Composer
Jerry Cantrell
American guitarist and singer
b. 1966
18 works in the index
- Born
- 1966
- Birthplace
- Tacoma
- Citizenship / historical state
- United States
- Period (estimated from birth year)
- Contemporary
Biography
Jerry Fulton Cantrell Jr. (born March 18, 1966) is an American musician who is the founder, lead guitarist, co-lead singer, and main songwriter of the rock band Alice in Chains. The band rose to international fame in the early 1990s during Seattle's grunge movement and is known for its distinctive vocal style which includes the harmonized vocals between Cantrell and Layne Staley.
Cantrell started as a secondary lead singer on Alice in Chains' 1992 EP Sap. After Staley's death in 2002, Cantrell was the band's lead singer on Black Gives Way to Blue (2009), The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here (2013), and Rainier Fog (2018), with DuVall primarily singing older songs by Staley in live performances.
He also has a solo career and released the albums Boggy Depot in 1998 and Degradation Trip Volumes 1 & 2 in 2002. His third solo album, Brighten, was released in 2021. His most recent release is 2024's I Want Blood. Cantrell has also collaborated and performed with Heart, Ozzy Osbourne, Metallica, Pantera, Circus of Power, Metal Church, Gov't Mule, Damageplan, Pearl Jam, the Cult, Stone Temple Pilots, Danzig, Glenn Hughes, Duff McKagan, and Deftones, among others.
Cantrell was named "Riff Lord" by British hard rock/metal magazine Metal Hammer in 2006. Guitar World Magazine ranked Cantrell as the 38th out of "100 Greatest Heavy Metal Guitarists of All Time" in 2004, and the 37th "Greatest Guitar Player of All Time" in 2012. Guitar World also ranked Cantrell's solo in "Man in the Box" at No. 77 on its list of "100 Greatest Guitar Solos" in 2008. Cantrell has earned nine Grammy Award nominations as a member of Alice in Chains.
He also contributed to the soundtracks of The Cable Guy (1996), John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017), Dark Nights: Metal (2018) and Sinners (2025), and he has made cameos in films such as Jerry Maguire (1996), Rock Slyde (2009), and Deadwood: The Movie (2019). Cantrell also acted in the Alice in Chains mockumentaries The Nona Tapes (1995) and AIC 23 (2013).
Biography excerpt from Wikipedia contributors, available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Formatting and reference markers have been removed; the introduction may be shortened. View contributors and article history.
Life and musical career
- Occupations
- singer; composer; guitarist; songwriter; musician
- Recorded memberships
- Alice in Chains
- Genres
- alternative metal; grunge
- Official website
- https://jerrycantrell.com
- Birth name
- Jerry Cantrell Jr.
- Languages used
- English
- VIAF ID
- 84231495
- ISNI
- 000000011476160X
- GND ID
- 135085918
- Library of Congress ID
- no96035975
- MusicBrainz ID
- 960eb93f-e73c-4df8-864d-08a06c2dcc11
Recorded in Wikidata. Affiliations may refer to earlier stages of the composer's career.
In this catalogue
- Common listed instruments
- Guitar, Voice
- Genres represented
- pop, Rock
- Works with composition dates
- 0 of 18
These details describe the indexed sheet music, including arrangements.
Catalogue
Works
Years are composition dates where known. Instruments describe editions in our catalogue and may include arrangements. A dash means the detail is not recorded.
| Work | Year composed | Catalogue / opus | Key in title | Listed instruments | Genre | Editions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Would? | — | — | — | Guitar, Voice | Rock | 6 |
| Get Born Again | — | — | — | Guitar | — | 3 |
| No Excuses | — | — | — | Guitar | — | 3 |
| Grind Performed by Alice In Chains; | — | — | — | Voice | pop | 1 |
| Down In A Hole | — | — | — | Guitar | — | 1 |
| Them Bones | — | — | — | Guitar | — | 1 |
| Grind | — | — | — | Guitar | — | — |
| Again | — | — | — | Guitar | — | — |
| Brush Away | — | — | — | Guitar | — | — |
| Frogs | — | — | — | Guitar | — | — |
| God Am | — | — | — | Guitar | — | — |
| Head Creeps | — | — | — | Guitar | — | — |
| Heaven Beside You | — | — | — | Guitar | — | — |
| Nothin' Song | — | — | — | Guitar | — | — |
| Over Now | — | — | — | Guitar | — | — |
| Shame In You | — | — | — | Guitar | — | — |
| Sludge Factory | — | — | — | Guitar | — | — |
| So Close | — | — | — | Guitar | — | — |
Biographical record: Wikidata, matched on name and checked against dates held in the catalogue. The period label is an estimate from birth year. Authority record: VIAF 84231495. Portrait: Morten Jensen, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.