3 Bands From the ’60s That Could Be Considered Grunge

While the musical movement known as grunge began officially in the late ’80s and continued on into the mid-’90s, the roots of the genre can be traced back much earlier in the 20th century. While no bands from the ’60s were formally considered grunge—the term wouldn’t be created for another couple of decades—there were groups from the era that could have been.

Here, we wanted to explore three such examples. A trio of groups that offer that deep, dark, and sludgy sound. Groups that made thick music, who wrote songs that stuck to your ribs like molasses. Electrified rock bands that were assuredly favorites of those songwriters and performers from the Pacific Northwest. These ’60s bands could be considered grunge right now.

MC5

The Lincoln Park, Michigan-born rock group made rock songs that could split your chest open. Considered by many to be one of the greatest hard rock bands of all time, you can almost hear the MC5 musical lineage unfold when you put on the group’s music. There’s AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Ramones, and Nirvana, to be sure. Some artists like to break their instruments after a gig—smash their guitars, throw their drums—but it was like the members of MC5 were trying to break their instruments as they played. Total grunge stuff.

The Stooges

Buzzy and droning, depressive and inspiring. The Stooges sound like the big brothers of grunge bands like Mudhoney and Pearl Jam. It’s like they made music to pound you into submission. Why? Because that’s what the world tries to do anyway, so might as well put melody into the mix. Another group from the state of Michigan, the Ann Arbor-born band is a clear inspiration to those from Seattle and the Emerald City area.

Jefferson Airplane

The San Francisco-born psychedelic rock band Jefferson Airplane offered that mind-melding sound that made you feel as if you were stumbling down a vivid, melting hallway. That’s pretty much what every grunge song was trying to do, too. Led by Grace Slick, Jefferson Airplane was also the prototype for other, more contemporary Seattle rockers like Thunderpussy. But it’s a sure thing that iconic grunge lead singers Chris Cornell and Layne Staley used to groove out to “White Rabbit” weekly.