Seattle, Wash. is the birthplace of grunge, starting in the 80s, and has been a significant landmark in the music world. A mark has been left on the city by the various monuments and museums celebrating this specialized type of rock and roll. All of this started in the 1980s when the “Big Four” of grunge made their first albums. The “Big Four” are Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains and Soundgarden.
The world was getting tired of classic rock like Led Zeppelin and the Beatles, so when Nirvana — a band composed of Kurt Cobain, Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic — released the song “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” it exploded in popularity. The world was in love with this new style of rock, opening the door for the Seattle Grunge Movement.
Soundgarden, which began with members Chris Cornell, Kim Thayil and Hiro Yamamoto, was the first out of the “Big Four” to get a major record deal. With this record deal, Soundgarden was pushed up into the spotlight, allowing them to make the song “Flower” a big hit during the early years of their career.
Another one of the “Big Four,” Pearl Jam, consisted of Eddie Vedder, Dave Krusen, Jeff Ament, Stone Gossard and Mike McCready. They were able to craft their first album, “Ten,” to perfection. It contained hit songs like “Alive,” “Even Flow” and “Jeremy” which helped them rise to the top.
Last but not least, Alice in Chains. Alice in Chains, composed of Layne Stanley, Jerry Cantrell,
Mike Starr and Sean Kinney also gained success from their first album, “Face Lift,” as well as the single “Man in the Box.” They grew in popularity through their raw and more metal-like songs.
These four bands only went up in popularity. They took the spotlight of the music world and ran with it. Not only that, but they were all close friends and often asked their opinion of one another. Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam and Chris Cornell of Soundgarden were the closest. Both of them were in an earlier band called “Mother Love Bone,” and had contributed to the band “Temple of the Dog.” Vedder has referred to Cornell as an older brother figure. He was also very thankful for how Cornell accepted him with open arms into Seattle’s ”Big Four.” All of the “Big Four” bands hosted concerts and made appearances on television together. All the bands released more and more albums and rose to higher levels of fame. Pearl Jam’s album “Vs.” hit one million sales in the first six days it was out, and they received record offers and requests to show up on shows. The four were on top of the world and felt as if nothing could stop them.
April 5, 1994, Kurt Cobain, lead singer on the massively popular band, Nirvana, was found dead in his home in Seattle, Wash., at the age of 27. Kurt Cobain’s death shocked the world and ended Nirvana’s seven-year career. Exactly eight years later on April 5, 2002, Layne Staley of Alice in Chains died from a drug overdose at his apartment in Seattle, Wash. Despite these deaths being eight years apart, it hit the music world hard. The loss of these two only got worse when on May 17, 2017, Chris Cornell of Soundgarden died following a performance. The death of more than half of the singers for the “Big Four” shattered the music world. All eyes were on Pearl Jam and their lead singer, Eddie Vedder.
Even though Eddie Vedder was under extreme pressure, he was able to keep it together. To this day, he says that he has never been able to fully cope with the death of three of his closest friends. Pearl Jam still makes music and goes on tour almost every year.
The Seattle grunge movement has been arguably the last big music movement. Its importance and influence on the music industry and music produced in the present day is incomparable. The “Big Four” remain some of the top played bands to this day, and have passed down the torch to smaller groups, helping them reach the success they themselves once had.
