The injury and the ensuing surgical procedure set the musician (and the entire band)back several months. However, hard rock music caught Cantrell's interest predominantly. While the songs central focus was on the Vietnam War, it transcends the conflict and found a new audience with the wars that have been waged in the last two decades. Jerry Cantrell described to the LA Times the impact the Vietnam War had on his dads life, Vietnam is something he never talks about. The bullets scream to me from somewhere, mm-mm. It does not store any personal data. Cantrell Sr. served two combat tours in Vietnam, and also appears in the music video talking about his war experiences. The elder Cantrell wouldnt talk about the war, so Jerry crafted the lyrics based on what he thought where his fathers feelings and experiences, told from his perspective. Jerry Cantrell/Fathers. During the Dirt tour bassist Mike Starr was kicked out of Alice in Chains due to his budding drug addiction. 10. (function() { Its also a play on how the Vietnamese saw 101st Airborne Division soldiers who wore the Screaming Eagle on their sleeves. During a 1992 interview with Guitar for the Practicing Musician magazine, in response to the question Do you feel you communicated with (your father) with this song?, Cantrell responded: Yeah. He was totally pinned., Pellington recalled that Layne wanted to wear a cowboy hat in the video, but the director had a better idea. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. 5. He talked about the song 'Rooster' which was written for his dad Jerry Cantrell Sr . Why is Alice in Chains song called Rooster? Your email address will not be published. Jerry Cantrell described to the LA Times the impact the Vietnam War had on his dad's life, "Vietnam is something he never talks about. Also recorded during these sessions was a song called Rooster. "He just made that up on the spot," Carlstrom recalled. Alice in Chains frontman Layne Staley lived a life that was full of tragedy and doom, but as the A.V. My father, Marine Corp Vet in 'nam, explained this to me without an inquiry when we were listening to the song. His maternal grandmother was from Norway, and his maternal grandfather was from the Czech Republic. MarchMay 1992 at Eldorado Recording Studios, Burbank, California; London Bridge Studio, Seattle, Washington; One on One Studios, Los Angeles, California, Eldorado Recording Studios (Burbank, CA); London Bridge Studio (Seattle, WA); and One on One Recording Studios (Los Angeles, CA). He is best known as the founder, lead guitarist, co-lead vocalist, and main songwriter [9] of the rock band Alice in Chains. Layne loved it but his dealer offered some unsolicited advice with Layne telling him to shut up. The band didn't just cancel the Metallica tour dates they actually broke up I just recently got a letter from a guy in Iraq who told me his unit had changed his call sign to Rooster. According to Revolver, however, the band had started cracking at the seams well before Staley passed away, to the point that they even went their separate ways for quite a while. He noted in an interview that he was "raised on country music" as a youth and that he admires the emotion conveyed in the genre. Click here for the image details page or here for the full-sized version (1080 x 2160). Please watch a documentary before you write that those lyrics are invalid. He also considers himself "half Yankee and half redneck". He told me flat-out, 'People look at you like you're a piece of merchandise. The stoic Okie. No Replies Log in to reply 0. We had a lot of problems and occurrences because of that.. Truly, art is suffering. Guitarist Jerry Cantrell recalled where he was when he wrote the song, telling Classic Rock Magazine, I was between places to live at that time so I moved in with Chris Cornell and his wife, Susan Silver at their house in Seattle. About The comment that anti-war protesters did not spit on soldiers. Remove this comment before posting.]. He said it was a weird experience, a sad experience and he hoped that nobody else had to go through it. Hes only seen us play once, and I played this song for him when we were in this club opening for Iggy Pop. Mike Starr was booted from Alice in Chains for drugs and then OD'd after his final show with the band Regardless of what actually happened, this marked the start of a long downfall. Thanks guys, you all did an awesome job !!! Cantrell attended high school at Spanaway Lake High School, and, before owning his first guitar, he was a member of the high school choir which attended many state competitions. Cantrell wrote this song to honor his father by telling a little story about his service in the Vietnam War. artist: "Alice In Chains", Cantrell Sr.'s scenes, filmed in stark black & white, show him hunting in the woods as an older man, while having "flashback" memories of his youthful Vietnam combat experiences (which are shot in full color). A lot.". What year did Alice in Chains dirt come out? He was the main subject in the song "Rooster" which Cantrell wrote as a tribute to his father. