Lead Vocalist - Frontman

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, while the lead vocalist for the band Fall Out Boy was guitarist Patrick Stump, the bassist, Pete Wentz, was generally called the frontman, both in the media and by the band members themselves, since he represented the band in most interviews and contributed most to the band's image in the popular media. Additionally, Dave Clark of The Dave Clark Five was the group's drummer, not the main vocalist (this role was fulfilled by Mike Smith). Another example is Angus Young of AC/DC, who is the band's lead guitarist (though he did share the frontman position with Bon Scott, and continues to do so with Brian Johnson). Iron Maiden can be considered to have two frontmen, Steve Harris and Bruce Dickinson. Although Bruce Dickinson is the lead singer, Harris writes most of the songs and is a public spokesperson for the band.

A prime example of a band with two lead vocalists are The Libertines members Pete Doherty and Carl Barat who sing lead vocals on an equal amount of songs on an album, the two singers are also considered frontmen for the band. Pink Floyd also can be considered a band with two frontmen, as both the guitarist David Gilmour and the bassist Roger Waters sang and wrote most of the songs.

In several bands (such as Led Zeppelin, Queen and Oasis) the lead guitarist 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 Kiss, where bassist Gene Simmons and guitarist Paul Stanley share vocal duties, and 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 who have never left the band.