'Rooster' is a song by the band Alice in Chains. The song was released as a single in 1993 and is featured on the band's second studio album, Dirt (1992).
Alternative Rock / Modern Rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1987. Years active:1987–2002, 2005–present The Seattle grunge movement of the late eighties spawned many a band, and Alice In Chains were one of the most well-known, as well as one of the more traditionally metal (more so than they are given credit for).
Their crooning harmonic vocal style has been imitated by many bands over the last following decades, certainly enough to qualify them as an influential band. A well-publicized drug problems (mostly centering around Layne Staley) surfaced as early as the 'Dirt' era, making it rather obvious that the band was probably not going to survive in the long term. Guitarist embarked on a successful solo career.
Vocalist Layne Staley was found dead in his apartment on April 19th, 2002. Willian DuVall replaced Staley on vocals when the the remainder of the band reunited in 2009.
Current lineup: William DuVall - vocals. Jerry Cantrell - guitars, vocals. Sean Kinney - drums, percussion.
Mike Inez - bass, guitar. I know a lot of people do not like the new alice in chains after Layne passed away, I don't like the new one as much either. You have to admit though, that they still kept their style and didn't sell out or change their style. Alice In Chains was Jerry's band. Layne brought in the name, but Jerry was the one that wrote and produced the music, and gave Alice In Chains the style they are known for.
If Jerry died instead of Layne, that would have affected the band much more, and you probably don't want that to happen either. Their new albums may not have the voice and deep meaning (about drugs) as they they used to, but they are still Alice In Chains. Layne Staley met Jerry Cantrell in 1987 at the Music Bank Warehouse.
Cantrell would soon contribute to the band by adding members. He knew a bassist called Mike Starr and a drummer called Sean Kinney. This, of course, made the lineup complete. Soon the band would be touring Seattle and the success of this tour led to Columbia Records' signing of the band. This culminated in the release of the We Die Young, which was a precursor to their debut Facelift. Following their debut, the EP Sap was made, followed by their most acclaimed album, Dirt, which became part of the Singles soundtrack through the hit 'Would?' This song was not the only one that AIC did for a film.
'What the Hell Have I?' And 'A Little Bitter' appeared on the Last Action Hero soundtrack and 'Got Me Wrong' was included in the Clerks soundtrack. Then came another EP, Jar of Flies, which became the first ever EP to chart at number 1 on the Billboard 200. The EPs that AIC have made are widely known for sounding completely different from their full-length albums. Next would be their self titled album, Alice in Chains.
Sadly, this would be their last studio album, due to drug problems within the band. Animation Program For Mac. The only real material fans got came from the MTV Unplugged perfomance (MTV Unplugged). In 1996, this was their first gig in three years, which highlights the problems within the band.
'Get Born Again' would be their last single. Layne Staley's voice would be recorded for Alice in Chains in 1999. This is, of course, because of the sad and premature death of Layne in April 2002, which would ultimately spell the end for the band. The sad truth, though, is that, due to personal problems, Alice in Chains had stopped functioning as a band many years before. In 2006 Alice in Chains reunited with William DuVall as their new vocalist.
This article is about the Alice in Chains song. For the song by OutKast, see. 'Rooster' by from the album Released March 15, 1993 Format,, Recorded March–May 1992 at,;,; One on One Studios,, Length 6: 15 singles chronology ' (1992) ' Rooster' (1993) ' (1993) ' (1992) ' Rooster' (1993) ' (1993) track listing 'Sickman' (Track 5) ' Rooster' (Track 6) 'Junkhead' (Track 7) ' Rooster' is a song by the band. The song was released as a single in 1993 and is featured on the band's second, (1992). It is the fifth song on the original pressing of the album and sixth on others.
