Five 90’s Rock Stars Millennials May Not Know Are Dead

The biggest rock star of the 90's was, without a doubt, Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain. He also happened to be the most troubled. Cobain spent years battling drug abuse and depression, which could be directly connected to his stardom. Kurt didn't know how to handle fame and fortune and it ultimately led to his death. On April 8th, 1994, Kurt Cobain was found in his Seattle home with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. The other members of Nirvana, Krist Novaselic and Dave Grohl, went on to a career in politics and a career fronting Foo Fighters respectively.

Layne Staley was a founding member of the rock band Alice in Chains, which was started in Seattle in 1987. AIC were at the forefront of the grunge movement, along with bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam. They were also at the forefront of the drug movement, with each member dealing with some form of addiction. Towards the end of his life, Staley had become a recluse, immersed in a life of drugs. He was found dead in his apartment on April 19th after ingesting a deadly combination of cocaine and heroin. He had been dead for over two weeks. Alice in Chains recruited a new lead singer, William DuVall, and recently released their second album with him.

Our second Alice in Chains member on the list, Mike Starr was the original bass player for AIC, though he left the band while they were touring to support the 'Dirt' album. Starr spiraled into a life of drug addiction, which included spending time with Staley before his death in 2002. Starr made an appearance on VH1's "Celebrity Rehab" in 2010, in which he attempted to get clean. Unfortunately, the show couldn't help Starr's addiction, as he was found dead on March 8th, 2011, from a prescription drug overdose.

Bradley Nowell was the lead guitarist and frontman for 90's ska band Sublime. Nowell is also the only member of the list who never got to experience his band's success. Nowell was found dead from a heroin overdose on May 25th, 1996, just a short time before his band's major label debut was set to be released. Sublime became one of the biggest bands in the world, behind singles like "What I Got" and "Santeria", yet there was no chance for the band to ever truly support the record after Nowell's death. Sublime recently returned, with lead singer Rome, and released a new album a few years ago.

Though labeled as a one-hit wonder by many, Blind Melon was much more accomplished than their single "No Rain" may suggest. A lot of that success was built around the on-stage presence of frontman Shannon Hoon. Blind Melon's debut album was released in 1992, with "No Rain" helping propel it to multi-platinum status. While on tour in 1995, Hoon launched into a drug binge after a show in Houston and was discovered dead in his bunk the next day. The cause of death was a cocaine overdose. In 1996, Blind Melon released their final album with Hoon, entitled "Nico" after Hoon's daughter, and all of the proceeds from the album's sale went to Nico and programs helping musicians with drug problems.