Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider shared the wild story of how a commercial deal for the band’s hit song, “We’re Not Gonna Take It,” put his kids through college.
Dee Snider said, “It’s Dee again. So I don’t even know this, but vaginal dryness put my kids through college. You heard me. Let me explain.”
“Song licensing is the biggest source of income for songwriters and bands, post record sales of their heyday, okay? And ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It’ and ‘I Wanna Rock’ are two of the biggest, most licensed songs of the ’80s. Get a call from my manager. We got a big offer to license ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It’ for a network commercial. That’s big money. I’m like, awesome, great. What’s the product? Women’s premenopausal medication. What? ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It.’ And I’m telling this to my manager.”
“It is the biggest song that I ever did, and I’m not just gonna give it up. By how much? My art? But the money, pay it. I’m a whore, but I’m an expensive whore, and this is the right price for me to bend over. Tell the number. Dudes and dudettes, like I said, put my children through college. All of them.”
“But I still need to justify making this decision. So I ask my manager, I said, For the love of God, man, what does this thing do? It stops hot flashes. I’m like, Yeah, it can stop vaginal dryness. I said, Well then I’m doing God’s work, aren’t I? I’m stopping it with my song. I’m not gonna take vaginal dryness. Sign away! And that’s how vaginal dryness put my kids through college.”
Snider’s story reflects the lasting commercial value of “We’re Not Gonna Take It,” a song that became far more than an ’80s metal anthem.
Twisted Sister released the song as the lead single from its 1984 album Stay Hungry. It became the band’s breakthrough hit and helped establish Twisted Sister as one of the defining metal acts of the decade.
The song peaked at No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it Twisted Sister’s only U.S. Top 40 single. “We’re Not Gonna Take It” remains the band’s signature hit despite the group’s other well-known songs, including “I Wanna Rock.”
Snider has also dealt with the complications that can come with licensing the song. In a political advertising dispute involving Australian politician Clive Palmer, Snider told the Federal Court that the use was “not good for my heavy metal image.”
The dispute underscored the importance of permission and context when a familiar song is used commercially or politically. Snider’s latest story, however, suggests that he is willing to make that business decision when the offer is substantial enough—and when he can find a humorous way to justify it.
After Twisted Sister’s peak, Snider continued working across music, radio, film, television, and writing. His ongoing career has kept him in the public eye while licensing has provided another way for the band’s biggest songs to generate income long after their original release.
