List of Twisted Sister members

Twisted Sister was an American heavy metal band from Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey. Formed in late December 1972 as cover band Silver Star, the group changed its name to Twisted Sister in February 1973 and originally included lead vocalist Michael "Valentine" O'Neill, guitarists Jay Jay French and Billy "Diamond" Stiger, bassist Kenny Neill and drummer Mel "Starr" Anderson.[1][2] The band took a short hiatus in December 1974, after O'Neill instigated a fight with Anderson and threatened to shoot the drummer.[3] They returned early the following year with new vocalist Frank "Rick Prince" Karuba and guitarist Keith "Angel" Angelino (in place of Stiger), although both had left before the end of the year, with French and Angelino's replacement Eddie "Fingers" Ojeda taking over lead vocal duties temporarily before another short hiatus.[4]

Two lineups of Twisted Sister in 2010 (top) and 2016 (bottom).

By February 1976, Twisted Sister had returned with new frontman Dee Snider and drummer Kevin John Grace.[5] Tony Petri took over on drums a few months later.[6] Neill left two years later in December 1978, with his place taken by Mark "The Animal" Mendoza.[7] The band changed drummers three more times in the early 1980s, first when Ritchie Teeter replaced Petri in December 1980, followed by Joey Brighton in April 1981, and finally by Anthony "A. J." Pero in April 1982.[6][8] The lineup of Snider, French, Ojeda, Mendoza and Pero released four studio albums between 1982 and 1985, before Pero left in 1986 to rejoin his former band Cities.[9] He was replaced by Joey "Seven" Franco, who performed on the group's last album Love Is for Suckers before breaking up in early 1988, following Snider's departure in October 1987.[1]

Twisted Sister reunited in 1998 to record "Heroes Are Hard to Find" for the film Strangeland, written and co-produced by Snider.[10] The band reformed again to perform live for the first time in 14 years at New York Steel in November 2001, a benefit concert for organisations affected by the September 11 attacks.[11] A more permanent reunion followed in 2003, spawning new studio recordings and live releases.[12] The band retained the same lineup until March 2015, when Pero died of a heart attack while touring with Adrenaline Mob.[13] Following the drummer's death, the band announced that it was to embark on a final tour before breaking up in 2016, enlisting Mike Portnoy to take over for (late)A.J. Pero.[14] The final Twisted Sister show took place on November 12, 2016 in Monterrey, Mexico at the Corona Northside Rock Park Meeting Fest.[15]

Members

Most prominent lineup

Image	Name	Years active	Instruments	Release contributions
	Jay Jay French	1972–1988 1998 2001 2003–2016	lead and rhythm guitars backing vocals (also lead vocals from 1975 to 1976)	all Twisted Sister releases
	Eddie "Fingers" Ojeda	1975–1988 1998 2001 2003–2016
	Dee Snider	1976–1987 1998 2001 2003–2016	lead vocals
	Mark "The Animal" Mendoza	1978–1988 1998 2001 2003–2016	bass backing vocals
	Anthony "A. J." Pero	1982–1986 1998 2001 2003–2015 (until his death)	drums percussion backing vocals	all Twisted Sister releases from Under the Blade (1982) to Come Out and Play (1985), and from Live at Hammersmith (1994) to A Twisted X-Mas: Live in Las Vegas (2012)

Other members

Image	Name	Years active	Instruments	Release contributions
	Kenny Neill	1973–1978	bass	Club Daze Volume 1: The Studio Sessions (1999)
	Mel "Starr" Anderson	1973–1975	drums	none
	Michael "Valentine" O'Neill	1973–1974	lead vocals
	Billy "Diamond" Stiger	1973–1974 (died 2015)	lead and rhythm guitars
	Keith "Angel" Angelino	1975 (died 1986)
	Frank "Rick Prince" Karuba	1975	lead vocals
	Kevin John Grace	1975–1976	drums
	Tony Petri	1976–1980		"I'll Never Grow Up, Now!" (1979) "Bad Boys (Of Rock N' Roll)" (1980) Ruff Cutts (1982) Live at Hammersmith (1994) – two tracks only Club Daze Volume 1: The Studio Sessions (1999) Club Daze Volume II: Live in the Bars (2002) Live at Wacken: The Reunion (2003) – four bonus CD tracks only
	Ritchie Teeter	1980–1981 (died 2012)		none
	Joey Brighton	1981–1982 (died 2010)		Ruff Cutts (1982)
	Walt Woodward III	1982 (died 2010)		none
	Joey "Seven" Franco	1987–1988		Love Is for Suckers (1987)
	Mike Portnoy	2015–2016		Metal Meltdown: Live from the Hard Rock Casino Las Vegas (2016)

