Headbanging is the act of violently shaking one's head inrhythm with music. It is common inrock,punk,heavy metal anddubstep, where headbanging is often used by musicians on stage.[1] Headbanging is also common in traditional IslamicSufi music traditions such asQawwali in theIndian subcontinent andIran.
Headbanging has been common inIslamic devotionalSufi music traditions dating back centuries, such as theIndian subcontinent's 600-year-oldQawwali tradition,[2][3] and amongdervishes inIran'sKurdistan Province.[4] Qawwali performances, particularly atSufi shrines in the Indian subcontinent, usually in honour ofAllah,Islamic prophets, orSufi saints, often have performers and spectators induced into a trance-like state and headbanging in a manner similar to metal androck concerts.[5][6][7] A popular song often performed bySufis andfakirs in the Indian subcontinent is the 600-year-old "Dama Dam Mast Qalandar" (in honour of 13th-century Sufi saintLal Shahbaz Qalandar), which often has performers and spectators rapidly headbanging to the beats ofnaukat drum sounds.[3]
The most well-known Qawwali performer in modern times is latePakistani singerNusrat Fateh Ali Khan, whose performances often induced trance-like headbanging experiences in the late 20th century.[2] Khan's popularity in the Indian subcontinent led to the emergence of fusion genres such asSufi rock and techno qawwali inSouth Asian popular music (Pakistani pop,Indi-pop,Bollywood music andBritish-Asian music) in the 1990s which combine the traditional trance-likezikr headbanging of Qawwali with elements of modern rock,techno ordance music, which has occasionally been met with criticism and controversy from traditional Sufi and Qawwali circles.[8]
The origin of the term "headbanging" is contested. It is possible that the term "headbanger" was coined duringLed Zeppelin's first US tour in 1969.[9] During a show at theBoston Tea Party concert venue, audience members in the first row were banging their heads against the stage in rhythm with the music.
Furthermore, concert footage of Led Zeppelin performing at the Royal Albert Hall January 9, 1970, on theLed Zeppelin DVD released in 2003, the front row can be seen headbanging throughout the performance.[10]
However, an instance of headbanging prior to the alleged coining of the term can be seen duringCream'sFarewell Concert in November 1968, also at the Royal Albert Hall. Specifically during the performance of Sunshine of Your Love, front row audience members with particularly large amounts of hair are seen quickly bobbing their heads to the music in a fashion typically associated with modern headbanging.[11]
Ozzy Osbourne andGeezer Butler ofBlack Sabbath are among the first documented headbangers, as it is possible to see in footage of their gig in Paris, 1970.[12]
In the early 1970s,Status Quo was one of the first hard rock bands to headbang on stage.[13][14]
Lemmy fromMotörhead, however, said in an interview on the documentaryThe Decline of Western Civilization II: The Metal Years, that the term "Headbanger" may have originated in the band's name, as in "Motorheadbanger".
The practice itself and its association with therock genre was popularized by guitaristAngus Young of the bandAC/DC.[15][unreliable source?]
Early televised performances in the 1950s ofJerry Lee Lewis depict young male fans who had grown their hair in the fashion of Lewis, where his front locks would fall in front of his face. Lewis would continuously flip his hair back away from his face, prompting the fans to mimic the movement in rapid repetition in a fashion resembling headbanging.
At least one parrot, acockatoo namedSnowball, developed the habit of headbanging to music, causing something of an Internet sensation.[16] Scientists were intrigued, as untrained dancing among animals is rare.[17]
In the mid-1980s,Metallica bassistCliff Burton complained repeatedly about neck pain associated with his almost constant and heavy headbanging during concerts or even rehearsals.[18]In 2005,Evanescence guitaristTerry Balsamo incurred astroke which doctors postulated may have been caused by frequent headbanging.[19]In 2007, Irish singer and formerMoloko vocalistRóisín Murphy suffered an eye injury during a performance of her song "Primitive" when she headbanged into a chair on stage.[20]
In 2009,Slayer bassist/vocalistTom Araya began experiencing spinal problems due to his aggressive form of headbanging, and had to undergoanterior cervical discectomy and fusion. After recuperating from the surgery, he can no longer headbang.[21][22]In 2011,Megadeth guitaristDave Mustaine said that his neck and spine condition, known asspinal stenosis, was caused by many years of headbanging.[23] That same year,Stone Sour drummerRoy Mayorga suffered a stroke as a result of his frequent headbanging while drumming. The event led to him having to re-learn how to play drums.[24]Slipknot samplerCraig Jones once suffered fromwhiplash after an extended case of powerful headbanging.[citation needed]
Several case reports can be found in the medical literature which connect excessive headbanging toaneurysms andhematomas within the brain and damage to thearteries in the neck which supply the brain. More specifically, cases with damage to thebasilar artery,[25][26] thecarotid artery[27] and thevertebral artery[28] have been reported. Several case reports also associated headbanging withsubdural hematoma,[29][30] sometimes fatal,[31] andmediastinal emphysema similar toshaken baby syndrome.[32] An observational study comparing headbanging to non-headbanging teenagers in a dance marathon concluded that the activity is associated with pain in varying parts of the body, most notably the neck, where it manifests as whiplash.[33]
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