Dee Snider
The defiant, face-painted showman who turned an anthem of teenage rebellion into a heavy metal lifestyle and a lasting cultural touchstone.
Born 1955 (age 71)·American heavy metal singer·Birthday: March 15·Baby Boomers
Biography
Dee Snider is far more than the screaming, spandex-clad frontman of Twisted Sister. He is the articulate architect of the band's identity, writing their anthems and crafting their outrageous, confrontational image that mocked hair band prettiness. The Long Island native channeled a lifetime of feeling like an outsider into the generational rallying cry "We're Not Gonna Take It." Snider's sharp wit and intelligence became nationally evident during the 1985 PMRC Senate hearings, where he delivered a fierce, reasoned defense of artistic freedom that shamed his congressional questioners. After Twisted Sister's heyday, he reinvented himself repeatedly—as a radio host, Broadway actor (*Rock of Ages*), reality TV star, and even a Christmas music performer. Through it all, he has remained a vocal advocate for free speech and a surprisingly thoughtful elder statesman of hard rock.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Dee was born in 1955, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Dee Was Born
The biggest hits of 1955
#1 Movie
Lady and the Tramp
Best Picture
Marty
#1 TV Show
The $64,000 Question
Dee's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1955Born
Rosa Parks refuses to give up her bus seat
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $9,550Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Rock Around the Clock" — Bill Haley & His CometsBest Picture: Marty
1960Started school
Kennedy-Nixon debates become first televised presidential debates
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,900Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Theme from A Summer Place" — Percy FaithBest Picture: The Apartment
1968Became a teenager
Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
Gas: $0.34/galHome: $14,950Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Hey Jude" — The BeatlesBest Picture: Oliver!
1971Could drive
Voting age lowered to 18 in the US
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $18,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Joy to the World" — Three Dog NightBest Picture: The French Connection
1973Could vote
US withdraws from Vietnam; Roe v. Wade decided
Gas: $0.39/galHome: $22,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" — Tony Orlando & DawnBest Picture: The Sting
1976Turned 21
Apple Computer founded; US bicentennial
Gas: $0.59/galHome: $29,300Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Silly Love Songs" — WingsBest Picture: Rocky
1985Turned 30
Live Aid concerts raise money for Ethiopian famine
Gas: $1.12/galHome: $62,900Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Careless Whisper" — Wham!Best Picture: Out of Africa
1995Turned 40
Oklahoma City bombing; Windows 95 released
Gas: $1.15/galHome: $96,500Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Gangsta's Paradise" — CoolioBest Picture: Braveheart
2005Turned 50
Hurricane Katrina devastates New Orleans; YouTube launches
Gas: $2.30/galHome: $167,500Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"We Belong Together" — Mariah CareyBest Picture: Crash
2015Turned 60
Paris climate agreement; same-sex marriage legalized in the US
Gas: $2.43/galHome: $171,900Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Uptown Funk" — Mark Ronson ft. Bruno MarsBest Picture: Spotlight
2025Turned 70
AI agents go mainstream
Gas: $3.10/galHome: $385,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"APT." — Rose & Bruno Mars
2026Age 71 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Wrote and performed "We're Not Gonna Take It," a 1984 anthem that became a permanent fixture of pop culture and a symbol of rebellion.
- Delivered a famous, articulate testimony before the U.S. Senate in 1985, defending rock music against censorship by the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC).
- Authored the Twisted Sister hit "I Wanna Rock," another staple of 1980s hard rock.
- Starred as DJ Dennis on the Broadway stage in *Rock of Ages* from 2015 to 2016.
- Hosted the nationally syndicated radio show *The House of Hair* for over two decades, celebrating hard rock and heavy metal.
Did You Know?
He is a licensed pilot and often flies himself to concert engagements.
Snider is a dedicated family man who has been married to his wife Suzette since 1981.
He voiced the character of the Radio Demon, "Wally Wackford," in the animated film *The Crow: Wicked Prayer*.
He competed on and won the second season of the reality competition show *The Celebrity Apprentice* in 2010.
Snider released a solo album of Christmas music, *Dee Does Christmas*, in 2022.
““The look of Twisted Sister was designed to make parents hate us.””
