Tom Keifer, the iconic frontman of Cinderella, has never been a fan of the “hair metal” tag often applied to his band and many of their 1980s peers.
In a 2019 interview with Billboard, Keifer made his feelings crystal clear:
“I don’t consider my music metal — and the ‘hair metal’ term is just ridiculous.”
He went on to explain his musical identity:
“I like the term ‘hard rock.’ As a teenager, I got into Muddy Waters, Son House, and Johnny Winter, and learned the roots and the blues. It always has been a part of my music. So I see myself as a blues-inspired or American roots-inspired hard-rock musician.”
Keifer also addressed the visual excess of the 1980s in a separate interview with Sleaze Roxx, noting how MTV turned the focus heavily toward image:
“The ’80s got lumped together because of MTV… The visual and the image became as important as the music… The more glam-edged kinda rock like Aerosmith, The Rolling Stones, Janis Joplin, Rod Stewart is what I came up on, and I think in the ’80s, we were all trying to take that to another level.”
He emphasized that many bands from that era had unique sounds despite the shared visual style:
“Def Leppard sounds very different from Cinderella, sounds very different from Poison, sounds very different from Guns N’ Roses and Tesla… At the end of the day, for me, I think the music world would be a much better place if people listened to music with their ears, and not their eyes.”
Tom Keifer’s frustration with the “hair metal” label is shared by many artists from that era. Cinderella’s music always had a strong blues-rock foundation (especially on albums like Long Cold Winter and Heartbreak Station), setting them apart from many of their glammier peers. While the term “hair metal” became a convenient marketing and media catch-all, it often overshadowed the actual songwriting and influences behind the bands. Keifer’s stance highlights a desire for the music to be judged on its sonic merits rather than 1980s fashion.