The song was included on the compilation albums (1996), (1999), (2001), and (2006). A demo version of the song was also included on Music Bank. Contents • • • • • • • • • • • • Origin and recording [ ] In the of 1999's box set collection, guitarist said of the song: 'I think there's some darts on the demo that maybe we didn't get here (on Dirt), but this has something all of its own. Quality, for one thing.' Lyrics [ ] This song was written by for his father Jerry Cantrell Sr., who went by the nickname 'Rooster' while serving with the U.S. Army during the. Jerry Cantrell has stated that his father, Cantrell, Sr., had this family nickname 'Rooster' since childhood due to the way his hair stood up on end as a youth.
The 'Rooster' nickname is often mistakenly attributed to a reference to men carrying the ('Walking tall machine gun men'), the from which makes an outline or pattern reminiscent of a 's tail. It is also often mistakenly attributed to the - in which Cantrell's father served - who wore on their arms featuring a. As there are no bald eagles in, the closest thing to which the could draw a comparison was the chicken, thus leading to the pejorative 'chicken men.' Cantrell wrote the song while living at and Susan Silver's house in in 1991. In the liner notes of 1999's Music Bank box set collection, Jerry Cantrell said of the song: It was the start of the healing process between my Dad and I from all that damage that caused.
This was all my perception of his experiences out there. The first time I ever heard him talk about it was when we made the video and he did a 45-minute interview with and I was amazed he did it. He was totally cool, totally calm, accepted it all and had a good time doing it. It even brought him to the point of tears. It was beautiful. He said it was a weird experience, a sad experience and he hoped that nobody else had to go through it.
In a 1992 interview with magazine, in response to the question 'Do you feel you communicated with (your father) with this song?' , Cantrell responded: Yeah. He's heard this song.
He's only seen us play once, and I played this song for him when we were in this club opening for Iggy Pop. I'll never forget it. He was standing in the back and he heard all the words and stuff. Of course, I was never in Vietnam and he won't talk about it, but when I wrote this it felt right.like these were things he might have felt or thought. And I remember when we played it he was back by the soundboard and I could see him.
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. And he was crying the whole time. This song means a lot to me. Cantrell said of the song in a 2006 interview with Team Rock: That experience in Vietnam changed him [his father] forever, and it certainly had an effect on our family, so I guess it was a defining moment in my life, too. He didn’t walk out on us. It was an environment that wasn’t good for anyone, so we took off to live with my grandmother in Washington, and that’s where I went to school. I didn’t have a lot of my father around, but I started thinking about him a lot during that period.
I certainly had resentments, as any young person does in a situation where a parent isn’t around or a family is split. But on Rooster, I was trying to think about his side of it – what he might have gone through.
To be honest, I didn’t really sit down intending to do any of that; it just kinda came out. But that’s the great thing about music – sometimes it can reach deeper than you ever would in a conversation with anybody. It’s more of a forum to dig deeper. It felt like a major achievement for me as a young writer.
When I first played it to my father, I asked him if I’d got close to where he might have been emotionally or mentally in that situation. And he told me: ‘You got too close – you hit it on the head'. It meant a lot to him that I wrote it. It brought us closer. It was good for me in the long-run and it was good for him, too. Release and reception [ ] 'Rooster' was released as a single in 1993. 'Rooster' peaked at No.
7 on the chart. Music video [ ] The for 'Rooster' was released in 1993 and was directed. The music video featured real Vietnam War documentary/news footage as well as some very realistic, graphically re-enacted combat scenes. The 'Rooster' character was based on Alice in Chains' guitarist, Jerry Cantrell's father (Jerry Cantrell Sr.), whose lifelong nickname was 'Rooster.' Served two combat tours in Vietnam, and also appears in the music video talking about his war experiences. Cantrell Sr.'
S scenes were filmed on what was then Cantrell Jeol Arm200f Manual Lymphatic Drainage more. 's great uncle's property and is now the site of Jerry Cantrell's family ranch in Atoka, Oklahoma. 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). The uncut (more graphic) version of the video is available on the home video release. 'Rooster' was the last music video to feature original bass player, who is pictured on the cover of the single. The intense combat scenes for the video were actually filmed on location in Angeles National Forest in January 1993 and have been favorably compared to Oliver Stone's classic Vietnam War film.
