Top Ten Best Hats In Rock N Roll

click to enlargeOk, so who has the best hat in heavy music? I don't care if you want to call it Rock N Roll, Metal, or (as my grandfather called it) Ya Ya Ya Music. Let's talk about hats! Now some wear a hat because they are trying to hide a bald spot. Many however wear a hat because it gives them a look that is unmistakeable. If they went out without their hat they might not even be recognised in an airport. So below is my list of the top ten hat in heavy music. Ok, honestly this is just my excuse to put off checking my email that is so out of control I don't even want to begin.

10. Warrel Dane Of Nevermore
Now go do a Google search for Warrel Dane in images. Most of them are not with his now iconic hat. He has only been wearing it for a few years, but now it seems to be as much a part of his on stage persona as anything else. I honestly used to flip him crap about wearing head gear on stage. He didn't pull it off well and it made his stage performances look half assed. But now I can say I endorse WD with a hat. He found what works for him. I think I owe him a beer now.

 9. Jeff Ament of Pearl Jam
Now this guy does the whole hat thing in a very original way. He changes it almost every time! Yet for some reason I can never picture him without a hat. A quick search through Google images shows that he does go without a hat from time to time, but he looks better with one. Very few can change their hat as often as he does without it being lame. Jeff is one of very few. research credit: Sheila Fisher

click to enlarge8. Vinnie Paul
This is another one who found his perfect hat well into his career, but nailed it pretty good once he did. He still seems to wear a bandana on stage (see photo), but anytime you see him offstage he will be wearing his cowboy hat. Why did it take a Cowboy From Hell that long to figure out he needed to go with a cowboy hat? The world may never know.

7. Billy Gibbons Of ZZ Top
Now we have to ask, would Billy pull this off so well if he wasn't one of the most respected icons in Rock history? I think this hat gets the award for the most goofy looking. Sure we love the music of ZZ Top and someday I hope to be cool enough to interview the man or even take his picture while he stuns us all with the great music he creates, but that hat looks like a dead animal rotting on his skull. 

6. Brian Johnson of AC/DC
Now many of you are about to post comments that will slam me to the wall for not mentioning a band mate of Brian's. Let me point out to you that Angus only wears his hat for a few minutes on stage before his headbanging knocks it off. Even then it is only there as part of a full schoolboy uniform. With him it is not about the hat. With Brian it is. Try and find a photo of Brain without his. Then try and find a photo of Angus without his hat. See what I mean.

click to enlarge5. Beefcake The Mighty of Gwar
Ok, sure. Beefcake wears his hat as part of a full costume as well, but unlike Angus Young Beefcake just isn't Beefcake without his iconic Roman helmet. In fact, he just looks like THIS GUY! Unlike anybody else on this list, this hat has been worn by many musicians playing the part of Beefcake. That is just how iconic his hat is. It survived line up changes! research credit: Edward Halbert

4. Stevie Ray Vaughan
Now I have to admit that I didn't think of this one. Instead it was Randy Haines of the band ArA’KuS Then I did a search for Stevie Ray Vaughan in Google images and the guy is almost never seen without his hat. That and the fact that he pulls it off damn well gets him on this list. To be honest he would not have made the list if Randy didn't point this out, because he pulled off the hat so well I never noticed he had one on! It was just a part of him. Yeah, we still miss ya Stevie. research credit: Randy Haines

3. Rick Nielsen Of Cheap Trick
So I am trying to think of other iconic hats in Rock and Metal and I came across a photo of the band Cheap Trick. How the heck did I forget the amazing Rick Nielsen? He was the first to make it cool to wear a baseball cap on stage and pull it off well. Some of the other people on this list tried a baseball cap with way less success. As with anyone on this list, they are just not the same without their hat.

click to enlarge2. Lemmy From Motorhead
It's strange that when I watch old videos of the band it looks strange to not see his trademark hat. I can't pin point when he started wearing it, but now I can't imagine him without it.

1. Slash
This is a guy that knows what wearing a hat is worth. I have seen him not wear the hat in public in an attempt to not be noticed. Without the hat he is just not Slash. When you ask any group of people about iconic hats in music, if Slash doesn't come up please shoot them all. research credit: Michael Nilsen

Ok, so I know I had to have missed some. In fact I probably missed some major icon in Rock and will be put to shame when you list them in the comments below.