It goes without saying that Alice In Chains' late frontman Layne Staley has one of the most recognized, and mimicked voices in hard rock. The band's anthem "Man in the Box" has been a staple at active and now classic rock radio (yeeesh! I'm old) for over 20 years. But did you know that rock radio initially weren't too crazy about Staley's voice?
Producer David Jerden, who worked with the band on their smash Facelift, was interviewed by Ultimate Guitar said at first, radio rejected the band for nearly nine months after the record came out because of Layne's now signature voice:
"The feedback we were getting was, 'Layne's voice is wrong.' So many program directors said that. 'Cause this is at the time of Axl Rose and Dio and all these high voices. I've always liked a little bluesy voice myself. To say Layne's voice is wrong or to say anybody's voice is wrong is a pretty ridiculous thing to say. But that's the feedback I got."
It's kind of funny to laugh at that one of the biggest bands of 90s rock radio couldn't even get on at first. What a different time!
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAqZb52sgpU[/youtube]
