With Soundgarden now joining Nirvana and Pearl Jam in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, three-quarters of the “big four” of grunge have officially been inducted. The odd one out is Alice in Chains, which Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready thinks is an oversight that should soon be corrected.
“Alice is one of the bands that came up with all of us,” McCready told ABC Audio on the red carpet of the 2025 induction ceremony on Nov. 8. “They … kinda hit first out of everyone.”
Indeed, Alice in Chains’ 1990 debut album, Facelift, was the first grunge record to be certified Gold by the RIAA, earning the distinction before Nirvana’s Nevermind or Soundgarden’s Badmotorfinger were even released.
“We went on tour with them early on opening up for [Alice] and down the West Coast and had all sorts of crazy stuff going on,” McCready laughed. “It was fun.”
The ultimate argument for Alice’s induction into the Rock Hall is, as McCready put it, that “they’re a f****** great band.”
Both McCready and Alice’s Jerry Cantrell performed with Soundgarden during the 2025 Rock Hall induction ceremony. Highlights from the event will air as an ABC primetime special on Jan. 1.
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