Happy 50th Birthday, Jerry Cantrell! (VIDEO)

Jerry Cantrell of Alice in Chains turns 50 today. He was born in Tacoma, Washington on March 18, 1966. Cantrell, Layne Staley, Mike Starr and Mike Inez formed Alice in Chains in the late 1980's and released their debut album, Facelift in 1990. The band exploded to fame in the early 90's along with fellow Seattle bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden.

With the release of their second album, Dirt (1992) and their outstanding EP, Jar of Flies (1994), Alice in Chains was at their career peak. But there was already addiction and darkness surrounding the band.  A couple decades later, Cantrell and Alice in Chains are still making music. Gone are Staley (died in 2002) and Mike Starr (died in 2011). Bassist Mike Inez has been with the band since 1993, and singer William DuVall rounded out the present day lineup in 2006.

Cantrell released two solo albums during a period of extended activity for Alice in Chains. Boggy Depot was released in 1998 and Degradation Trip was released shortly after Staley's death in 2002. With the addition of DuVall, Alice in Chains has released Black Gives Way To Blue (2009) and The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here (2013).  They're scheduled to open the two Las Vegas reunion shows for Guns N' Roses on April 8th & 9th.

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