Can you name these musicians based on one element of their signature look?
Rock music is almost as much a visual medium as a musical one. A lot of fans may have liked Keith Richards’ guitar playing, but he wouldn’t really be Keith Richards without his disheveled signature look, and if he showed up for a gig in a business suit, it would just seem wrong. A lot of rock musicians realized this and managed to make a signature look for themselves, based on an article of clothing, an accessory, or a hairdo. They may not have realized it at the time, but when they picked that hat-scarf-glove-whatever, they made themselves instantly recognizable, even to people who didn’t listen to their music.
1. Hint
This iconic rock star was famous for his signature white tank top.
Answer: Freddie Mercury
The white tank top is barely even considered a proper article of clothing, qualifying instead as underwear to a great many people. Queen frontman Freddie Mercury, meanwhile, was nothing like a great many people, and wearing a white tank top at Live Aid permanently turned it from an unmentionable to the uniform of a rock god.
2. Hint
This famous band frontman tied flamboyant scarves to his microphone stand.
Answer: Steven Tyler
Aerosmith lead singer Steven Tyler tied scarves to his microphone stand and it became known as his exclusive thing, even if he wasn’t wearing any of the scarves himself. A lot of glam metal imitators came along in the 1980s and tried to hijack the look, but decades later it’s still only associated with Tyler.
3. Hint
This guitarist is easily recognizable by his iconic top hat.
Answer: Slash
Was Guns N’ Roses’ guitarist Slash trying to copy the top hat worn by Marc Bolan on the cover of the T. Rex album “The Slider”? Or was he just trying to obscure his face with the curly hair that covered his eyes when he squished a hat over it? Whatever the origin story is, Slash is that hat.
4. Hint
This iconic vocalist’s feather boa epitomized an era.
Answer: Janis Joplin
Janis Joplin died young, joining the “27 club” in 1970 after a heroin overdose. However, in the very short amount of time that she was on the world stage, she created a signature sound with a blues wail that could peel paint off the walls. She also established a signature look with the help of a feather boa.
5. Hint
This renowned bassist sported quite menacing boots.
Answer: Gene Simmons
Really, the most famous part of KISS bassist Gene Simmons’ signature look is his very long tongue, which he always had whether the band was in makeup or not. Having said that, there’s no way to use that as the clue without using a picture of his face, so we’re going with his epic footwear instead.
6. Hint
This punk icon flaunted mini dresses.
Answer: Debbie Harry
Blondie frontwoman Debbie Harry was easy on the eyes during her 1970s heyday, but she was too smart to leave it at that. She became synonymous with the punk-infused mini dress, which quickly became a new-wave staple.
7. Hint
This cardigan sweater defined a music genre’s fashion.
Answer: Kurt Cobain
While most people would answer the question, “What is grunge style?” by answering “A flannel shirt,” the truth is that Nirvana’s frontman never limited himself to those. If anything, the cardigan sweater that he wore and that looked like it had cost a dollar at a thrift shop was his real signature look, and since his passing, no one has tried to copy it.
8. Hint
This iconic musician incorporated a facial feature into his signature look.
Answer: Lemmy Kilmister
Motörhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister was allegedly a prolific womanizer. He also had a very large wart on his face. Wfhile some people might be self-conscious about that, he owned it and wore it like armor. We commend him on not letting his unorthodox features stop him from not only going after what he wanted, but for embracing it as part of his signature look.
9. Hint
Ridiculously tight jeans
Answer: Robert Plant
Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant was the archetypal hard rock singer during the 1970s, and he unwittingly gave the movie “This Is Spinal Tap” lots of inspiration. One such bit of inspiration was his extremely tight jeans, which you can see in the concert movie “The Song Remains the Same” and which leaves absolutely nothing to the imagination.
10. Hint
This iconic musician gained fame for draping a live snake around his neck.
Answer: Alice Cooper
Vincent Furnier, better known as Alice Cooper, invented modern shock rock, and his antics included doing things like decapitating himself onstage with a phony guillotine and using a live snake as a feather boa. While some imitators might have tried their own phony onstage executions, most of them drew the line at hanging out with a snake until Britney Spears came along.
11. Hint
Schoolboy uniform
Answer: Angus Young
AC/DC lead guitarist Angus Young may be pushing 70, but that has done nothing to lessen his predilection for wearing a British schoolboy uniform onstage. He started the schtick when the band formed in the 1970s, and even though the lineup has changed multiple times, he and his shorts have been mainstays.
12. Hint
Lace shawls
Answer: Stevie Nicks
Whatever you think of Stevie Nicks’ raspy references to white-winged doves, you can’t deny that she’s carved out a signature look for herself. By garlanding herself with lace shawls, Nicks found a niche as the rock version of Glinda, the good witch.
13. Hint
Black-everything
Answer: Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash was known as the Man in Black, and during his earlier career in the 1950s and 1960s, he was pretty much alone in that. Of course, in the 1980s, goth and metal fans started draping themselves in all-black clothes, but Cash kept his title as the original Man in Black and remains so even 20 years after his passing.
14. Hint
A red bandana was a staple in this musician’s ‘uniform.’
Answer: Bruce Springsteen
Springsteen fashioned himself a working-class, blue-collar hero, and part of that uniform was a red bandana. The Boss wore it headband-style, presumably because E Street Band guitarist Steven Van Zandt was already wearing one like a durag.
15. Hint
This iconic singer rocked leather pants.
Answer: Jim Morrison
Doors frontman Jim Morrison spent most of his singing career as the archetypal rock frontman, wearing skin-tight clothes and proclaiming himself the Lizard King. Part of that outfit was a pair of extremely tight leather pants, and that combined with his shirtless chest is how many of his fans prefer to remember him.
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