Editing Dee Snider (section)

===1970s–1980s===
In early 1976, Snider joined [[Twisted Sister]] and became the band's sole songwriter. The group released their first studio album, ''[[Under the Blade]]'', in September 1982 and developed a following in the UK. Less than a year later, Twisted Sister released their second album, ''[[You Can't Stop Rock 'n' Roll]]''. Their third album, ''[[Stay Hungry (album)|Stay Hungry]]'', hit shelves on May 10, 1984. This became the band's most successful record with the hits "[[We're Not Gonna Take It (Twisted Sister song)|We're Not Gonna Take It]]" and "[[I Wanna Rock]]". "We're Not Gonna Take It" reached No. 2 on the [[UK singles chart]] and No. 21 on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] singles chart, and was ranked No. 47 on 100 Greatest 80's Songs. To emphasize the "twisted sister" image, Snider adopted a trademark persona of metal-inspired [[drag (clothing)|drag]] with long blond curly hair, an excessive amount of [[eye shadow]] and [[Rouge (cosmetics)|rouge]], a [[beauty mark]], and bright red [[lipstick]].<ref>{{cite news | newspaper=Newsday | date=October 10, 1984 | page=9 | title=Too rough for Texas | url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/114097306/dee-snider-wears-makeup-to-perform/}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | newspaper=The Indianapolis News | date=August 30, 1984 | page=32 | last=Dunkin | first=Zach | title=Twisted Sister Brings Back Era of 'Glitter Rock' | url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/114098485/twister-sister-glitter-rock-indianapolis/}}</ref>

During the mid-1980s, before the premiere of ''[[Headbangers Ball]]'', the first [[MTV]] program to consist entirely of heavy metal videos was ''Heavy Metal Mania''. The first episode aired in June 1985 and was hosted by Snider. It featured metal news, interviews with metal artists, and in-studio co-hosts. That same year, in November, Twisted Sister released ''[[Come Out and Play (Twisted Sister album)|Come Out and Play]]'', which sold more than 500,000 copies in the USA.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/|title=Gold & Platinum|website=RIAA}}</ref>

In 1984, Snider was arrested for obscenity after a show in Amarillo, Texas. A parent who brought their kid to the show pressed charges after Snider cursed out a member of the audience for causing trouble. A fine was paid and the charges were later dropped.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/79334/12-outrageous-facts-about-twisted-sister|title=10. Dee Snider Was Arrested For Obscenity in 1984.|last=Reesman|date=Oct 23, 2023|website=Mental Floss}}</ref>

In 1985, Snider was involved in a Senate hearing instigated by the [[Parents Music Resource Center]] (PMRC), which sought to introduce a parental warning system that would label all albums containing what they considered offensive material. Prior to the appearance by PMRC in Congress, they had singled out a list of songs entitled the "Filthy Fifteen" to demonstrate the dangers of such material to youth, with "We're Not Gonna Take It" featuring on the list alongside [[Prince (musician)|Prince]]'s "[[Darling Nikki]]", [[Madonna]]'s "[[Dress You Up]]", and [[Venom (band)|Venom]]'s "[[Possessed (Venom album)|Possessed]]", among other titles. The PMRC proposed a system involving letters that identified the types of objectionable content they determined to be found in each album (e.g., "O" for occult themes, "X" for sex and profanity, "D/A" for drugs and alcohol, "V" for violence, etc.). Snider, [[John Denver]], and [[Frank Zappa]] all testified against censorship and the proposed warning system.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://societyofrock.com/in-1985-dee-snider-testified-in-front-of-congress-and-stunned-everyone-in-the-building/ |title = Flashback: The Time Congress Tried To Shut Down Dee Snider But He Had Other Plans |work=Society of Rock |date=2016-07-15 }}</ref> The system was never implemented, and the music industry had already adopted what is now the generic "[[Parental Advisory|Parental Advisory: Explicit Content]]" label.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/dee-snider-on-pmrc-hearing-i-was-a-public-enemy-71205/|title=Dee Snider on PMRC Hearing: 'I Was a Public Enemy'|first=Kory|last=Grow|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |date=September 18, 2015}}</ref>

The PMRC involved prominent public figures such as [[Tipper Gore]], the then-wife of Senator [[Al Gore]] (D-TN), and Susan Baker, the wife of then-Secretary of State [[James Baker]]. Tipper Gore and Snider had a publicly antagonistic relationship as a consequence, with Snider accusing her of having a "dirty mind" for alleging that the lyrics of "[[Under the Blade]]" contained [[Sadomasochism|sadomasochistic]] undertones, when in fact, they were about [[Surgery|medical surgery]].<ref name="rollingstone-pmrc">{{cite magazine |url = https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/dee-snider-on-pmrc-hearing-i-was-a-public-enemy-71205/ |title = Dee Snider on PMRC Hearing: 'I Was a Public Enemy' |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |first = Kory |last = Grow |date =2015-09-18 | access-date=2021-05-27 }}</ref> Snider also alleged during the Senate hearing that Tipper Gore had fabricated evidence concerning merchandise sold by the band when she stated that "the t-shirts that kids wear" featured "Twisted Sister and a woman in handcuffs sort of spread-eagled".<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-10-29|title=When Dee Snider fought against censorship in the '80s|url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/twisted-sister-dee-snider-censorship-battle/|access-date=2021-12-18|language=en-US}}</ref> Snider challenged her to produce such a shirt, to which Al Gore clarified that "the word 't-shirts' was in plural, and one of them referred to Twisted Sister and the other referred to a woman in handcuffs".<ref>{{Cite web|last=McPadden 9/21/2015|first=Mike|title=6.66 Heavy Metal Highlights of the PMRC Hearings|url=https://www.vh1.com/news/ifkqk2/heavy-metal-highlights-of-pmrc-hearings|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220525133028/https://www.vh1.com/news/ifkqk2/heavy-metal-highlights-of-pmrc-hearings|url-status=live|archive-date=May 25, 2022|access-date=2021-12-18|website=VH1 News}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Committee On Commerce, Science, And Transportation|url=http://www.joesapt.net/superlink/shrg99-529/committee.html|access-date=2021-12-18|website=Joesapt.net}}</ref>

The fifth Twisted Sister album was ''[[Love Is for Suckers]]'' (1987). The record was originally planned to have been a Snider solo effort, but [[Atlantic Records]] encouraged a release under the Twisted Sister name. Touring lasted only into October 1987, and on October 12, 1987, Snider announced his departure from the band. It was during this time that Snider formed [[Desperado (band)|Desperado]], a band featuring ex-[[Iron Maiden]] drummer [[Clive Burr]], ex-[[Gillan (band)|Gillan]] guitarist [[Bernie Torme]], and bassist Marc Russel.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.deesnider.com/index.php/component/content/article/77-main-page/16-about-desperado |title = About Desperado |website=Deesnider.com  |access-date = 2009-04-12  |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090406083659/http://www.deesnider.com/index.php/component/content/article/77-main-page/16-about-desperado |archive-date = April 6, 2009 }}</ref> The group's only album, ''Ace'', has never been officially released, but was heavily [[Bootleg recording|bootlegged]] on CD under the title ''[[Bloodied, but Unbowed]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/dee-snider-desperado/|title=The Single Word That Killed Dee Snider's Best Album|first=Martin|last=Kielty|date=March 26, 2023|website=Ultimate Classic Rock}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://deesnider.com/music/desperado/|title=Dee Snider &#124; Desperado}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.last.fm/music/Desperado/+wiki|title=Desperado biography|website=Last.fm}}</ref>