MOTHER LOVE BONE BAND PAGE
 MOTHER LOVE BONE
|
CURRENT NAME
|
Mother Love Bone |
|
FORMER NAMES
|
- |
|
ORIGIN
|
USA |
|
STATUS
|
Disbanded |
|
FORMED IN
|
1989 |
|
GENRE
|
Grunge |
|
STYLE
|
- |
|
LYRICAL THEME
|
- |
|
BAND ADDED
|
2004-04-05, 00:00 |
|
LAST UPDATE
|
2008-03-28, 09:40 |
Before Pearl Jam, there was Mother Love Bone. Future Pearl
Jam members Stone Gossard (guitar) and Jeff Ament (bass) were founders
of this Seattle-based glam/punk outfit, which was fronted by flamboyant
singer Andrew Wood. But despite countless accolades from the press and
their peers, the group's career was cut short before it could truly
blossom due to tragedy.
Both Gossard and Ament had previously been members of Seattle garage
rockers Green River (a group that also included future Mudhoney members
Mark Arm and Steve Turner), and upon the group's breakup in 1988, the
guitarist and bassist stuck together, looking to form a group more a kin
to the arena rockers of their youth (Kiss, Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin,
Queen, etc.). Joining Gossard and Ament was drummer Greg Gilmore, second
guitarist Bruce Fairweather, and the aforementioned Wood on vocals. Wood
(who was previously known as Landrew the Love Child as a member of
another Seattle outfit, Malfunkshun) was the complete opposite of the
prototypical Seattle frontman as he patterned his look and vocal style after
such renowned frontmen as Freddie Mercury, Paul Stanley, and Marc
Bolan. But although the group had a few similarities to the then-flourishing
glam metal scene, the group's sound was tougher and more rooted in
classic rock than their soon-to-be disposable glam contemporaries.
The group created a buzz from the get-go as the quintet inked a deal
with Polygram shortly after forming and were given their own label,
Stardog, resulting in the release of the six-track EP Shine in 1989. The
year was spent touring and plotting their full-length debut, which was
eventually completed by the end of the year, with a projected release in
spring of 1990. Expectations for the disc were high and sensing this,
Wood wanted to be at his best, so the singer checked himself into a rehab
center to try and conquer an addiction to heroin. But on March 16,
1990, Wood was found by his fiancée unconscious in his bed, having
overdosed on the drug. Despite efforts to revive him, Wood was eventually
pronounced dead three days later. Devastated, the group called it quits as
the resulting album, Apple, was issued several months later in the fall
of 1990.
Gossard and Ament slowly worked their way back into music, as they
joined up with Soundgarden members Matt Cameron and Chris Cornell (the
latter a good friend and former roommate of Wood's) to record a pair of
songs that Cornell had penned for the late singer. But the sessions soon
took on a life of their own and a full album's worth of tunes was
recorded, issued as a self-titled release in 1991 under the name of Temple of
the Dog (a phrase from one of Wood's lyrics). The album also saw
contributions from guitarist Mike McCready and singer Eddie Vedder, two
musicians who Gossard and Ament had been jamming with, soon resulting in the
formation of Pearl Jam. With both Soundgarden and Pearl Jam enjoying
massive commercial success in 1992, Temple of the Dog enjoyed a second
wind on the charts and became a sizeable hit, as interest in Mother Love
Bone perked up as well. Sensing this, Polygram reissued both Shine and
Apple together as a self-titled release, as well as a home video!
Love Bone Earth Affair. In addition, the epic Mother Love Bone song
"Chloe Dancer/Crown of Thorns" was included on the hit soundtrack to the
movie Singles the same year. Besides Gossard and Ament, the other
surviving members of Mother Love Bone have subsequently issued recordings as
part of other bands, as well (Fairweather with Love Battery and Gilmore
with a host of others, including Carrie Clark, Doghead, etc.).
| Session musicians Add - Fetch |
| Unknown / none |
|
Buy Mother Love Bone albums
|
