MOST FAMOUS MULLETS IN ROCK
by: Chad Childers


Jack Kay / Central Press / Hulton Archives (3), Getty Images

Who owns the most famous mullet in rock? It’s a tough question, because for decades now, some of music’s biggest stars have been rocking the two-tiered “business up front / party in the back” hairstyle.

Although it is mocked at least as often as it’s actually sported nowadays, the mullet (or if you prefer, the “Mississippi Mudslide,” the ‘Tennessee Tophat,” the “Wisconsin Waterfall,” or the “Canadian Passport”) hasn’t fully gone away. We’ll look at some of the rockers who helped bring the look into style back in the day, from Ron Wood‘s long-standing spikey number to the permed mastery of Van Halen‘s members.

The mullet first began appearing in the mid-to-late ’60s, grew in popularity throughout the ’70s, and really became part of the pop lexicon by the ’80s. The term dates back to the late 1800s when Mark Twain, while not specifically referring to a haircut, stated that Tom and Huck were afraid of being caught “mullet-headed” by Aunt Polly in ‘The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.’ It would start to pick up steam after George Kennedy’s character used it several times in the 1967 film ‘Cool Hand Luke.’

So know you know your mullet history. Whaddya say we take a gander at some of rock’s most famous mullets?


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Rolling Stones guitarist Ron Wood not only had the party going on in the back, but he had one of the more spikey up-fronts with his mullet.

Unlike a number of rockers who’ve grown out of the look with age, Wood has kept his hair near shoulder length in back, while the spikey jet-black hair remains. But there’s no hating on Wood because the mullet is only rock and roll, and we know he likes it.

…And so does the next person on our list, who as it turns out, is a former bandmate of Wood’s.


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In the ’70s, he may have been asking about his body and if you thought he was sexy, but what did you think about Rod Stewart‘s mullet? Back in the late ’60s and early ’70s, when the mullet was becoming in style, ‘Rod the Mod’ grew out his naturally spikey hair just beyond the shoulders while keeping the front rather Bowie-esque. But to quote one of his songs, you wear it well Rod.

These days, there’s less party going on up front, but the spikey look still makes him instantly recognizable. However his “droopy curtains” in the back are no longer as pronounced.


Hulton Archive, Getty Images

Remember how everyone used to freak out over those clean-cut young Beatles and their haircuts? Well as the ’60s moved closer to the ’70s, those short haircuts grew out first into something more psychedelic and later into something, well, mullet-y.

For a majority of the ’70s and into the ’80s, Paul McCartney made the mullet his hair style of choice. During the ’70s, it was mostly straight and long, as he let his “Beaver Paddle” flap in the wind, but as the ’80s came about McCartney adopted his straightened locks to a more permed style.


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While his Spinal Tap bandmates all rock the long hair, there’s no doubt that Nigel Tufnel’s mullet goes all the way to 11.

Even though its been close to three decades since Tufnel’s auburn locks first came to our attention in the 1984 mockumentary ‘This is Spinal Tap,’ the hair style has never changed. Perhaps Tufnel listened a little too closely to the flower people.


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If the mullet was still coming into style in the early ’70s, it became all the rage in 1972 when David Bowie adopted the hairstyle for his fictional alien-turned-rock star alter ego, Ziggy Stardust. And if Ziggy was all about the excesses in life and having a good time, then why not rock the mullet?

Not so coincidentally, after Bowie’s successful “Ziggy” transformation, the mullet look officially took off for all discerning mod and glam wannabes for years to come.


Malcolm Clarke / Hulton Archives, Getty Images

The ’70s were the best of times for the mullet, and they were also pretty good to Bob Seger, who with his Silver Bullet Band churned out a string of hits as long as their hair. Apparently Seger loved the feel of the long locks “against the wind.”

But as the ’80s hit states, Seger might have started to “feel like a number” and decided to shorten up his “Camaro Hair.” While his hair is now short and grey, Seger should know that rock and roll never forgets.


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Is there a country that embraces the mullet more than Canada? Then it makes sense that the Great White North’s favorite sons, Rush, would definitely be rocking the “hockey hair.”

Singer/bassist Geddy Lee was as guilty as any of the members. In the ’70s, Lee would push his bangs to the side and let the rest of his hair flow down somewhere near mid-chest. These days, Geddy’s still embracing his “long-hair” roots. There’s a little less up front, but what’s left in back still hovers somewhere near shoulder-length.


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As the ’70s turned to the ’80s, the mullet started to evolve with a new generation of rockers. Van Halen were hotter than any band at the beginning of the decade, and their original bassist, Michael Anthony, just might own the mullet longevity record.

Anthony spent much of the ’80s and ’90s rocking a bit of a “rat’s nest,” with short curly locks up front and a shoulder-length perm in back. He’s toned the differential between front and back down a bit, but still clearly is of two frames of minds when it comes to back and front hair lengths.


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Though he’s been known more in the last two decades for his trademark “Fly” sunglasses, the most distinct look of Bono‘s early days was his ’80s mullet. Much like the rockers of his day, his hair was rather poofy up front, but part of what made the U2 singer’s “Sho-Long” distinctive was his ability to grow out his hair in back and have it curl back toward his neck and shoulders.

In later years, Bono would apologize for the unfortunate hairstyle, but we say, Bono, take some pride, in the name of love, of that look. It worked for you at the time.


Ebet Roberts, Getty Images

No one rocked the mullet with such style as Journey singer Steve Perry in the late ’70s and ’80s. As the band’s most recognizable member, Perry’s hairstyle adapted with the times.

In the ’70s, it was long and wieldy with his hair flying everywhere and unveiling his sideburns as he sang ‘Any Way You Want It’ (perhaps about his hairstyle). But as the ’80s began, Perry began to shape his “ape drape” to at least shoulder length and it would continue to shorten as the years wore on until eventually he and the mullet went their “separate ways.” Noooooo!

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