Soundwaves org how to#

Visitors today can see Hendrix strumming his heart out in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, where a statue immortalizes him in bronze.įor legendary rockers that stayed anchored in the Seattle area, look no further than sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson. He moved away before achieving stardom, but he’ll always be the pride of the Emerald City.

Soundwaves org how to#

The legendary musician was born in Seattle in 1942 and learned how to play guitar while growing up in the city. The first, of course, is the greatest guitarist of all time: Jimi Hendrix. When it comes to classic rock, Seattle boasts a few significant claims to fame. This version is still considered a milestone in garage rock today. Naturally, the controversy only furthered the song’s popularity. In May 1963, Seattle-based label Jerden Records released a single from The Kingsmen covering “Louie Louie.” After being pushed on area radio stations, the song became a smash hit all across the country, but the garbled lyrical delivery led the FBI to investigate if it was obscene. The 1960s saw a brief garage rock boom, and its roots can be traced directly back to the Pacific Northwest. Of course, young Jones grew up and went on to win 27 Grammy Awards and produce three Michael Jackson albums, including 1979’s Off the Wall and 1982’s Thriller. Ray Charles spent a spell living and performing in Seattle during that time, where he met a promising young Garfield High School trumpeter by the name of Quincy Jones. The many jazz clubs of Jackson Street made it the liveliest spot in town, and venues like the Black and Tan Club and Showbox Ballroom (still operating as The Showbox) hosted stars like Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Louis Armstrong.

In the aftermath of World War II, jazz was jive, and Seattle served as a prominent Northwest outpost. That plethora of musical talent-not to mention the wealth of ways to consume music, from intimate concert venues to mom-and-pop record shops-speaks to one clear, guiding thought: Seattle is musical nirvana.

After all, the city has nourished everything from jazz kings to hip-hop superstars and is now at the forefront of the indie-folk movement. But the story of Seattle music doesn’t begin and end with Kurt Cobain and his grunge legacy. Seattle-born groups like Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, and Soundgarden followed in Nirvana’s footsteps and blossomed into massive rock bands on a global scale. The year was 1991, and Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” had just dropped on Seattle with intense clarity, wiping away the over-the-top ’80s rock acts and leaving waves of sound and attitude that can still be felt today.Įmerging from a vibrant local punk scene bred on Sub Pop Records, the grunge movement soon became the predominant national noise, and Seattle served as its epicenter. How Seattle birthed jazz kings to grunge gods, hip-hop stars to indie darlings, and where its music is headed next.Ī howling melodic savant with four haphazardly held distorted power chords and some thunderous drums not only started a musical revolution, he also instantaneously solidified the identity of a city.