Andrew Wood American rock musician, vocalist of the Seattle bands "Malfunkshun" and "Mother Love Bone" Date of Birth: 06.01.1966 Country: USA

Biography of Andrew Wood

Andrew Wood was an American rock musician and vocalist of the Seattle bands Malfunkshun and Mother Love Bone. Known for his extravagant glam rock style outfits, reminiscent of Robert Plant, and his lyrics preaching love, Wood was one of the best frontmen of the grunge scene. From an early age, Andrew dreamed of rock star fame and at the age of fourteen, he formed the band Malfunkshun with his brother Kevin, which would later be recognized as one of the first bands to be labeled as "grunge" by critics. In his lyrics, Wood preached love for the world in a hippie spirit, which was not typical for the underground scene at that time.

Andrew would dress in the most extravagant outfits and apply face makeup in the style of KISS, whom he greatly admired, for his concerts. At the age of eighteen, he tried heroin for the first time, and by 1986, he had contracted hepatitis due to his drug use and was sent to a rehabilitation clinic for addicts. Meanwhile, Malfunkshun had already gained recognition in Seattle, but Wood desired more: he wanted to become a global superstar.

In 1987, Andrew met Jeff Ament and Stone Gossard, who also dreamed of fame, and formed the band Mother Love Bone with them. The band started rehearsing and soon released their first EP, after which the musicians began working on a full-length album that was recorded until the fall of 1989. However, during this time, Andrew's serious problems with heroin resurfaced, and he ended up in a rehabilitation center for alcoholism and drug addiction. After leaving the center a month later, he started attending Narcotics Anonymous meetings.

By the beginning of 1990, the debut album was ready for release. On March 16th, Andrew had a meeting scheduled with one of the crew members, but he did not show up. Later that evening, a friend went to Andrew's home and found him lying unconscious on his bed with a needle mark on his arm: Wood had injected himself with heroin for the first time after a 106-day hiatus. He remained in the hospital for two more days, connected to life support systems, but on March 19th, doctors confirmed his death from an overdose and subsequent brain hemorrhage.

The remaining members of the band decided that continuing their creative work under the name Mother Love Bone without Wood was pointless, and the group ceased to exist. In 1990, Chris Cornell from Soundgarden, who had been Wood's roommate, suggested to Ament and Gossard that they record a joint album in memory of Andrew Wood. Thus, the Temple Of The Dog project was born, named after a line from the Mother Love Bone song "Man Of Golden Woods".

In 1992, Jerry Cantrell wrote a song about Andrew Wood titled "Would?", which became a hit for Alice in Chains and was featured on the album "Dirt" and the soundtrack for the cult Seattle film "Singles". In 1995, Gossard released "Return To Olympus," a compilation of Malfunkshun demo recordings from the 1986-1987 period. In 2005, director Scott Barber made a documentary film about Andrew Wood titled "Malfunkshun: The Andrew Wood Story," which premiered at the Seattle International Film Festival.