It’s Layne Staley’s birthday!
The original singer of Alice in Chains rose to fame as one of the forerunners of the Seattle grunge movement. His harmonies with Jerry Cantrell set the band apart from the other bands whose rise marked the end of hair metal’s dominance of the rock landscape.
The song “Man in the Box” from Alice in Chains’ debut album Facelift was a hit on MTV and radio, as Staley’s vocal style and range became the hallmark of something fresh and new on the rock scene. The band made a name for themselves by opening for Megadeth, Anthrax and Slayer on the Clash Of the Titans tour, which brought the band underground recognition as well as critical acclaim.
Alice in Chains’ rise in the 1990s culminated with the EP Jar of Flies, which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, making it their first chart-topping record. This success came at a price, however, as Staley’s heroin abuse sent him to rehab, slowing the band’s progress. While Alice in Chains was on hiatus, leading to tensions with Jerry Cantrell, he worked on the side project Mad Season with Mike McCready of Pearl Jam, Barrett Martin of Screaming Trees, and John Baker Saunders of The Walkabouts.
Staley’s addiction began to show in the change in his physical condition from heroin abuse, but despite his glaring problems, Alice returned with an MTV Unplugged session, which became Alice in Chains’ first concert in over two years. The band went on tour, playing three shows as the opening act for Kiss on their reunion tour. Staley’s last live performance was on July 3, 1996, in Kansas City, Missouri, as his condition required him to slow down his work with the band. He recorded two songs with Alice in Chains, “Get Born Again” and “Died,” and he recorded a cover of Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall” with Class ’99. At the start of the new decade, however, Staley’s struggle ended when he died of a speedball overdose on April 5, 2002, at the age of 34.
Layne Staley is one of the most recognizable voices in rock history, with Alice In Chains being one of the most defining bands of the 90s and one of the greatest rock bands of all time. His general recognition was not as great as Pearl Jam and Nirvana, but his influence on the scene is undeniable: he is one of the greatest rock voices of all time!
Happy birthday, Jerry. Despite your pain, you made the rock world a better place.
