“We played it at CBGB’s. The label guy said, ‘That’s a single.’ We said, ‘Oh, no... That’s not going on the album. That’s a joke song!’” It was nothing more than a throwaway jam – then they were playing it at the Grammys in tuxedos

Chris Haskett (left, background) and Henry Rollins of Rollins Band perform onstage at the Universal Amphitheater in Universal City, Los Angeles, California on November 24, 1992.

They called 1991 “The Year Punk Broke,” and indeed it was. In seemingly a flash, Nirvana sent glam and hair metal packing – flannel, grime, moodiness, and guitar crunch replaced Spandex, poofy hair, and Superstrat acrobatics.

The “alt-rock” tidal wave Nirvana, and their sophomore album, Nevermind, brought forth left record companies scrambling to adapt. Scrappy bands and artists who'd carved out little niches for themselves on independent labels were suddenly having suits knocking at their doors, and multi-national companies backing trucks (ok, maybe just sedans in many cases – a Honda Civic, perhaps) full of money up their driveways.