Alice in Chains: The Horrific Story Behind 'Rooster' (Dirt)

Alice in Chains: The Story Behind Rooster From the Song Rooster.

Alice in Chains SAP

Rooster Demo

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I cite my sources and they may differ than other people's accounts, so I don't guarantee the actual accuracy of my videos.

While Alice in Chains 1992 album Dirt is often associated with mental health,drugs,and relationships, one of the album’s tracks encapsulates the horrors of war. The song Rooster offered a chance for a son to understand his father’s pain and it would result in healing a fractured relationship. But it also did something else, that was unexpected. That’s what were going to explore int oday’s video.

Several of the songs found on Alice in Chains 1992 album Dirt dated back to the sessions the band did for the Cameron Crowe film Singles. The band was given money to hit the studio to record the song Would? For the film’s soundtrack. It was also during those sessions that band cut a number of other songs that would eventually become their first EP 1992’s SAP which was released in February of that year. I’ve done a whole video on SAP. The link is down below. Also recorded during these sessions was a song called Rooster, which would be held over until Dirt which came out later in the year. If you want to hear the demo of Rooster it’s up on YouTube. Link is down below.

Guitarist Jerry Cantrell would recall where he was when he wrote the song telling Classic Rock Magazine “I was between places to live at that time,”, “so I moved in with [Soundgarden singer] Chris Cornell and his wife Susan Silver at their house in Seattle. Susan was managing Alice In Chains at the time. I stayed for a few weeks, up in this little room. Cantrell would admit staying up one night while he crashed at their place, possibly taking acid, and wanting to get a jimi hendrix type of sound on his guitar. The song was being mixed by producer David Jerden in july of 1992. The book Alice in Chains the untold story tells an anecdote about the mixing of the song. Layne showed up to the studio with his dealer and as Jerden was playing the song on the studios loudspeakers, Layne loved it but his dealer offered his unsolicited advice with Layne telling him to shut up. The book would set the scene saying “Jerden lost it ‘who the f are you? Get the f out of my studio. He turned to Layne and said “don’t bring your drug dealer around.””

"Rooster" was released as the fourth single from Dirt in February 1993.[1] It spent 20 weeks on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart where it peaked at No. 7.[7]

The term Rooster came from his father’s nickname he was given as a little kid because of his cocky attitude. Cantrell’s father would be deployed to Vietnam twice during the war and never talked about his experience to his son.. Cantrell would tell the LA Times

“Vietnam is something he never talks about,” “I asked him about it once and he said, ‘That’s dead, son, let it lie.’ When I wrote it, I was getting this vibe, thinking about him and what he’s lived through--two tours of duty in Vietnam, he’s been a prison guard. I was thinking about the things he might have thought and felt there. It was pretty close. It hit home to him.”

In a separate interview with Rolling Stone in 1996 Cantrell talked about the impact the war had on his Dad as he transitioned back into civilian life saying My dad was trained to be a f*@!ing killer … After that, you can't just come back home and say, 'OK, everything's cool. I'm going to work 9 to 5 now.' That stuff scars you forever. We had a lot of problems and occurrences because of that."

Those problems would lead Cantrell to his parents divorcing and him living with his mother and grandmother in Tacoma, Washington. The guitarist would recall to Louder Sound He didn’t walk out on us. We left him. It was an environment that wasn’t good for anyone, so we took off to live with my grandmother in Washington, and that’s where I went to school. I didn’t have a lot of my father around, but I started thinking about him a lot during that period.”

Rather than resentment Cantrell p

Sources:

Alice in Chains the Untold Story, Author David De Sola

[rnrtruestories]

Here's the story about the time Layne Staley got arrested

[InigoMontoya-]

Viet Nam finally took my father in 1994. He checked himself into a motel room, and shot himself. Years of unresolved depression, PTSD, and mystery illness likely due to Agent Orange caught up with him. After his return from the war, we rarely saw him. He was constantly on the move. He stopped trying to outrun his demons in that motel room. Everyone who met him loved him- except him.

[neilmartin]

One of the greatest songs AIC ever wrote. Sounded phenomenal live with Layne on vocals.

[mp-d]

My uncle did four tours in Vietnam and cam back with no injuries…all he ever told me about it is “we did what we had to do.” I never asked about it again. I think about him when I listen to Rooster…it’s a great song.