Lineups

1972–1973	Jay Jay French – rhythm & lead guitars
1973–1974	Michael O'Neill – lead vocals Jay Jay French – rhythm & lead guitars Kenny Neill – bass Billy Stiger – lead & rhythm guitars Mel Anderson– drums
1974–1975	Jay Jay French – rhythm & lead guitars Kenny Neill – bass Mel Anderson – drums
1975	Frank Karuba – lead vocals Jay Jay French – rhythm & lead guitars Keith Angelino – lead & rhythm guitars Kenny Neill – bass Mel Anderson – drums
1975	Jay Jay French – rhythm & lead guitars Keith Angelino – lead & rhythm guitars Kenny Neill – bass Mel Anderson – drums
1975	Jay Jay French – rhythm & lead guitars Eddie Ojeda – lead & rhythm guitars Kenny Neill – bass Mel Anderson – drums
1975–1976	Jay Jay French – rhythm & lead guitars Eddie Ojeda – lead & rhythm guitars Kenny Neill – bass Kevin John Grace – drums
1976	Dee Snider – lead vocals Jay Jay French – rhythm & lead guitars Eddie Ojeda – lead & rhythm guitars Kenny Neill – bass Kevin John Grace – drums
1976–1978	Dee Snider – lead vocals Jay Jay French – rhythm & lead guitars Eddie Ojeda – lead & rhythm guitars Kenny Neill – bass Tony Petri – drums
1978–1980	Dee Snider – lead vocals Jay Jay French – rhythm & lead guitars Eddie Ojeda – lead & rhythm guitars Mark Mendoza – bass Tony Petri – drums
1980–1981	Dee Snider – lead vocals Jay Jay French – rhythm & lead guitars Eddie Ojeda – lead & rhythm guitars Mark Mendoza – bass Ritchie Teeter – drums
1981–1982	Dee Snider – lead vocals Jay Jay French – rhythm & lead guitars Eddie Ojeda – lead & rhythm guitars Mark Mendoza – bass Joey Brighton – drums
1982	Dee Snider – lead vocals Jay Jay French – rhythm & lead guitars Eddie Ojeda – lead & rhythm guitars Mark Mendoza – bass Walt Woodward III – drums
1982–1986	Dee Snider – lead vocals Jay Jay French – rhythm & lead guitars Eddie Ojeda – lead & rhythm guitars Mark Mendoza – bass A. J. Pero – drums
1986–1988	Dee Snider – lead vocals Jay Jay French – rhythm & lead guitars Eddie Ojeda – lead & rhythm guitars Mark Mendoza – bass Joey Franco – drums
1988–2002	Disbanded (Reunions in 1988, 1997, 2001, and 2002)
1988 (Reunion shows)	Dee Snider – lead vocals Jay Jay French – rhythm & lead guitars Eddie Ojeda – lead & rhythm guitars Mark Mendoza – bass Joey Franco - drums
1997, 2001, 2002 (Reunion shows)	Dee Snider – lead vocals Jay Jay French – rhythm & lead guitars Eddie Ojeda – lead & rhythm guitars Mark Mendoza – bass A. J. Pero – drums
2003–2015	Dee Snider – lead vocals Jay Jay French – rhythm & lead guitars Eddie Ojeda – lead & rhythm guitars Mark Mendoza – bass A. J. Pero – drums
2015–2016	Dee Snider – lead vocals Jay Jay French – rhythm & lead guitars Eddie Ojeda – lead & rhythm guitars Mark Mendoza – bass Mike Portnoy – drums
2016-present	Disbanded

Timeline

References

1. Bienstock, Richard (March 19, 2009). "Twisted Sister: An Unpublished History". Guitar World. NewBay Media. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
2. "Rhino Factoids: That Time Twisted Sister Sold Out The New York Palladium". Rhino Entertainment. March 16, 2017. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
3. Reesman, Bryan (April 30, 2016). "12 Outrageous Facts About Twisted Sister". Mental Floss. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
4. Hall, Norman (May 12, 2013). Heavy Metal: Die Härtesten Bands der Welt (in German). neobooks. p. 49. ISBN 9783847636137. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
5. Snider, Dee (May 28, 2013). Shut Up and Give Me the Mic. New York City, New York: Simon & Schuster. pp. 55–56. ISBN 978-1451637403. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
6. "Twisted Sister". Drummerszone. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
7. "Mark Mendoza of Twisted Sister Talks G&L". G&L Guitars. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
8. "Former The Dictators, Twisted Sister Drummer Richard Teeter Dead At 61". Blabbermouth.net. April 10, 2012. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
9. Kreps, Daniel (March 20, 2015). "Twisted Sister Drummer A.J. Pero Dead at 55". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
10. Devenish, Colin (September 1, 1998). "Dee Snider Back With Twisted New Film And Tour". MTV. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
11. Titus, Christa (October 1, 2016). "7 Significant Moments in Twisted Sister's History". Billboard. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
12. "R.I.P. A.J. Pero of Twisted Sister". Rhino Entertainment. March 20, 2015. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
13. "A.J. Pero dies at 55; drummer for heavy metal band Twisted Sister". Los Angeles Times. March 20, 2015. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
14. Zadrozny, Anya (April 8, 2015). "Twisted Sister Announce 2016 Farewell Tour, Tap Drummer Mike Portnoy For 2015 Shows + Tributes". Loudwire. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
15. Lach, Stef (November 14, 2016). "Watch Twisted Sister's final live performance". Classic Rock. TeamRock. Retrieved January 5, 2018.

External links

• Twisted Sister official website