Dee Snider - Dee Does Broadway
Clay Aiken, Cyndi Lauper, Dee Snider, Patti LuPone, Bebe Neuwirth
Dee Snider - Dee Does Broadway
Clay Aiken, Cyndi Lauper, Dee Snider, Patti LuPone, Bebe Neuwirth
Performances
TOUR DATES COMING SOON
Dee Snider - Dee Does Broadway
Clay Aiken, Cyndi Lauper, Dee Snider, Patti LuPone, Bebe Neuwirth
Dee Does Broadway - It's not metal, but it rocks!
The original idea started back in 2009 with an exchange of phone messages between Alice Cooper and me. I don't know who the first was, but one of us sang our message to a Broadway show tune and the other responded with his answer in show tune form. When Alice and I finally did speak—knowing both of our love for musicaIs—| suggested he and I do an album of rocked out duets on show tunes and call it Alice & Dee Do Broadway. Alice loved the idea.
Over the past several years both Alice and I had done work with guitarist/producer Bob Kulick on his various “tribute” albums (I even did a vocal on an Alice Cooper tribute record) and had both been impressed with the quality of his work. Around that time, Bob and his partner Brett Chassen were working on a metalized Frank Sinatra tribute called Sin-atra (I sang on "It Was a Very Good Year”) that was pretty much in the ballpark of what Alice and I were looking to do. I approached Bob with our concept and he loved it. Upon Alice's song suggestion, he and his team arranged and laid tracks for the Guys and Dolls classic “Luck Be a Lady Tonight.” When Alice and I added ourunique vocals to the over the top track
the whole thing just clicked. But while Alice enjoyed the results, he wasn’t ready to commit to the idea of recording an entire CD of similar tunes, so the project ended there.
Cut to the fall of 2010, and I am starring in the hit Broadway musical Rock of Ages. Suddenly the idea of doing an album of rocked out show tunes myself makes sense and a deal is struck with the only label my manager Phil Carson was sure could handle a record this unique, Razor & Tie. Their support and success with Twisted Sister's A Twisted Christmas CD gave me confidence in their ability to make an abstract project like this happen.
Over the past year Bob, Brett and I have worked closely as a team picking from decades of musical hits with only two rules: The song had to speak to me as a singer on some level, and it could not be a rock song to begin with. No Jesus Christ Superstar, Grease, Hair, Rent, Rocky Horror, etc. What would be the challenge in that?
Slowly but surely, with the help of the incredible orchestrations and playing by
Doug Katsaros and bass guitar from the legendary Rudy Sarzo, the songs started coming together. I knew we were onto something special.
After my run on Broadway, I came to really appreciate the idea of being in a cast — of sharing the spotlight on some songs (Gasp!) Through mutual show acquaintances (thank you, Wesley Taylor) an introduction was made to stage, television and film legend Bebe Neuwirth. I asked her to duet with me on the legendary Damn Yankees song “Whatever Lola Wants” and she was thrilled at the idea. To my chagrin, I had no idea Bebe had played Lola on Broadway. I just thought it was incredible casting on my part.
Once Bebe joined the party, the list of special guests grew. Patti LuPone, Cyndi Lauper, Clay Aiken, my son Jesse Blaze Snider, Mark Wood (Trans- Siberian Orchestra) and the stars of Priscilla Queen of the Desert Will Swenson, Tony Sheldon, and Nick Adams each signed on to rock their Broadway asses off. And they all had a hell of a good time!
There are many who think doing an album of rocked out show tunes is pure insanity on my part. Apparently, they haven’t seen any photos of me from the 70's and 80's.
Could I have been in a more theatrical band? Ever since I was a kid, I’d heard the real power inherent in a lot of songs from musicals and this record gives me the chance to show it.
Dee Does Broadway has been a real labor of love for everyone involved. I don't know when |’ve had more fun doing any record. I hope you all enjoy the spirit of this album, the love for great Broadway music that my entire team has and the joy of rocking that went into every single track. Dee Does Broadway gives its regards to the Great White Way... and kicks its ass!