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. '", 2. He was there when they toured with giants like Van Halen and Iggy Pop but sadly, so was his drug addiction. Here are 10things you may not have known about the 1992 album. Nirvana might have been the biggest name in grunge, Pearl Jam the most enduring, and Soundgarden the most hard-hitting, but as Stephen Hill of Louder tells us, it was Alice in Chains that first brought the genre into the mainstream with their sublime 1990 debut album,Facelift. It was beautiful. That sh!t scars you forever. There's a reason why Staley is wearing sunglasses in the "Rooster" video I had talked to my grandpa a Vietnam Vet And he actually told me a lot about how this song moved him. "Rooster" was the name that he went by in Vietnam. Shared Photo: Henry E Cantrell and Elizabeth George, Shared Photo: Cantrell and Henley families. When you fire a long burst from a machine gun, the barrel tends to rise. But Dirtstill stands as the band's magnum opus. Rooster by Alice In Chains was Jerry Cantrell's tribute to his Vietnam veteran dad, and it showed a different kind of dark side to the band (Image credit: Chris Carroll/Corbis via Getty Images) Rooster by Alice In Chains may have become one of the band's defining tracks, but its meaning was rooted in humble beginnings. Over time, this less than healthy lifestyle started taking a toll on the singer, who kept on keeping on down his dark path despite the numerous attempts his bandmates made to lure him back in the land of the living. As you can probably imagine, this didn't sit too well with many people, who saw the death of Layne Staley as the end of Alice in Chains, as well. /* TFP - lyricinterpretations.com - Above */ Trivia (1) Father of Alice in Chains guitarist/vocalist Jerry Cantrell. The death was ruled accidental, and caused by a "speedball" (a combination of cocaine and heroin). Due to the strain of war, his parents divorced when he was seven years old, and Cantrell was raised by his mother, Gloria, and his maternal . We lived in the same house and partied together and drank as much as each other. Father and son also appeared together on the music video for "Rooster", in which Jerry Sr. recalls the war. The song Rooster offered a chance for a son to understand his fathers pain and it would result in healing a fractured relationship. However, after recording just one song, Cantrell started experiencing excruciating pain in his arm, which he described feeling "like an icepick in your joint." Mike Starr was a founding member and the original bass player of Alice in Chains, but according toRolling Stone,his voracious appetite for drugs became his undoing. This was all my perception of his experiences out there. ", After "Rooster" became one of the most successful songs from their 1993 album,Dirt,Cantrell said it "sparked a new bond between Cantrell and his estranged dad. Born 18 March, 1966
(56 years old). After reading the about the songs deep connection to hisfathersexperience in Vietnam, I hope all combat veterans draw inspiration from the chorus: Yeah here come the rooster, yeahYou know he ain't gonna die. (R.I.P. The accompanying video featured Cantrell Sr., as well as real Vietnam news footage and reenacted combat scenes. He was back there with his big gray Stetson and his cowboy boots he's a total Oklahoma man and at the end, he took his hat off and just held it in the air. What is the zodiac sign of Jerry Cantrell ? So the next time you need to rock, crank up this grungeanthem from 1993. He was standing in the back and he heard all the words and stuff. "[H]e's like, 'You were dead for 11 minutes, Mike. He told me how So the song Rooster has a deeper meaning then what comes across to most people. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Alice in Chains drummer Sean Kinney, in particular, attempted to contact Staley three times a week for years, but Staley refused to even talk to him. "My whole f****ng life was basically taken away from me within the period of a year, and I felt like I was on my own. Jerry Fulton Cantrell Jr. (born March 18, 1966) [1] is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Starr took care of bass duties on Alice in Chains' beloved debut studio album,Facelift,as well as their even more esteemed sophomore effort,Dirt. Club tells us, the people close to the singer appear to think that a very specific point in time marked the start of his darkness. With their follow-up album, Dirt,Alice in Chains proved that they were far from a one-trick pony, and singles like "Would?," "Rooster," and "Them Bones" propelled them to further success. Throughout the episode, filmed at Action Park in Vernon, New Jersey, the band members yukked it up as they went tubing, water slidingand even indulged in a bit of illegal fishing. i have posted a recent photo of Jerry Fulton Cantrell Sr, 6889. he was not born on july 9 1941, he did not die on feb 19 2009, nor serve in the US Navy, he is the subject of the song "The Rooster" written about experiences Jerry Sr had while serving in the us Army, Airborne, Vietnam. Layne's response? The band was struggling with the newfound success their first album,Facelift,had brought them, and singer Layne Staley and bass player Mike Starr in particular were turning to drugs to the point it became a big issue. In the book Alice in Chains: The Untold Story, Cantrell recounts how frontman Layne Staley showed up to the studio with his drug dealer and Jerden was playing the song on the studios loudspeakers. Cantrell pointed out that DuVall wasn't replacing Staley any more than Inez had replaced former bassist Mike Starr. Rest in Peace soldier. Jerry Cantrell nearly bared it all on a memorable episode of HeadbangersBall Rooster was his nickname in Vietnam, where he fought in the war. Cantrell revealed the song seemed to heal a rift that had been created between himself and his father during his childhood. Jerden lost it, Who the f are you? ', In the book Alice in Chains: The Untold Story, Pellington explained, I think the sunglasses actually look cool because its more sinister and the song is kind of evil and you guys are fd up and evil.. He went to live with his mother and grandmother in Tacoma, Washington. Staley himself went on to explore dark paths that ultimately took his life, as well. Have visited you at the WALL in D.C. Will always remember you as a good looking young man with a good heart and a wild side that drew we young men to you. Jerry Fulton Cantrell was born in 1941 in Atoka, Oklahoma, USA. Alice In Chains' guitarist and co-vocalist Jerry Cantrell may not have lived quite as rough a life as the band's famously tragic frontman, Layne Staley, but that doesn't mean he hasn't got his own share of past awfulness. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. "Their period of time with us in the band, on those records is indelible and completely unique." Similar to Megadeth's Countdown to Extinction, Dirt was cut during the riots that erupted following the acquittal of four LAPD officers caught on camera beating unarmed black motorist Rodney King. Afterward, Starr said he went back to Staley's room and continued his drug binge. He recalled the sessions for that first album to Music Radar: "They were hot and ready to go. He was the main subject in the song "Rooster" which Cantrell wrote as a tribute to his father. Still, Cantrell ultimately came to see a silver lining in the painful situation, as it forced him and the rest of the band to recharge their batteries before jumping right into a labor-intensive album cycle. Alice in Chains' sophomore studio album, 1992'sDirt,was a massive success that cemented the band's place in the grunge pantheon and featured landmark hits like "Angry Chair," "Would?," and "Rooster." It would not be until the age of 17 that he began seriously playing an electric guitar. the Rooster was a nickname for the gun M-60 and how when it was night it light up when they shot and looked like a rooster tail. During those recording sessions, the band cut a number of other songs that eventually became their first EP, 1992s SAP, which was released in February of that year. 'I remember staying up all night and writing that song,' the guitarist said. In recent years, both Dave Grohl and Axl Rose have powered through performances while suffering from broken bones by sitting atop a throne onstage. Is rooster by Alice in Chains about Vietnam? In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Jerry Cantrell recalled that the road to their fifth studio album, 2013'sThe Devil Put Dinosaurs Here,was a painful one for him. It does make sense, however sadly, it is not what happened. Staley was so out of it that he had to wear sunglasses when they shot the music video for "Rooster" so viewers wouldn't realize how high he was, while Starr's drug problems became so bad that the band had to ultimately fire him. ", 7. We Can Fix America If We Just Bring Back Schoolhouse Rock, Song Analysis Corner: Istanbul (Not Constantinople), I Just Called To Say Stevie Wonder's Song Deserved a Better Movie. Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund | 3033 Wilson Blvd, Suite 300 | Arlington VA 22201 | 202.393.0090 As such, his body wasn't found until two weeks after his death, when people realized they hadn't heard about him in a while. Furthermore, the album sold more than four million copies in the U.S. and peaked at No. I had talked to my grandpa a Vietnam Vet And he actually told me a lot about how this song moved him. He watched as his father struggled with PTSD throughout his childhood until, eventually, it destroyed his family. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. Cantrell picked it up very quickly, impressing his mother's boyfriend who suggested that she should buy her son a guitar, so she bought him an acoustic guitar. In October 1996, Staley was deeply shocked by the death of Demri Parrott, the vocalist's long-time girlfriend and fellow drug addict. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. Your email address will not be published. In his mid-teens he bought his first guitar from a swap meet, a Korean-made Fender Stratocaster. "Rooster" was the name that he went by in Vietnam. This article originally appeared on ConnectingVets.com. It would be interesting to know IF the writers father was in the 101st? These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. Of course, I was never in Vietnam and he wont talk about it, but when I wrote this it felt rightlike these were things he might have felt or thought. On the same topic, Cantrell also mentioned that he inherited his love of music from his mother, who seems to have supported him throughout his journey. Yes it's about a M60 gunner, Yes it's about Vietnam. A real work of art may have a very specific meaning, but appeal to different schools of thought/interpretation in a more universal sense. Starr also received a huge outpouring of love from fellow drummers like Mike Portnoy, Matt Sorum, and Steven Adler, as well as others who have struggled with addiction, such as Mtley Cre's Nikki Sixx. Don't everyone forget that a rooster is also an alarm clock (remember the old cartoons where the sun would come out and the rooster would cock-a-doodle-doo). I didnt have a lot of my father around, but I started to think about him a lot during that period.. Therefore "snuffing the rooster" is "making sure that you don't wake up in the morning.". I asked him about it once and he said, 'That's dead, son, let it lie.' Thank you for your service to our country so long ago sir. Jerry Fulton Cantrell Sr., nickname "Rooster,"was a combat veteran of the Vietnam War. It was scary church music." It was also a very unpopular war so the lyrics "They spit on me in my home land" could refer to the treatment he received by anti-war citizens of the US. Both musicians eventually succumbed to their addictions, with Staley passing away in 2002 and Starr in 2011. Would love to have any photo's for Cantrell or Gambill. The couple was already separated at that point, and while Staley had plenty of rock star money to finance his habits, Parrott's lower funds forced her to ultimately sell her body in order to finance her drug use. On the few occasions when Staley emerged from his self-imposed exile where drug dealers left illegal substances at his doorstep, he indeed resembled ashambling, grey zombie who'd even lost one or two fingers from collapsing veins, and generally looked "like an 80-year-old version of himself.". On a recent road trip, I heard Alice in Chains 1993 grunge classic Rooster and was taken with how relevant it still is today. 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