[shakyarcher]

When I was deployed to Northern Iraq in the 90's, Alice In Chain's music was part of our soundtrack. I had several friends killed on April 14, 1994, one of which was Sgt. Jeffery Colbert. Although no one ever called him the Rooster (that I know of), I have always thought of him that way because of his personality. I always think of Jeff every time I hear this song.

[lelostimulus]

This shows that Cantrell is a gift from God. Considering he wasn't resentful at his dad for not being In his life but instead was compassionate and smart enough to know his dad was probably traumatized. Also the fact that he said "we left him" really shows that his thinking even as a kid was very considerate and smart.

[dustinbutler]

I missed Layne Staley, I met him in 1994 backstage he is very gentle and very friendly guy,

[joeg]

This song was released 17 years after Vietnam ended. It's been 30 years since the song was released😬 kinda crazy to think.

[tammydietzclement]

AIC, Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Pearl Jam. The Big 4 of grunge. I so miss those we've lost from that group of artists. Yesterday was 28 years since Cobain's loss. He was the first to go, Layne and Cornell followed. So much talent gone too soon.

[DrDetfink]

This song is powerful. My dad is a Vietnam vet and this song really captured elements of his stories, especially when he got together with other vets that he worked with. One of my personal favs in terms of how music is an art form that elevates awareness and captures an aspect of life.

[morigannaify]

Jerry Cantrell is a powerhouse. He is stuck with deep scar over Layne Stayley, and Mike Star. Both Layne and Mike were amazing and it is a sad thing to die. Jerry rose from the ashes like a Phoenix! He is still working on music. Love him!

[christymckee]

Jerry Cantrell is an awesome individual. I can relate, everything he said about his dad. My dad also served 2 tours in Nam...

[KGoldbackGorilla]

This song is deep and brings out something in everyone. I remember driving around with some chicano gangster dudes I used to know and I had my music library on random. This song came on and I quickly turned the volume down thinking they'd be like wtf? Instead they told me to turn it up and put it on repeat. Just me and some tatted up eses cruising screaming this song at the top of our lungs! Music knows no boundaries, it's a universal language.

[minorclips]

My dad listen to nothing but 50's music like The Four Tops and The Temptations heard this song when dirt first came out and it became his Anthem he would literally listen to it every morning over and over. My father has never opened up about his time in Vietnam until that song he passed about a year-and-a-half after that album came out at only 49 years old due to complications from Agent Orange and gunshot wounds he received while in Vietnam I'm forever thankful 2 AIC for giving me the chance to learn about my father's service

[incubustimelord]

Rooster by Alice In Chains reminded me of Take No Prisoners by Megadeth and Give Me Something To Believe In by Poison. Those songs are all about the Vietnam War and told from different points of view by Vietnam War veterans. One song's perspective was fear, the other song's perspective was grief, and another song's perspective was hate. I love all three equally because they give an insight into not only what happened during that conflict, but also what happened to the American soldiers, and what had happened to the U.S.A. after the war. Both beautiful and monstrous simultaneously.

[EarthenCavy]

My Tío Pablo was drafted into Vietnam… To this day, he still wakes up screaming from what he saw. His very best from childhood was blown up not ten feet away from him… he remembers the blood, the bone, the stench. This song hits so close…

[codyjohnson]

One of my first memories in life was sitting in the car with my dad at a car wash in our small town in Missouri we lived in and I had to be 3 to 4 years old. Rooster had just been released as a single and was playing on 98.9 the rock and my dad said this was about the guitarist dad in the Vietnam war. Love this song n every time I hear it, it makes me feel so nostalgic and miss being a young kid. That’s one of the many reasons Alice is so important to my life is things like that

[sickunit]

This song had a big impact on me, not only because I was a huge fan of AIC when I was young, but the fact that I ended up being in Ramadi, Iraq years later with the 101st Airborne and the song came back to me. I never compare Iraq to Vietnam because they were two different wars but I can relate to the words in this song in many ways. I made it home from that place but it’s always been with me. It changed me forever. I have to revisit the memories with this song and think about my friends and fellow Soldiers who never made it back.

[scottyspliffen]

Rip to all the vets who served this country especially the Vietnam vets.. couldn’t imagine what y’all went thru.. and rip lane truly one of a kind musician and artist the whole band is amazing as well wish we had more time and more music but it is what it is I will cherish what we have

[ministerofdarkness]

One of my most vivid concert memories of the '90s was seeing AIC headline Lollapalooza in '93! When they played "Rooster" the hairs on the back of my neck stood up! PLAY LOUD!