Dee Snider - Dee Does Broadway
Clay Aiken, Cyndi Lauper, Dee Snider, Patti LuPone, Bebe Neuwirth
The Songs
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Listen to the album
Tracklisting/Info
- 1 Cabaret from Cabaret
- 2 The Ballad of Sweeny Todd from Sweeny Todd
- 3 Big Spender from Sweet Charity - guest vocalist Cyndi Lauper
- 4 Mack the Knife from The Threepenny Opera
- 5 Whatever Lola Wants (Lola Gets) from Damn Yankees - guest vocalist Bebe Neuwirth
- 6 Music of the Night from Phantom of the Opera - guest vocalist Mark Wood
- 7 The Joint is Jumpin' from Ain't Misbehavin’ - guest vocalist Jesse Blaze Snider
- 8 Luck Be a Lady Tonight from Guys and Dolls - guest vocalist Clay Aiken
- 9 I Get a Kick Out of You from Anything Goes
- 10 There Is Nothin' Like a Dame from South Pacific - guest vocalists, the stars of Priscilla Queen of the Desert: Will Swenson, Tony Sheldon and Nick Adams
- 11 Razzle Dazzle from Chicago
- 12 Tonight/Somewhere from West Side Story - guest vocalist Patti LuPone
Dee Snider - Dee Does Broadway
Clay Aiken, Cyndi Lauper, Dee Snider, Patti LuPone, Bebe Neuwirth
VIDEO - "MACK THE KNIFE"
Dee Snider - Dee Does Broadway
Clay Aiken, Cyndi Lauper, Dee Snider, Patti LuPone, Bebe Neuwirth
THE STAR OF THE SHOW - DEE SNIDER
Dee Snider is perhaps best known as the front man and song writer of the legendary Twisted Sister. Their best selling singles "We're Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Rock" propelled the band to worldwide fame and multi platinum sales. Dee Snider is a mainstay in pop culture, appearing as a commentator on several VH1 productions, as well as his own A&E reality show "Growing Up Twisted," ABC's "Celebrity Wife Swap," and as a contestant in NBC's "Celebrity Apprentice." His movie roles include the cult hit, StrangeLand for which he wrote the screenplay, and Warning: Parental Advisory in which he recreated his part in the congressional record label hearings of the mid 1980's when he turned DC politics upside down, carrying the banner of his legendary anthem "We're Not Gonna Take It". Arnold Schwarzenegger wasn't going to take it either. The California Governator enlisted Dee to help rally his political troops all the way to the Governor's mansion in California. Snider starred in the Broadway hit musical "Rock Of Ages", which generated national TV appearances on The Today Show, CNN's Joy Behar Show and The Jimmy Fallon Show. Snider also has his own nationally syndicated radio show House Of Hair, which airs on more than 200 stations in North America. His autobiography, "Shut Up and Give Me The Mic" was released in May 2012 by Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster.
THE CAST
(in order of song apperance)
CYNDI LAUPER....................................................Big Spender
BEBE NEUWIRTH...............................Whatever Lola Wants (Lola Gets)
MARK WOOD................................................Music of the Night
JESSE BLAZE SNIDER.....................................The Joint is Jumpin'
CLAY AIKEN...........................................Luck Be a Lady Tonight
NICK ADAMS.....................................There Is Nothin' Like a Dame
TONY SHELDON
WILL SWENSON
PATTI LuPONE..............................................Tonight/Somewhere
WHO'S IN THE BAND
Bob Kulick - (guitars)
Grammy award winning Producer/Guitarist, Bob Kulick, whose track record reads like a who's who of hard rock and heavy metal artists including Kiss, Motorhead, Wasp, Meatloaf and Alice Cooper, has 12 platinum or gold records to his credit. But Bob is not the one trick pony having also worked with such artists as Diana Ross, Patti LaBelle, Michael Bolton and Lou Reed, and written songs for SpongeBob SquarePants, Kiss and many others.Brett Chassen - (drums/percussion/backing vocals)
Brett Chassen was a three year old drumming prodigy getting his start at his father's hotel in upstate NY drumming alongside the likes of Buddy Rich and other jazz greats. His resume covers all genres from Bret Michaels to Fusion greats Frank Gambale and Mike Stern. He ultimately turned his attention to producing and engineering over thirteen years ago because he love 'playing with all the toys'!Doug Katsaros - (keyboards/piano/backing vocals)
Doug Katsaros has been conducting, composing, orchestrating, arranging, performing and winning awards on and off Broadway for shows like Footloose, The Life, Hair, The Rocky Horror Show, Laughing Room Only, Altar Boyz, The Toxic Avenger, A...My name is Alice. Gold and Platinum CDs: Kiss, Sinead O'Connor, Gloria Estefan, Frank Sinatra, Todd Rundgren, Rod Stewart, Judy Collins, B.B. King, Balance, GeWaDoKa, Marlo Thomas (Grammy), Donny Osmond, Richie Havens, Aerosmith, Live, Bon Jovi, Cher, Michael Bolton, Peter Paul & Mary and the recent Sin-Atra. Emmy nominated composer for "The Tick" and yes, he is the guy who wrote "By Mennen".
Rudy Sarzo - (bass guitar)
Rudy Sazro's recording and performing career spans nearly 30 years. He toured the world as a member of Ozzy Osbourne's band and his bass playing can be heard on Ozzy's multi-million selling CD "Tribute" and "Speak of the Devil" CD and DVD. As a member of Quiet Riot, Rudy recorded the multi-platinum albums "Metal Health" and "Condition Critical". He headlined worldwide tours, appeared on numerous MTV videos and was voted #1 Bassist in Circus Magazine for 1983. Rudy played with Whitesnake from 1987 - 1994 and recorded the multi-platinum album "Slip of the Tongue", performing worldwide on headline tours in support of this album and "1987".