VN Veteran and Military Technical Advisor Dale Dye served as advisor on both the 'Rooster' video and on Platoon, among many other projects in Hollywood. Actor James Elliott (,,, etc.) portrayed the title role of 'Rooster', the Team Leader of a Long Range Recon Patrol (LRRPs) in the combat scenes. Elliott, who is right-handed, had to learn how to handle multiple combat weapons left handed for the production in order to match the real Cantrell Sr.' S footage (Cantrell Sr. Is left handed and holds his knife/rifle that way in the video). The military weapons and gear used and worn by the actors in the video are not all period-authentic.
The M16A2 is used (which was not used until the 1980s), as well as the Nomex flight gloves which were not used until well into the Vietnam War. Provided Elliott with some of his own personal combat gear which Dye had actually worn during multiple tours in Vietnam, including his military watch and map light, among other items.
Other actors who appear in the video include Casey Pieretti (well known real-life amputee actor/stunt performer); and popular character actor (,, etc.). Pieretti, who walks/runs extremely well with a prosthetic leg, performed a very graphic and difficult scene in which his leg was 'blown off' by a land mine and Elliott's 'Rooster' character offers life-saving medical aid on the battlefield. Jon Gries's character is shown being shot in the chest during intense combat with North Vietnamese infantry troops and dying in the arms of Elliott's 'Rooster' character in the final emotionally charged combat scenes of the video. Also featured are scenes of a group of children playing with bubbles. Real life combat veterans have often commented about how moving and realistic these scenes were, yet initially pulled the controversial video from rotation due to complaints about the graphic nature of the war scenes. This upset the band a great deal, especially Jerry Cantrell, who has stated how much of a foolish double standard existed at the time, as 'Rooster' simply portrayed actual history with realism, yet MTV routinely showed and other violent videos in which gratuitous violence/death/killing was portrayed and clearly glorified. At the time the video was also the longest music video ever aired in full on MTV (running approximately 7 minutes long).
Live performances [ ] Cantrell's father joined Alice in Chains during 'Rooster' on stage for the October 19, 2007, show in,. Alice in Chains performed an acoustic version of 'Rooster' for its appearance on in 1996 and the song was included on the live album and home video release. Live performances of the song can also be found on the ' single, the compilation album, and the live album. In the DVD, Alice in Chains are seen playing the song live, with joining the band on stage dressed in a chicken suit. Jerry Cantrell reacts by throwing a bottle at Claypool and chasing him off the stage.
Track listing [ ] No. Title Length 1. 'Rooster' 6:18 2. 'Sickman' 5:29 3. 'It Ain't Like That' (from ) 4:37 Australian release No. Title Length 1.
'Rooster' 6:18 2. 'Dam That River' 3:10 Personnel [ ] • – • –, • – • – Chart positions [ ] Chart (1993) Peak position US ( ) 7 Rock Band [ ] The song was made on May 23, 2011 for use in the music gaming platform in both Basic rhythm, and PRO mode which takes advantage of the use of a real guitar/bass guitar, along with standard MIDI-compatible electronic drum kits in addition to vocals. See also [ ] • References [ ].
• Robinson, Joe.. • ^ Liner notes, box set.
RIP Magazine. Archived from on October 14, 2003. Retrieved 2014-03-31. • ^ Yates, Henry (November 15, 2006).. Retrieved July 31, 2017. • • Garbarini, Vic (1992-11-01)... • Prato, Greg (June 13, 2012)..
Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 31, 2017. Retrieved November 6, 2016. • Gonzalez, Michelle (2011-05-18)... Retrieved 2012-11-08. • Snider, Mike (2010-06-10)... Retrieved 2012-11-08.
External links [ ] • at • on •.