The big four would release a combined six more number-one albums by 1996. In January of 1992, Nirvana’s Nevermind knocked Michael Jackson from the number one spot on the Billboard 200. While none of those bands were fond of the word grunge, there was a general camaraderie among the members, save Kurt Cobain’s verbal attacks on Pearl Jam. Nirvana signed to Geffen, while Alice in Chains and Pearl Jam released their debut albums on Columbia and Epic. By the time they released Nirvana’s debut album, Bleach in 1989, Soundgarden was signed to A & M, and the major labels had figured out that there was something going on in Seattle besides Starbucks and rainy days.īy August of 1991, all four of the bands most commonly referred to as the “big four” were signed to major labels. Six years later, Sub Pop co-founder, Bruce Pavitt would describe (Arm’s band which included two future members of Pearl Jam) Green River’s Dry as a Bone EP as, “ultra-loose grunge that destroyed the morals of a generation.” That same year, Sub Pop would release Soundgarden’s raw debut EP, Screaming Life. The man who would later replace his surname McLaughlin with the edgier Arm referred to his band as, “pure grunge, pure noise, pure shit.” Epp and the Calculations in the now-defunct Desperate Times magazine.
A young high school student named Mark McLaughlin was describing his band, Mr. The less than flattering term, “grunge” dates back to at least 1981.
