stanley was the driving force for Kiss during the makeup-free 1980s, while Simmons was feeling lost without his demon makeup and was distanced from the band while attempting to launch a film career.

In 2006, Stanley resumed his association with Washburn Guitars and using the Washburn PS2000. Previously, he has had four signature guitars made by Silvertone, and tweaked the Ibanez Iceman to his specifications, calling it the PS10.

In 2007 (prior to the final show of the Hit 'N Run Tour on July 27), Stanley was hospitalized with tachycardia. In his absence, Kiss performed live as a trio for the first time in decades. Previously, Kiss performed as a trio at Studio 54 in New York City for an international satellite broadcast on January 28, 1982, lip-syncing the song "I" from Music from "The Elder" for the Italian Festival della canzone italiana, also known as the San Remo Festival, when Ace Frehley failed to show for the performance due to what was described at the time as a "mystery illness". The July 27, 2007 concert is the first Kiss concert Stanley has missed during his 34-year tenure with the group.^[1]

In September 2007, Stanley took part in Rock 'n Roll Fantasy Camp as a guest star for his second time in New York City. In 2009 Paul Stanley recorded 3 voice ads for the charity Kars4Kids. Stanley continues to tour with Kiss; the KISS 2010 The Hottest Show on Earth Tour (a continuation of the Sonic Boom Over Europe Tour which was itself a continuation of the Kiss Alive/35 World Tour) which started March 2010 and ended at Guadalajara, Mexico in October.

Solo career[link]

Stanley has very rarely recorded or performed outside of Kiss. He wrote and recorded material for a solo album in 1987–88, which was shelved in favor of the Kiss compilation, Smashes, Thrashes & Hits. While never officially released, songs such as "Don't Let Go" and "When Two Hearts Collide" have circulated as bootleg recordings. One song from the project, "Time Traveler," was released as part of the Kiss's 2001 box set.

In 1989, he embarked on a brief club tour. His touring band included guitarist Bob Kulick and future Kiss drummer Eric Singer. Also in 1989, Stanley loaned his voice to the title track for the soundtrack of the Wes Craven horror flick "Shocker".

In 2005, a bootleg CD began circulating entitled People, Let Me Get This Off My Chest: The Very Best of Paul Stanley's On Stage Banter. The fan-made disc compiled 70 tracks worth of Stanley's distinctive song introductions and on-stage banter.^[2]

Twenty-eight years after releasing his first solo album (as part of the four simultaneously released Kiss solo albums), Stanley released a second album, Live to Win, on October 24, 2006. The title song of his solo album, "Live to Win", appeared on the South Park episode "Make Love, Not Warcraft". In October and November 2006, Stanley embarked on a theater tour in support of Live to Win. His touring band was the house band from the CBS TV show, Rock Star. The band appeared on both seasons of the show – Rock Star: INXS and Rock Star: Supernova. The band was composed of Paul Mirkovich (keyboards), Jim McGorman (guitar), Rafael Moreira (lead guitar), Nate Morton (drums), and Sasha Krivtsov (bass). In April 2007, Stanley extended the tour to include Australia, playing in Coolangatta, Wollongong, Newcastle, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide. Portions of the tour were filmed for a documentary titled Paul Stanley: Live to Dream by the Chicago-based Film Foetus.^[3] The band's performance at the House of Blues in Chicago was captured on film and released in 2008 on DVD and digital audio download formats as One Live Kiss.

In 2008, Stanley sang a duet with Sarah Brightman, "I Will Be with You", on her Symphony album.

Voice[link]

It features a standard soft and gentle but powerful bass treble. Stanley tends to sing especially in the high register of his vocal range, although the term "record" Kiss sang even more serious in the records (I Was Made for Lovin 'You, Shandi). In Music from "The Elder" has also experimented with falsetto (Just a Boy, The Oath).

Other projects[link]

Stanley while showing some of his paintings in San Diego, September 2007

In 1999, Stanley starred in a Toronto production of The Phantom of the Opera, in which he played the role of The Phantom. He appeared in the musical from May 25 to August 1, and again that year from September 30 to October 31, 1999. Stanley made his debut as a painter in 2006, exhibiting and selling original works of art. Stanley collaborated with Boston-based power pop group Click Five on their hit single, "Angel To You (Devil To Me)". In the past, Stanley has been asked to produce albums for Poison but he was never able to commit due to his work on Kiss projects. However, Stanley did in fact produce a debut album for an up and coming band called New England. The first single from that album in 1978 was called "Don't Ever Wanna Lose Ya" and went on to become a Top-40 hit in 1979.^[4]

Personal life[link]

Stanley was born in Manhattan, New York and moved to Queens as a teenager. He is Jewish. He attended The High School of Music & Art in New York City and graduated in 1970.^[5] Stanley has microtia, a deformity of the pinna (outer ear).^[6] He is an ambassador for the charitable organization AboutFace, an organization that provides support and information to individuals with facial differences and has appeared at fundraising events and in videos to raise awareness.

In 2001, Stanley's wife, Dallas native Pamela Bowen, filed for divorce. They have one son, Evan Shane Stanley, born June 6, 1994. On November 19, 2005, Paul Stanley married longtime girlfriend Erin Sutton at The Ritz-Carlton, Huntington in Pasadena, California. They had their first child, Colin Michael Stanley, on September 6, 2006. The couple had their second child, Sarah Brianna, on January 28, 2009 in Los Angeles, California.^[7] On August 9, 2011, the couple had their third child, Emily Grace.^[8]

Stanley has had two hip replacement surgeries: one after the "Rock the Nation" tour in October 2004, and a second in December 2004 after complications arose from the first surgery. He has announced that he will require a third hip surgery in the future. Stanley regards the degeneration of his left hip as partly the product of thousands of shows performed in Platform Boots since the early 1970s.

In October 2011 Stanley had vocal chords surgery.He said "I hold myself to a higher standard than others do, With that in mind, I wanted to remedy a few minor issues that come with 40 years of preaching rock 'n' roll."

Awards[link]

• Stanley was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame in 2006
• Stanley got the Showman Of The Year award of the Classic Rock Awards for 2008
• Stanley received the Classic Gold Telly Award for his concert film One Live Kiss in 2009.
• Stanley received the Sound Partners Lifetime Achievement Award from the House Research Institute^[9]

Discography[link]

Kiss[link]

Solo career[link]

• Paul Stanley (1978)
• Live to Win (2006)
• One Live Kiss (2008) – DVD and digital download from Amazon.com and iTunes

References[link]

External links[link]

• Paul Stanley official website
• Kiss official website
• Interview with Paul Stanley
• Paul Stanley at the Internet Movie Database
• Interview with Paul Stanley from 1999
• http://www.newswise.com/articles/house-research-institute-awards-paul-stanley-with-sound-partners-lifetime-achievement-award
• http://www.gibson.com/en-us/Lifestyle/Features/all-top-50-0827/