I hope you love the products I've recommended below, just a heads up that as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This means I may earn commissions on products bought via links on this page.
Rock and roll has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. With parental influences passed down on me in my younger days while looking up to older siblings and embracing the new modern rock, I have heard and seen my fair share of rock music. Out of curiosity I decided to find out who are the tallest rock stars that I’ve listened to over the years.
Does being tall make you a better musician?. Well lets see as we list a few of the well known and perhaps lessor known tall rock stars past and present. With each rock star I will try to present a relevant link where you can find the source of information. These are not actual measurements taken by me as I stand beside these gods, as much as I wish it was.
For the purpose of this article I will keep it to rock stars that are well known for their roles and people over 6 foot tall. While the singer of Type O Negative is 6’8″, not too many of you will know who that is. So instead I’ll try to keep it to a list of rock musicians that you have a good chance of knowing.
In no particular order, these are the results of my research. Don’t forget to compare rock stars to the tall country singers, you may be surprised just how many tall country folk there are.
Tall Rock Stars Overview
How Tall Is Chad Kroeger Of Nickelback
The first time I heard Nickelback was in the late 90’s with their single “Old Enough” from their second album “The State”. Being a subscriber of the RoadRunner magazine I received a demo CD, which is how I first heard the song ‘Old Enough’.
Since then Nickelback exploded in popularity and released numerous albums and singles along the way. From all the music videos it was obvious Chad the lead singer was a tall man. But how tall is Chad Kroeger exactly?
There are scattered reports online ranging from 5’8 to 6’3. But the official word from Chads mouth is 6’2″. So therefor Chad Kroeger is 6’2″. Check the video below as Chad says it himself I’m 6’2″.
Brian May Queen Height
A favorite of many, Queen’s lead guitarist Brian May reached a height of 6’1.5″ according to many sources. But with the hair and the outfits, it’s easy to see why many people think he is 6’3″ or more. Not much more needs to be said about the legendary Brian May, other than he is a tall rock star and recently got awarded the ‘Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award’ in 2018.
Gene Simmons Height In Feet
It wouldn’t be a list of tall rock stars without mentioning the co front man Gene Simmons Of Kiss now would it. So what is the official height of Gene Simmons in feet?.
With many sources online giving you mixed heights, it’s hard to find an exact number. The closest I could dig up was that Gene Simmons is 6’2″ tall. This is said by his son whom stands an impressive 6’8″ tall Nick Simmons.
“At 6’8″, I tower over my father today, who stands a measly 6’2”
With all the armour and dressing up its no wonder people think the members of Kiss are 7 foot tall. Not too mention their larger then life presence.
It’s also worth noting that the older rock stars most likely will be shorter now than in their hay day. It’s not a myth that you shrink as you age, it’s actually true. Once you hit 40+, every 10 hears you can shrink in height by about 1/3 of an inch. So it wouldn’t be out of this world if Gene Simmons was shorter than 6’2″ nowadays.
How Tall Is Billy Corgan Smashing Pumpkins “I am 6’3”
While quite an obvious tall rock star, Billy Corgan doesn’t always get recognized as being tall. Perhaps it’s the bald head affect which makes you appear 1-2 inches shorter. But from the 90’s when the Smashing Pumpkins let a rat out of the cage, Billy has always been a tall standout.
Billy appeared on the Regis & Kathy Lee show about 10 years ago and mentioned his height after explaining how he couldn’t find trousers that fit his long torso. During the interview Billy Corgan said “I am 6’3”, which is why regular fitting pants come up to his ankles.
You can watch Billy Corgan announce his official height below on the video recording.
Chris Cornells Height In Feet (Soundgarden)
Chris Cornell was a famous solo act and member of Sound Garden and Audio Slave. Before his death in 2017, Chris Cornell said in an interview with Blender Magazine that he was 6’3″ tall. The extract to the interview can be found here.
Anyone that grew up in the 90’s would have heard of Soundgarden. Chris Cornell was a major influence in the grunge movement along with other bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam.
