Rock n' Roll Samsons

From a purely aesthetic standpoint, I'm rarely attracted to guys with long hair. There are few who can pull it off, but there are exceptions to the rule. When it's done wrong, it looks messy. It prevents me from seeing your gorgeous face. You get my point.
Regardless of my feelings about the look, one thing remains clear: The amount of which you rock, as a frontman, is directly proportionate to when you decided you shear your locks.

I submit to you the following:

James Hetfield- The cowardly lion of metal, Hetfield was known for thrashing those locks around as he kicked ass to "Seek and Destroy" and "For Whom the Bell Tolls".
He cut his hair right before the release of Load in 1996, which brought us gems like "Ain't My Bitch" and "King Nothing".

Current length: Still close cropped. The suck has somewhat abated since the release of Death Magnetic, but imagine a return to power if Hetfield grew his hair once again.



Eddie Vedder- Despite tireless research, I had trouble pinpointing exactly when Eddie Vedder cut his hair short. My best guess is he started cutting it sometime during the No-Code era, one of the last Pearl Jam albums I liked. The shorter he cut it, the worse the music got. Yield had a few good tracks, Binaural even fewer. By the time Riot Act was released in 2002, I had stopped purchasing their albums. Eddie's hair cut in 2002? A mohawk. Do the math, friends.



Current length: Just above the shoulders. Not enough hair length to recover from the free fall that started with the mohawk. Sorry, Ed.



Chris Cornell-Cut his hair halfway through Superunknown, which is widely considered to be Soundgarden's breakthrough album. Superunknown is also regarded by hardcore fans as the turning point in their career from a heavy band to a more mainstream band. I enjoyed Superunknown, but less hair definitely equaled less heavy. Cornell continued to wear his hair short through the end of Soundgarden, just one album later.


Current length: Just past his shoulders, with no signs of stopping. Soundgarden has recently reunited, and re-recorded the track "Black Rain", which is originally from the Badmotorfinger recording sessions. It rocks...HARD. Hair is back, heavy Soundgarden is back. Cornell becomes a success story the others should model themselves after.


In conclusion, I find these men far more attractive with short hair. But for the sake of all things rock n' roll, the only way they can salvage the music is to grow back the hair!

Who else in the music industry have you witnessed this phenomenon with?