Twisted Sister

Emerging from the glam rock milieu that defined New York City in the early 1970s, Twisted Sister absorbed lessons from the New York Dolls while weaving in the theatrical flair of Kiss, Slade’s knack for hooks, and Alice Cooper’s brand of shock tactics. Rooted on Long Island, the band relied on the longstanding core of guitarists Jay Jay French and Eddie "Fingers" Ojeda, vocalist Dee Snider, bassist Mark "The Animal" Mendoza, and drummer A.J. Pero. After two well-reviewed but commercially overlooked releases, they broke through in 1984 with Stay Hungry, an album that achieved multi-platinum status thanks to the massive singles “We’re Not Gonna Take It” and “I Wanna Rock.” Two further records, Come Out and Play and Love Is for Suckers, appeared before the group folded in 1988. They regrouped in the early 2000s, issued the holiday collection Twisted Christmas in 2006, and dissolved once more in 2016 after A.J. Pero’s death the previous year.

Guitarist John Segal, performing as Jay Jay French, launched Twisted Sister in 1972 and modeled the group directly on the New York Dolls. Progress on the local club circuit proved gradual, yet a relatively steady roster had formed by late 1975 around French, high-school acquaintance Eddie "Fingers" Ojeda, bassist Kenneth Harrison Neil, and drummer Kevin John Grace. A succession of singers passed through until Dee Snider joined in early 1976, supplying both leadership and a pronounced Alice Cooper edge that sharpened the band’s glam-leaning approach. Snider swiftly assumed primary songwriting duties, and with A.J. Pero now on drums the quintet began attracting attention throughout the New York area.

The 1983 album You Can’t Stop Rock ’n’ Roll established a foundation with its refined sound and stronger songcraft. Although only the title track charted modestly and received the band’s first video treatment, the record earned respect within metal circles. Later that year Quiet Riot’s Metal Health became the first heavy metal album to top the charts, creating an opening that Twisted Sister seized with 1984’s Stay Hungry. Dee Snider channeled his pop, punk, and glam background into the hard-rock attack, producing anthemic singles “We’re Not Gonna Take It” and “I Wanna Rock.” The album earned platinum certification in five countries—triple platinum in the United States and quintuple platinum in Canada—elevating the band within the pop and hair-metal landscape. Videos featuring actor Mark Metcalf reprising his National Lampoon’s Animal House role as Douglas C. Neidermeyer received heavy MTV airplay, while relentless touring kept the record high on the charts and transformed Twisted Sister into mainstream names.

Come Out and Play arrived in 1985 to mixed notices, balancing the group’s hardcore base with its expanding pop audience through an exaggerated glam-image shift. Snider took center stage that year by testifying alongside Frank Zappa and John Denver before a Senate committee against the Parents Music Resource Center’s proposed censorship rules. After A.J. Pero resigned at tour’s end, 1986 brought internal strain and rumors of a permanent split between Snider and French. The band resurfaced with 1987’s Love Is for Suckers, opening with the powerful “Wake Up (The Sleeping Giant)” and introducing drummer Joey “Seven” Franco. Despite production by Beau Hill, sales proved disappointing and Twisted Sister soon disbanded.

Dee Snider continued with the hard-rock outfit Desperado, later renamed Widowmaker and featuring guitarist Bernie Tormé and drummer Franco. Following the grunge era, archival releases such as 1992’s Big Hits and Nasty Cuts and 1994’s Live at Hammersmith offered reminders of the band’s rapid ascent. Snider moved into syndicated radio work and occasional film production, writing and starring in the 1998 horror film Strangeland, which prompted a one-off reunion of the final lineup to record the new track “Heroes Are Hard to Find.”

Reconciliation with founder Jay Jay French, who had managed acts including Sevendust, led to a full reunion of the Stay Hungry lineup for a post-9/11 benefit concert in New York City—their first public performance together in nearly fifteen years. Spitfire Records had already reissued much of the catalog and added the Club Daze volumes of unreleased 1970s material; in 2004 a re-recorded Stay Hungry appeared as Still Hungry to mark the original’s twentieth anniversary. This renewed activity spurred further touring, culminating in the 2006 holiday album Twisted Christmas. The group maintained an active schedule, drawing large festival crowds in Europe and issuing occasional live recordings. In March 2015 the band announced that A.J. Pero had died at age 55. A farewell tour followed in 2016, with Mike Portnoy on drums, ending with the final concert on November 12 in Monterrey.