Picture the world as a stage, and within the glaring spotlight there unites men in their mid twenties and slightly beyond, making beautiful music. Their vocal abilities capture us, while their dazzling guitar solos serenade us from afar. Now imagine all of the makeup and hairspray these fella's use to make up their image. This is glam rock. It is rock and roll, at nearly it's best, with long haired musicians that have a tendency to wear more eyeliner, and tease their hair higher than that of their girlfriend. This was the mid-eighties when bands would assume a look, a bit varied from 'KISS', whom they tried to emulate, but with their own style.

It was skin tight jeans, with rips and holes to give the idea of toughness. It was tattered clothing, and ripped tee shirts. It was leather and pleather clad groupies, crying for their favorite 'rocker' to sing them a ballad. Glam rock was the epitome of eighties music. Our bands would dress to the nines in their denim and leather, parade about with a face so caked with makeup you wouldn't recognize them without it, and play the music that we considered heavy metal, but was not even close. I love the glam rock genre, I will admit it.

The bands tried to look tough, even while crooning that love song that made them popular, before busting out the electric guitar to rock the crowd filled stadium with their rock hits. This was 'Motley Crue' when they entered the scene, wearing eyeliner and looking, well, pretty! Vince Neil (lead singer) would awe us with his vocals about 'Home Sweet Home', while Tommy Lee, with his high hair, teased to the ceiling would beat the rhythm on those drums, wearing very little clothing, but plenty of make-up.

Also known as the big hair bands, they would tour the country collecting girls to spend the night with and rock our cities with their own brands of rock and roll music. They would all be different (here is where the makeup cam in, it would make their 'style), in appearance and sound, but they were basically the same. A few tender slow moving songs, and a great many upbeat diddy's that got our hands clapping, and our lips moving along with the lyrics. It was 'Poison' (my personal favorite), with 'Every Rose has it's thorn', and 'Talk dirty to me', where lead singer Bret Michaels would woo us with his songs, making us dream to be able to lie in his arms. Nowadays all you gotta do to make out with him is go on his reality show.

There were many of these bands, some more short-lived than others. But the makeup soon faded, and they guys got down to the nitty-gritty and put their all into the music. They kept the long hair and the leather, and the denim, but ditched the hairspray and the 'Maybelline'. But we were already stricken with love for these bands. This 'Slaughter,' and 'Winger', and 'Motley Crue' and 'Poison', and yes, girls, 'Bon Jovi'. They only thing that Jon and pals can boast is that they wore less makeup then the other bands, yet they also cam onto the scene a few years after their fellow glamorous rock and roll counterparts. You know what glam rock is, you listen to it often. It was almost metal, but far less dark and twisty, and more pretty than what we would refer to as 'metal, or grunge'

Learn more about this author, Shawna Blake.
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