Dee Snider
Dee Snider
In March of this year, Dee and his bandmates announced that the 2016 touring season (the 40th anniversary of the band’s formation) will be the end of the road for the world dominating force of nature that is Twisted Sister. While perhaps he is best known as the lead singer of the ‘80s sensation, there is so much more to Dee Snider.
He has starred in several reality TV shows including appearances in three seasons of Celebrity Apprentice; Gone Country with John Rich; MTV’s Rock The Cradle with his son Jesse Blaze; Growing Up Twisted, an A&E series featuring the entire Snider family and their Long Island lifestyle; ABC’s Celebrity Wife Swap, and Celebrity Holiday Homes. He has also been a frequent host on the MTV Networks and, with more than 20 years on the air in radio, his own long running, nationally syndicated radio show House Of Hair can be heard on over 200 stations in North America, Houseofhaironline.com. His career as a voiceover artist has resulted in Dee being heard in many radio and TV commercials, animated shows, documentaries and a yearlong stint as the voice on MSNBC.
Never setting limits, Dee wrote, produced and starred in Dee Snider’s StrangeLand. This horror flick has become a cult classic, literally creating the torture film sub-genre. StrangeLand 2 is currently in development. With the success of StrangeLand, Dee was tapped to host a weekly radio show on all things horror, Fangoria Radio, on the Sirius XM network.
In 2002, VH1 signed Dee to star as himself in their original movie production of Warning: Parental Advisory. Co-starring Mariel Hemingway, Jason Priestley and Griffin Dunne, Dee re-created his role during the 1985 congressional record labeling hearings. Battling the Beltway wives, most notably Tipper Gore, Dee, along with Frank Zappa and John Denver, turned DC politics upside down, carrying the banner of Dee’s Twisted Sister legendary anthem “We’re Not Gonna Take It.”
Arnold Schwarzenegger wasn’t going to take it either. The California Governator enlisted Dee to help rally his political troops all the way to the Governor’s mansion in California. At his last political rally in Sacramento, Schwarzenegger asked Dee to lead the way in singing “We’re Not Gonna Take It” on the steps of Sacramento’s Capitol Building. California listened and the Terminator was elected Governor. Not to be outdone, the Mexican Government recruited Dee as well, using both him and the anthem in an “anti-dishonesty” campaign to gain attention on their bid to set the country on a judicial road to recovery.
His starring role on Broadway in the hit musical Rock Of Ages generated national interest and appearances on The Today Show, CNN’s Joy Behar Show and a legendary spot on The Jimmy Fallon Show where Dee guested with The Roots and Jimmy on Dee’s self penned hit, “I Wanna Rock.” The Rock Of Ages run inspired him to make a brand new record for Razor & Tie, “Dee Does Broadway,” featuring some of the Great White Way’s biggest songs, side by side with Broadway legends like Patti LuPone and Bebe Neuwirth, in his own indomitable style. His self-penned autobiography, Shut Up and Give Me The Mic, was released in the summer of 2012 from Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster to critical acclaim, coinciding with Warner Pictures’ release of the Tom Cruise, Alec Baldwin, Catherine Zeta Jones, Russell Brand film version of Rock Of Ages. The movie features two of Dee’s biggest hits.
Dee’s hit song-writing credits extend to many genres of music and have been covered by major artists the world over. Celine Dion’s version of Dee’s “The Magic Of Christmas Day (God Bless Us Everyone)” was a significant part of her worldwide, multi-Platinum “These Are Special Times” album.
Since starring in Rock Of Ages and recording his critically acclaimed album, “Dee Does Broadway,” Dee Snider’s Broadway connection has continued to grow. “Dee Snider’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Christmas Tale” (lyrics, music and book by Dee Snider) completed a highly successful nine week run throughout the 2014 holiday season at Broadway in Chicago, followed by a Christmas 2015 run in Toronto. His producer credits extend to the off-Broadway hit ensemble “Puppet Shakespeare” and the international award-winning short film, “Fool’s Day.”
In 2014, Dee was the recipient of the prestigious Harry Chapin Memorial Humanitarian Award for his charitable work spanning several decades. Most notably, Dee spent 12 years as the national spokesman and Grand Marshal of the March of Dimes Bikers for Babies initiative (for whom he raised $325,000 with his “Celebrity Apprentice” win), established his annual Ride to Fight Hunger for Long Island Cares, and donated his Gold and Platinum album awards to Broadway Cares for auction.
On May 20, 2016, Dee took part in the unveiling of the new Rock & Roll Hall of Fame exhibit, “Louder Than Words: Rock, Power And Politics,” which will remain on display in Cleveland, OH during the 2016 Republican National Convention. A lightening rod for controversy, Dee rocked the 1985 Senate hearing instigated by the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC), and his historic involvement remains relevant to rock music and politics today.
In April 2016, Dee was called back to Capitol Hill to speak on behalf of The GRAMMY Foundation’s “Fair Play Fair Pay ” initiative. This time, they were pleased to see him!
To commemorate the new Hall of Fame exhibit, Dee performed a new acoustic version of his legendary song, “We’re Not Gonna Take It.” This moving new version of Dee’s epic anthem was also released on iTunes and is featured on his new album, “We Are The Ones” released in October 2017 on Red River Entertainment, produced by Damon Ranger.