Arguably Soundgardens most popular song “Black Hole Sun” from 1994 was written by Chris Cornell. The song went on to be the #1 track in 1994 for rock listings. The accompanying music video also did well. Taking home the MTV best Metal/Hard Rock video award in 1994.
One Of The Tallest Rock Singers
One of the tallest singers in a rock band going around nowadays is Dan Reynolds. Dan is the singer of the band Imagine Dragons. The bands success began around 2012 with the release of the hits “Demons” and “Radioactive”.
So it wasn’t long before people started to realize that the lead singer from Imagine Dragons was a tall dude. But how tall is Dan Reynolds?.
In a recent article on TampaBay it was stated that “It doesn’t help that he’s 6-foot-4, and the bus’s beds are 6-foot-2.” Referring to the singer Dan.
It’s been a busy few years for the rock band who only saw success in 2012 and shortly after being named as the biggest band of the year in 2017 by Billboard. With their third album also released in 2017 and their fourth album to be released later this month, it’s no wonder they appear larger than life to the raving fans.
How Tall Are Nightwish?
Nightwish are one of my all time favorite bands. Based in Finland this operatic/hardrock/metal band has captivated the world for over 20 years now. I have seen them live 3 times, each time with a new singer. With their most recent singer Floor Jansen being quite tall for a female.
How Tall Is Floor Jansen
Floor Jansen has been in the band Nightwish for a few years now performing new and old songs. Her experience in the metal world and her magical opera voice make up a fraction of the pain left behind when Tarja was replaced. Floor Jansen is a tall female rock star originally from the Netherlands. As it currently stands, she is the tallest member of Nightwish.
It’s not very often you see such a tall front Woman of a rock band, but Floor fills the position quite well. Standing about 6’3″ tall, shes not hard to miss.
How Tall Is Tuomas Holopainen
The brain child behind Nightwish, Tuomas is the second tallest member of Nightwish. He stands about 6’2″ and can more often than not be found bashing on his keyboards. Tuomas pictured on the right in the below image.
Tallest Female Rock Stars & Singers
Females are generally shorter than males. On average it’s about 5 inches difference in average height. So tall female rock stars typically aren’t as tall as the male rock stars. The average height for women from the USA is about 5’4″ (162.5cms). But with that said, lets have a look at some of the more well know female rock stars with above average height.
How Tall Is Courtney Love (Hole)
If you were ever into grunge rock you would certainly know Courtney Love as the partner of Kurt Cobain from Nirvana. While Courtney has certainly had her ups and downs in the music scene, online reports show her height being just as all over the place.
There’s no doubt that Courtney Love is a tall female rock star, but how tall is she exactly. For the most part, around 5’10” is the common conception. Although in an interview found on BBC Courtney states that “I’m almost 6 feet tall”.
Hot Tall Is Patti Smith
The God Mother of punk many people refer to when asked about Patti Smith. Born in 1946 and by the 70’s hit Patti was playing in rock bands with the debut release of ‘Horses’ in 1975. Known as a tall slim and muscular Woman, she was a big part in the punk movement.
But how tall is Patti Smith?. While she may have lost some height over the years, but according to IMdb she is 5’73/8″ tall, or 172 cms. While not extremely tall, shes certainly a few inches taller than the average American female.
How Many Tall Rock Stars Are There
Overall it appears as tho there aren’t all that many tall female rock stars. What does this say about height and the ability to play music?. Absolutely nothing. There are plenty of successful tall female singers and band members, just not so much in the rock scene.
However there are plenty of female rockers with heights around the 170cm mark (5’5″-5’8″) such as Annie Lennox, Chrissie Hynde, Shirley Manson and of course Cher. But in terms of female rock stars over 6 foot tall, you’re going to have to help me out here.
If you have credible sources of rock stars that are tall, I’d love for you to leave a comment below and I’ll add them to this list.
2 thoughts on “The Tallest Rock Stars”
We have the Tallest Guitarist playing with us at one of our concerts and he is very little known. His name is David Green and he stands at 7 ft tall. Great guy!
Peter Steel was not 6 foot 8.
Who made this up. I keep seeing it.
He was a hair shorter than 6 foot 7.
And i would know. I stood next to him enough times.