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Alice in Chains’ Grammy-Nominated Unplugged, 5-Million-Copy ‘Dirt’, and 2005 Reunion.

4/30/2026

43 5 Full Breakdown

Summary

Alice in Chains’ Rise

The 1996 MTV Unplugged set topped the Billboard 200 and earned a Grammy nomination.
Dirt debuted at No. 6 on Billboard 200, sold five million copies, and yielded the No. 1 Mainstream Rock single “Rooster”.
Layne Staley’s 2002 overdose death led the band to pause until it returned in 2005 with William DuVall.
Rainier Fog reached No. 12 on Billboard 200 in 2018, bringing sales to 20 million records and influencing Godsmack and Staind.

Summary

Nirvana Tops Charts

In January 1992, *Nevermind* knocked Michael Jackson’s *Dangerous* from No. 1 on Billboard 200, making Nirvana the biggest band.
The group signed a distribution deal with DGC Records, a Geffen subsidiary, in April 1991, enabling the breakthrough.
Dave Grohl said Kurt Cobain told an executive they wanted to be the biggest band, a claim contradicted by Kurt Cobain’s 1993 interview where he would have preferred to stay a cult band like the Pixies.

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Alice in Chains’ Rise

The 1996 MTV Unplugged set topped the Billboard 200 and earned a Grammy nomination.
Dirt debuted at No. 6 on Billboard 200, sold five million copies, and yielded the No. 1 Mainstream Rock single “Rooster”.
Layne Staley’s 2002 overdose death led the band to pause until it returned in 2005 with William DuVall.
Rainier Fog reached No. 12 on Billboard 200 in 2018, bringing sales to 20 million records and influencing Godsmack and Staind.

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