Shinedown’s Brent Smith Names His Grunge Mount Rushmore

Who are the four bands that make up the Mount Rushmore of grunge for Shinedown singer Brent Smith?

Smith grew up in the ‘90s, and he admits that the era’s artists had a major impact on the music he makes in Shinedown.

“I’m very, very lucky,” the singer explained during a recent appearance on the Tuna On Toast with Stryker podcast. “I was a teenager during the ‘90s. And so from like 1991 to 1998, that was like my high school. Probably one of the most incredible times in music.”

Listening to grunge and alternative at the time had a profound effect on Smith, who would later go on to found Shinedown in 2001. When asked who would be on his ‘90s rock Mount Rushmore, the singer knew exactly where to start.

“Chris [Cornell] is definitely, Chris is at the top,” he insisted. “I remember being with (record producer) Michael Beinhorn. Dude, I would not shut up about Superunknown and Soundgarden. Because he produced that record. I was just going on and on and on about it. Because that record and Chris Cornell completely changed my life.”

Who Else Made Brent Smith’s Mount Rushmore?

After giving Cornell his first spot, Smith went on to ponder the remaining members of his Mount Rushmore lineup.

“Kurt Cobain. He’s definitely in there,” the singer noted, adding that Alice in Chains’ Layne Staley would also make the cut.

READ MORE: Top Hard Rock + Metal Albums From the ’90s

For his final slot, Smith initially went with Kim Gordon from Sonic Youth. “I was a huge, huge fan of her and that band,” Smith admitted, however moments later he squeezed a fifth person onto his Mount Rushmore.

“Courtney Love, everybody has an issue with Courtney though,” Smith declared. “Man, I go back and listen… I look at that stuff and I’m just like, those two first Hole albums are nuts.”

Watch Brent Smith’s full Tuna on Toast interview below.

Shinedown’s Brent Smith on Tuna on Toast With Stryker