Today (Oct. 14) we remember drummer A.J. Pero of Twisted Sister who would have been 57. Birthday wishes also go out to singer Dan McCafferty of Nazareth who turns 70.

Dan McCafferty
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I got to meet A.J. over the years at many Twisted Sister concerts and also got the chance to work with him at the annual Biker’s for Babies motorcycle events back in the day to benefit the March of Dimes. A.J. passed away in March of 2015 of a heart attack at the age of 55 just before a scheduled show with his band Adrenaline Mob at The Chance in Poughkeepsie. He was such a nice guy and I was very saddened by the news. I recall djing at a bar one night when A.J. showed up and hung out with everyone. He signed autographs and took pictures with everybody. He was a real class act. He had joined the band Adrenaline Mob in 2014 as replacement for drummer Mike Portnoy and was also a member of the band Four By Fate.

Twisted Sister’s classic lineup formed in 1976. They released their first studio album Under the Blade in 1982. Their second album You Can’t Stop Rock ‘n’ Roll was released in 1983. The band achieved major success in 1984 with the release of their third album Stay Hungry featuring the hits “We’re Not Gonna Take It” and “I Wanna Rock”. Stay Hungry went multi-platinum selling 3 million copies with videos for the singles receiving heavy airplay on MTV. Twisted Sister followed up the success of Stay Hungry with not as successful Come Out and Play album in 1985. The album sold 500,000 copies. Twisted Sister split up after the release of 1987’s Love Is For Suckers and eventually reunited in 2001 for some recording and touring but would decide to call it quits with a 40th anniversary farewell tour after the passing of A.J. Pero.

On June 13, 2015 Twisted Sister payed tribute to A.J. with a special concert at Starland Ballroom in Sayerville NJ. Check out video below.

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