“That’s what ended up being grunge”: The three classic bands that helped invent grunge
The peak of grunge was relatively short-lived in terms of musical lifespan. It dominated the airwaves for a few years and then found life as a sub-genre. It can still be heard in a number of modern bands today, as despite the fairly short period that it was mainstream, the influence of some of the giant bands such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Sonic Youth, who helped the movement gain traction, continues to inspire and move people to this day.
Grunge is one of those movements that acts a reminder of how much of art is consequential. A lot of dominoes had to fall for the sound to develop in the way that it did, and one of these first ports of call came from the bands that inspired the people who made grunge music. It won’t surprise you to read that hard rock and punk music played a part in establishing the sound, but who were the bands that are acknowledged as influences?
Green River are seen by many as one of the first ever grunge bands to set the foundation for the sound. Jeff Ament, who would later become one of the founding members of Pearl Jam, was a member of Green River, and it was said he merely took the sound from one band and moved it over to another.
When Ament was asked about Green River’s influence on grunge music, he admitted that while the sound of Pearl Jam was certainly influenced by his former band, there were other legends at play who he thought of as much more of an influence. The three acts that he mentioned in particular were Motörhead, Black Flag and The Stooges.
“In the last year we’ve played four shows with Green River and while its been great to go back we’ve come to the conclusion that we were really just ripping off Black Flag and Motorhead and The Stooges,” said Ament, “I guess that’s what ended up being grunge so we probably owe Iggy and Lemmy and Greg Ginn some royalties from that era. They haven’t asked yet!”
Of course, a lot more than these initial influences contributed to making grunge what it was. Disaster also played a part in establishing the movement, as while Eddie Vedder might be renowned as one of the biggest voices in the genre, he might not have been given a platform were it not for the passing of Mother Love Bone singer Andrew Wood. Wood was the lead singer in Mother Love Bone, who are hailed by many as one of the earliest iterations of punk.
Once Wood passed away, a tribute record was made by a makeshift band called Temple of the Dog. It was in this band that people got an initial glimpse at Eddie Vedder, the man who would go on to become one of the most definitive voices in grunge.
Grunge remains one of the greatest examples of a genre that is the result of pure circumstance. From the initial bands that played grunge, to the punk bands that inspired them and the disaster that surrounded them, all of these parts had to move into place for grunge to have the effect that it has.
