1546 - Alice In Chains Rooster 1992

"Rooster" was written by Alice in Chains guitarist Jerry Cantrell for his father Jerry Cantrell Sr., who went by the nickname "Rooster" while serving with the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. 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 M60 machine gun (see the second verse, first line), the muzzle flash from which makes an outline or pattern reminiscent of a rooster's tail. 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 Vietnam 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 Mark Pellington 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.

1516 - Alice In Chains Black Gives Way To Blue 2009

Easily the most touching and hauntingly beautiful song inspired by Layne Staley's life was written by bandmate and longtime friend Jerry Cantrell. "Black Gives Way to Blue' served as the title track of the surviving members return album in 2009. Jerry even drafted Elton John to play piano on the emotionally charged farewell. Cantrell always had a way of writing from Layne's perspective in an unfortunately prophetic way. This one was the first retrospective song he had written about Staley, and is perhaps the most powerful he's written in his career.

1500 - Alice In Chains Would? 1992

"Would?" first appeared on the soundtrack to the 1992 movie "Singles", in which the members of Alice in Chains make a cameo appearance and later appeared on the band's album "Dirt". The song, written by guitarist/co-vocalist Jerry Cantrell, concerns the late lead singer of Mother Love Bone, Andrew Wood, who died of a heroin overdose in 1990. In the liner notes of 1999's Music Bank box set collection, Jerry Cantrell said of the song: I was thinking a lot about Andrew Wood at the time. We always had a great time when we did hang out, much like Chris Cornell and I do. There was never really a serious moment or conversation, it was all fun. Andy was a hilarious guy, full of life and it was really sad to lose him. But I always hate people who judge the decisions others make. So it was also directed towards people who pass judgments.

1293 - Alice In Chains Man In The Box 1990

"Man in the Box" is a single by the American rock band Alice in Chains. It was released as a single in 1991 after being featured on the group's debut full-length album "Facelift" (1990). "Man in the Box" is widely recognized for its distinctive "wordless opening melody, where Layne Staley's peculiar, tensed-throat vocals are matched in unison with an effects-laden guitar" followed by "portentous lines like: 'Feed my eyes/ Can you sew them shut?', 'Jesus Christ/Deny your maker' and 'He who tries/Will be wasted' with Cantrell's drier, less-urgent voice." along with harmonies provided by both Staley and Cantrell in the lines 'Won't you come and save me".