Alice In Chains, “Rooster” | FIERCE Pop + Rock 🔥🤘

In the 1^st edition of FIERCE Pop + Rock 🎸🤘, we highlight “Rooster” performed by legendary 90s grunge band, Alice In Chains.  

Bring on the bold, FIERCE tracks! FIERCE Pop + Rock 🔥🤘 provides background information and insight into rock and metal songs that raise eyebrows and stir the pot.  Featured records can be classic or brand new. In the 1^st edition of FIERCE Pop + Rock 🔥🤘 (2023), we explore 🎵 “Rooster” performed by 🎙 Alice In Chains.

The 1990s was a bright spot for rock, particularly the grunge movement 🤟.  Sadly, it is an era that is no more with some participants deceased.  That includes 🎙 Layne Staley, the front man of one of my personal favorites, 🎙 Alice In Chains (bassist 🎙 Mike Starr is also deceased).  Sure, Alice In Chains didn’t end following the tragic death of Staley – they have released solid albums with guitarist/songwriter 🎙 Jerry Cantrell as the lead vocalist – but the version of the collective with Layne as the face of the band was special.  Among their best songs is 🎵 “Rooster”, written by Cantrell, which appears as the sixth track on their 1992 album, 💿 Dirt.

“Here they come to snuff the Rooster,” Staley harmonizes with Cantrell on the timeless chorus. He continues, singing expressively himself, “You know he ain’t gonna die / No, no, no, you know he ain’t gonna die.” Besides the dramatic chorus, the verses, performed solely by Staley, are epic, commencing with the statement, “Ain’t found a way to kill me yet / Eyes burn with stingin’ sweat” in the first verse. Obviously, “Rooster” is not about the animal itself, but rather, Cantrell’s father, a Vietnam war vet who was nicknamed Rooster. Besides war-driven lyrics, the music itself is heavy.  One of the best moments of this 90s classic is the truly heavy ending of each chorus section, as well as the instrumental break between the first two choruses.  Looking back, it is a shame that to date, only one song by AIC has charted on the Billboard Hot 100, sigh.  Chart accolades don’t mean everything though. “Rooster” has been certified as a double platinum single by the RIAA while parent album, Dirt was certified quintuple platinum.

🎙 Alice In Chains • 💿 Dirt • 🏷 Sony Music Entertainment • 📅 1992

Alice In Chains, “Rooster”: FIERCE Pop + Rock 🔥🤘  No. 1 (2023) [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; Sony Music Entertainment; Conna Lee, Madelin Berry, anna-m. w., Johan  Duran, RODNAE Productions via Pexels; Pete Linforth via Pixabay]