Where did the name “Son of Halford” come from?
Bodi-wan
October 12, 2021
When I first started singing, it was to the few cassettes or records I had around 1986-1987 (or were already laying around the house). My untrained voice at that point really wasn’t anything special—just belting out some Top Gun, Bon Jovi, Beach Boys, or Van Halen melodies. The simple reason is that was all I had access to, besides some Journey, Foreigner, Head East, and so on that regularly played on the radio.
Our music teacher was interested in giving me some one-on-one lessons but that fell through due to his schedule. So I decided to go it alone in teaching myself to sing better. I decided to listen to good singers and try to do what they did to find my own style.
Then my older brother got into one of those tape clubs and things got exciting. It was 1988 and Priest’s album Ram It Down showed up in my brother’s mail.
That was good for two reasons—one, I could listen to the rocking tapes he wasn’t cranking up at the moment (e.g., Priest …Live for instance) and second, in the truck with my brother he played Ram It Down over and over again. I loved the rendition of Johnny B. Goode and that song helped me push my vocal range (so did the whole album).
For those who don’t know, Rob Halford is arguably the voice of heavy metal. His influence, along with the band Judas Priest (named for the famous 60’s song “The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest”) is really unparalleled in 50 years with few exceptions. The band began in the late 1960s and is still active today.
I remember my cousin and some others just backing off when we were singing along toward the end of the song when Rob Halford would jump up and belt out the energetic highs of the chorus to finish out the song. I would sing along flawlessly.
When I got into a band later, I had years of experience singing Halford. Not a bad person to be emulating. But by that time I was also singing Dream Theater’s James LeBrie, Stryper’s Michael Sweet and Petra’s John Schlitt—among many others.
Bodi-wan with Michael Sweet
But when I would sing cover’s, particularly of Halford specifically, I had so many people say I nailed it just like Rob Halford. I took those comments as a nice compliment. But it got to a point where there were people sincerely asking “are you sure Rob isn’t your dad?”
Of course, he's not, but somehow I was being dubbed the “Son of Halford”. Again, I took that as an exceptionally fine compliment. Being compared to someone of that caliber on vocals is really an honor.
But any talent that I have or have practiced to attain is by the graciousness of the Lord alone. I hope that as I culminate my music more and more that Jesus Christ receives the glory. I also pray that many of the vocalists I studied and learned through their music would repent (2 Peter 3:9) and turn to Christ for their salvation (Acts 4:12). Some have, by the way. I’ve prayed for many bands and their members over the years.
And advice to any young Christian singers: you need to be discerning about those you listen to. Some of their lyrics are acceptable by a Christian standard, but many aren't. So please exercise discernment. I had to learn a discerning heart over the years: compare these secular band's lyrics to God's Word (test everything, and hold onto the good, 1 Thessalonians 5:21).
There is nothing wrong in appreciating the style but don't get caught up in the worldly philosophies that sometimes associate with the secular religion.
Blessings,
Bodi-wan
