When music fans think of the grunge genre, it’s inevitable that big names come to mind like Kurt Cobain, Eddie Vedder, Dave Grohl, and Chris Cornell. They are all gods when it comes to rock music, and popular music on the whole. But what about those other, supremely necessary, but unsung (or at least lesser-sung) heroes?
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That’s exactly why we’ve culled these artists below, to be celebrated just a little bit more. Because without them it’s safe to say grunge music wouldn’t have turned out quite the same way. Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden—they might have turned out completely differently, or perhaps not even broken through at all. Either way, we’d no doubt have missed out on a ton of great music without these four should-be-even-more-iconic grunge musicians.
1. Stone Gossard
Pearl Jam’s secret weapon, the unassuming Stone Gossard wrote or co-wrote some of Pearl Jam’s most important and best-known songs, from “Black” to “Once” to “Alive.” But today, walking past him, you might think he’s a science or math teacher.
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Gossard is a co-founder of the influential proto-grunge band Green River and the historically tragic band Mother Love Bone, whose lead singer Andy Wood died just days before their debut LP dropped. Gossard, who also played in Temple of the Dog, the Wood tribute group started by Chris Cornell, helped bring PJ lead player Mike McCready into the scene when McCready returned to Seattle after a stint in L.A. Indeed, Gossard’s fingerprints are all over the Seattle scene, which includes his latest group, Painted Shield. His recording studio, Studio Litho, has been used by Dave Matthews and Soundgarden.
2. Jeff Ament
When it comes to unsung Pearl Jam heroes, you can’t talk guitarist Gossard without talking bassist Jeff Ament. The two were something of a paired item in the 1980s and ’90s in the Pacific Northwest. Ament was also a member of Green River, Mother Love Bone, and Temple of the Dog, and was a founder of Pearl Jam. He helped pen PJ songs like “Yellow Ledbetter” and “Daughter.” Without Ament, the grunge scene in the Emerald City may never have gotten off the ground.
[RELATED: 4 Songs You Didn’t Know Jeff Ament Wrote for Pearl Jam]
3. Hiro Yamamoto
Along with Cornell and guitarist Kim Thayil, bassist Hiro Yamamoto co-founded Soundgarden, one of the “big four” Seattle grunge groups (alongside Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Alice in Chains). Since leaving the group in 1989, he started other projects like Truly and Stereo Donkey, but nothing that got the attention of his first major project.
But without Yamamoto, it’s fair to wonder: would Soundgarden have become quite what it was? He helped write songs like “All Your Lies” and “667” and played a pivotal role on early albums like Ultramega OK and Louder Than Love. More recently, Yamamoto was honored at an event in Seattle for the healthcare outfit SMASH. He played bass at the famed the Moore Theater for the event; it was the first time he’d played that stage since leaving Soundgarden in ’89.
4. Mark Arm
The frontman for the seminal and hugely influential grunge band Mudhoney, Arm’s looming, gravely voice epitomized the grunge sound of the late 1980s and 1990s. Prior to Mudhoney, he was the lead singer and co-founder of Green River, widely thought to be the most influential proto-grunge band. While Arm is deeply respected amongst his peers and many a music fan, his groups never quite got the attention others from the area garnered. Nevertheless, he remains a local legend and continues to work with beloved Seattle label Sub Pop to this day.
Photo by Danny Clinch / Courtesy Pearl Jam
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