5 Most Influential Grunge Band Frontmen
The defining voices of an entire musical movement.
The early 1990s brought monumental change that would go on to change the landscape of music. The Grunge sound emerged in the late 1980s in the state of Washington, most notably in Seattle. The genre was initially cultivated by a few bands signed with Sub Pop Records who shared a Punk Rock and Heavy Metal influence in their distinct sounds.
As bands such as Nirvana and Soundgarden grew bigger and moved on to major record labels, they gained more global popularity. Along with the rise of Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains at around the same time, Grunge finally reached the mainstream in the early 1990s.
During that time, Kurt Cobain and Eddie Vedder emerged as two of the most popular frontmen of the Grunge bands but the influence of Chris Cornell, Layne Staley, and Mark Arm was quickly appreciated. Despite the early demise of some of these frontmen, all five of them left their own impact on grunge and influenced other genres of music along the way. Each bringing their own unique distinctions to the “Seattle Sound.”
5. Mark Arm
One of the most underrated Grunge frontmen, Mark Arm originally lead one of the pioneering Grunge bands that revolved around Sub Pop Records, Green River. After Green River's demise in 1988, Mark Arm along with Steve Turner would go on to form one of the most influential grunge bands, Mudhoney.
Mudhoney would go on to release early grunge classics years before Nirvana’s Nevermind. Despite a lack of commercial success, Mark Arm’s influence on the Grunge sound is greatly forgotten and overlooked.
His place in pioneering the Grunge movement was immense as he partook in creating a sound that would reach commercial success out of nowhere a few years later and have a long impact on pop culture and music.