Rob Halford — the Metal God — was born on August 25, 1951 in Sutton Coldfield and raised in Walsall, in the industrial Black Country that gave heavy metal its name and its sound. He joined JUDAS PRIEST in 1973 and defined the frontman's role for everyone who followed: the operatic range moving effortlessly from throaty growl to ear-splitting falsetto, and the leather-and-studs uniform he introduced in the late 1970s that became the genre's visual grammar worldwide. Fronting Sad Wings of Destiny, British Steel, Screaming for Vengeance and Painkiller, he built the template for what a metal singer could be. In 1998 he came out publicly on MTV, describing it as a wonderful moment walking out of the closet — an act of extraordinary courage in a genre not known for its tolerance. He won a Grammy in 2010 and entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022.
