Mike Starr (musician)
The original bassist for Alice in Chains, whose heavy, melodic grooves helped define the Seattle sound before a life cut short by struggle.
1966–2011 (age 45)·American bassist·Birthday: April 4·Generation X
Biography
Mike Starr was there at the birth of one of rock's most consequential bands. A high school friend of guitarist Jerry Cantrell, Starr joined Cantrell and vocalist Layne Staley to form the band that would become Alice in Chains in 1987. His bass work was foundational to their early, sludgy metal-infused sound, providing a thick, rumbling low end that anchored the dissonant harmonies of Staley and Cantrell. He played on the band's seminal first EP, 'We Die Young,' and their first two full-length albums, 'Facelift' and 'Dirt.' These records captured a generation's angst with a uniquely heavy, melodic darkness, and Starr's bass was a crucial component of that signature tone. His time in the band coincided with its meteoric rise, but also with the deepening personal battles within the group. Starr left Alice in Chains in 1993 during the tumultuous tour for 'Dirt,' his own struggles with substance abuse mirroring those chronicled in the band's music. His subsequent years were marked by attempts at musical comebacks and very public personal challenges, including an appearance on the reality show 'Celebrity Rehab.' His death in 2011 was a tragic postscript to the story of a musician whose contributions helped shape the sound of an era.
Generation X
1965–1980
The latchkey kids. Raised during divorce, recession, and the end of the Cold War. Skeptical, self-reliant, media-literate. They invented indie culture, grunge, and the early internet — then watched the Boomers take credit.
Mike was born in 1966, placing them squarely in the Generation X. The events that shaped this generation — economic uncertainty, the end of the Cold War, and the rise of personal computing — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Mike Was Born
The biggest hits of 1966
#1 Movie
The Bible: In the Beginning
Best Picture
A Man for All Seasons
#1 TV Show
Bonanza
Mike's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1966Born
Star Trek premieres on television
Gas: $0.32/galHome: $14,200Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"The Ballad of the Green Berets" — SSgt Barry SadlerBest Picture: A Man for All Seasons
1971Started school
Voting age lowered to 18 in the US
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $18,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Joy to the World" — Three Dog NightBest Picture: The French Connection
1979Became a teenager
Iran hostage crisis begins; Three Mile Island accident
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $37,900Min wage: $2.90/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"My Sharona" — The KnackBest Picture: Kramer vs. Kramer
1982Could drive
Michael Jackson releases Thriller
Gas: $1.22/galHome: $55,200Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Physical" — Olivia Newton-JohnBest Picture: Gandhi
1984Could vote
Apple Macintosh introduced
Gas: $1.13/galHome: $59,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"When Doves Cry" — PrinceBest Picture: Amadeus
1987Turned 21
Black Monday stock market crash
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $72,400Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Walk Like an Egyptian" — The BanglesBest Picture: The Last Emperor
1996Turned 30
Dolly the sheep cloned
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $99,700Min wage: $4.75/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Macarena" — Los del RioBest Picture: The English Patient
2006Turned 40
Twitter launches; Pluto reclassified as dwarf planet
Gas: $2.59/galHome: $174,700Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Bad Day" — Daniel PowterBest Picture: The Departed
2011Died at 45
Osama bin Laden killed; Arab Spring sweeps the Middle East
Gas: $3.53/galHome: $138,400Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Rolling in the Deep" — AdeleBest Picture: The Artist
Key Achievements
- Performed as the original bassist on Alice in Chains' breakthrough albums 'Facelift' and the landmark 'Dirt.'
- Co-wrote the song 'It Ain't Like That' from the 'Facelift' album.
- His bassline on 'Man in the Box' is a central, driving element of one of the band's most defining songs.
- Appeared in the music videos for 'Man in the Box,' 'Sea of Sorrow,' 'Them Bones,' and 'Angry Chair.'
Did You Know?
Before Alice in Chains, he was in a glam metal band called Gypsy Rose with future Alice in Chains drummer Sean Kinney.
He was of partial Cherokee descent.
His father was a professional musician who played for acts like Bill Haley & His Comets.
He was the first person to find his bandmate Layne Staley's body after Staley's death in 2002.
“We just played music. The rest was a hurricane.”
