Michael Corvin

I have to agree that the guy from Firehouse is up there as well. He could sing.

costanza187

I also voted for Vince Neil, I remember commenting while watching that VH-1 Show (Super Group I think) how it seemed a lot of singers (including but not limited to Sebastian Bach) tried to be like him.

Flashback

I actually knew a couple of the guys in that band. Mike was a very good singer ... he also did a lot of the vocals for the movie Rock Star (if you can call it a movie )

I.Flores

Don't know if you can consider '80s Priest or Maiden "Hair Metal", or Queensryche for that matter.
But Rob Halford, Bruce Dickinson and Geoff Tate Blow these guys away by miles.

If not, out of the list, I'd go with Sebastian Bach.

Michael Corvin

First does not equal best.

benedict

Like people have already said about Def Leppard, I don't think Whitesnake was 100% "hair" although Coverdale certainly did go through an MTV-friendly stage. But anyone listening to the first few albums, when Coverdale had some UK heavy bluesters in the band, will know where I'm coming from.

I can't say I'm a fan of the genre but, (paradoxically?) without specifying the vocalists, I've noticed mention elsewhere of Britney Fox on the self-titled album and Cinderella's "Night Songs as being noteworthy.

The compilation album "This Is '80s Hair Metal" included the following which might provide food for thought:

Disc 1: Studio Fueled
1. Warrant - Cherry Pie
2. Bang Tango - Someone Like You
3. Quiet Riot - Cum On Feel The Noize
4. Bullet Boys - Smooth Up
5. Dangerous Toys - Pissed
6. LA Guns - Sex Action
7. Pretty Boy Floyd - Leather Boyz With Electric Toyz
8. Faster Pussycat - Bathroom Wall
9. Jet Boy - Little Teaser
10. Great White - Love Removal Machine
11. Michael Moore - Make It Go Away
12. Lynch Mob - Tooth & Nail
13. King Kobra - Mean Street Machine
14. Hurricane - River Gold
15. Love/Hate - Black Out

Disc 2: Live & Dangerous
1. Cinderella - Gypsy Road
2. Lita Ford - Kiss Me Deadly
3. Great White - Living Loving Maid (She's Just A Woman)
4. LA Guns - One More Reason
5. Night Ranger - You Can Still Rock In America
6. Junkyard - Hollywood
7. Bang Tango - Dressed Up Vamp
8. Union - Around Again
9. Dangerous Toys - Teas'n Pleas'n
10. LA Guns - Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love
11. Paul Dianno - Wrath Child
12. Cinderella - Somebody Save Me
13. Great White - Ramble On
14. Saigon Kick - What Can You Say

Disc 3: Power Ballads
1. Bret Michaels - Every Rose Has Its Thorn
2. White Lion - When The Children Cry
3. Kip Winger - Headed For A Heartbreak
4. LA Guns - Ballad Of Jayne
5. Faster Pussycat - House Of Pain
6. Great White - Ready For Love
7. Warrant - Sometimes She Cries
8. Cinderella - Don't Know What You Got
9. Ronnie James Dio & Yngwie Malmsteen - Dream On
10. Night Ranger - Sister Christian
11. Lita Ford - Close My Eyes Forever
12. Stevie Rachelle (Tuff) - Lights
13. Steve Whiteman & George Lynch - Still Lovin' You
14. Bernie Shaw & Bernie Marsden - Here I Go Again

I'm not sure that all tracks qualify (e.g. Di'anno singing "Wrathchild"!) but there might be a few names that pique the interest of those especially liking the style. It looks to me that the album includes re-recordings using some of the original band members. I've already cited Di'anno reprising his Iron Maiden hit.

For added interest, here is a VH1 listing:

Top 40 Hair bands/songs

(40.) HANOI ROCKS - Dead Jail or R&R
(39.) EXTREME - More Than Words
(38.) JACKYL - Down on Me
(37.) STEELHEART - I'll Never Let You Go
(36.) NIGHT RANGER - Sister Christian
(35.) FASTER PUSSYCAT - House of Pain
(34.) AUTOGRAPH - Turn up the Radio
(33.) KIX - Don't Close Your Eyes
(32.) SAIGON KICK - Love is on the Way
(31.) TESLA - Love Song
(30.) BULLETBOYS - Smooth Up in Ya
(29.) TRIXTER - Give it to me Good
(28.) LA GUNS - Ballad of Jayne
(27.) STRYPER - Honestly
(26.) MR BIG - To be With You
(25.) DANGER DANGER - Naughty, Naughty
(24.) FIREHOUSE - Love of a Lifetime
(23.) VIXEN - Edge of a Broken Heart
(22.) WASP - I Wanna be Somebody
(21.) EUROPE - The Final Countdown
(20.) SCORPIONS - Rock You Like a Hurricane
(19.) BRITNY FOX - Girlschool
(18.) KISS - Tears are Falling
(17.) SKID ROW - 18 and Life
(16.) LITA FORD - Kiss me Deadly
(15.) GREAT WHITE - Once Bitten, Twice Shy
(14.) WHITE LION - Wait
(13.) WHITESNAKE - Here I Go Again
(12.) WINGER - Seventeen
(11.) RATT - Round and Round
(10.) DOKKEN - Alone Again
(9.) SLAUGHTER - Up all Night
(8.) DEF LEPPARD - Photograph
(7.) QUIET RIOT - Metal Health
(6.) WARRANT - Cherry Pie
(5.) CINDERELLA - Nobody's Fool
(4.) MOTLEY CRUE - Looks that Kill
(3.) BON JOVI - Lay Your Hands on Me
(2.) TWISTED SISTER - We're Not Gonna Take It
(1.) POISON - Talk Dirty to Me

Josh-da-man

Classifying metal is, at best, an inexact science. What's the difference between speed metal and thrash metal?

Whitesnake was, at least until '86 or '87, a hard rock band in 70s mode, sort in the area between Aerosmith and Deep Purple. David Coverdale even sang with DP for a while.

But when their self-titled album came out in the mid-80s they surged in popularity with the hair metal crowd, opened for Motley Crue, and became an MTV-friendly band. Though stylistically, they were still riffing on 70s rock bands (namely Zeppelin) while adding some contemporary pop-metal elements into the mix.