Stryper Family Tree
Metal Family Tree
This is a project aimed at making it easy to see who inspired the bands you love or even hate. For this I try not to use any influences that the band don’t claim themselves. There will be a focus on predecessors but successors will be added as they site the band. These trees become more and more interactive as new bands are added, allowing you to click any band that has a tree and jump to it.
We want our lists to be better. If you know something that belongs on this list, let us know. When in doubt we will leave it out, so we need reliable sources.
Stryper are mostly known for the fact that they are a Christian metal band. Unlike many christian bands that are only using music as a way to spread the gospel, Stryper standout as actually being decent although admittedly extremely cheesy. They do some traditional heavy metal as well as a more glam style. They have maintained a consistent lineup with the exception of a couple bass player changes. The classic line up consists of Michael Sweet on guitar/vocals, Robert Sweet on drums, Oz Fox on guitar, and Tim Gaines on bass. Other bassists would be Tracy Ferrie and Perry Richardson. They would also have a few other members early on who never recorded with the band. The vast majority of songs have been written by Micheal with only a few songs over the years being written or co-written by other members. For that reason this tree will focus on mostly his influences.
Michael also names Steve Perry and Paul Rodgers as favorite signers. He talks about growing up with his dad listening to a variety of things from Mario Lanza to Elvis Presley to Creedence Clearwater Revival.
Robert says he was influenced by a lot of singer and guitar players and wanted to bring that showmen ship to drums.
Sources
https://www.guitarworld.com/features/interview-strypers-michael-sweet#:~:text=%E2%80%9COn%20Fire%E2%80%9D%20(Van%20Halen,new%20level%20in%20our%20band.&text=Definitely%2C%20man%2C%20and%20as%20a,one%20of%20my%20biggest%20influences.
https://themusicroom.me/michael-sweet-a-year-in-the-valley/
http://www.thirdstage.ca/boston/articles/interviews/604-more-than-a-feeling-an-interview-with-michael-sweet
https://amnplify.com.au/portfolio-items/interview-with-michael-sweet-from-stryper-18-07-18/
https://www.houstonpress.com/music/strypers-michael-sweet-god-formed-this-band-6770118
http://bravewords.com/news/stryper-drummer-robert-sweet-talks-gear-rock-stars-and-stripes-in-new-career-spanning-interview
https://twitter.com/sirozfox/status/975746852451639296?lang=en