Layne Staley’s Net Worth, Biography, Fact, Career, Awards and Life Story
With Alice ‘N Chains, Staley began performing around Seattle, primarily playing Slayer and Armored Saint covers. However, the group disbanded a year later and Staley joined a funk band. He asked his friend, Jerry Cantrell, whom he had met a year earlier at a rehearsal studio, to join the band too as a sideman. Cantrell agreed on the condition that Staley would also join his band. He eventually agreed. The resulting group also consisted of drummer, Sean Kinney, and bassist, Mike Starr. The band went through a variety of names before finally deciding to call themselves Alice in Chains. Staley got permission from his former bandmates to use the name.
The group completed their first demo in 1988, “The Treehouse Tapes.” Nick Terzo of Columbia Records’ A&R got hold of the demo and signed Alice in Chains to Columbia in 1989. The group released their debut album, “Facelift,” in August of 1990. The second single on the album, “Man in the Box,” became a huge hit. Staley’s vocals on the track are particularly noteworthy, as the song opens with an intense wordless melody that Staley created using his throat. The album went on to become certified double platinum by the RIAA for sales of two million copies in the United States.
After releasing the album, the band toured for two years. They then released the acoustic EP, “Sap,” in early 1992. They band also made a cameo in the 1992 film, “Singles,” and performed the songs “It Ain’t Like That” and “Would?” in the film. In September of that year, Alice in Chains released the album, “Dirt.” The album has since become the band’s most successful and also was very well-received by critics. It debuted at number six on the Billboard 200 chart and went on to become certified quadruple platinum. Staley himself designed the sun logo on the album’s inlay. Alice in Chains embarked on a tour after the album release, though it wasn’t a very long tour due to various members of the band having issues with drug addiction, including Staley.
In 1994, the group released their third EP, “Jar of Flies.” It debuted at number one. However, the band opted to not tour in support of the EP as Staley’s problems with drugs had grown more severe. After the release of the EP, Staley entered a rehabilitation clinic. He also began to work on side projects with other Seattle musicians like Mike McCready of Pearl Jam. Barrett Martin of Screaming Trees, and John Baker Saunders of The Walkabouts. Together they formed a band called Mad Season, which released an album in 1995.
Alice in Chains also released an album in 1995 called “Alice in Chains.” The majority of the songs on the album were written by Staley and the album was also award double platinum status. However, the band again did not tour in large part due to Staley’s addictions. They did record an “MTV Unplugged” episode in April of 1996, which was one of Staley’s last shows with Alice in Chains and was the first show the group had performed live after over a two year hiatus. Staley’s last performance overall was in July 1996 while Alice in Chains was touring with Kiss.
Staley did continue making music with Alice in Chains despite not performing.
