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William Patrick Corgan, Jr. (born March 17, 1967 in Elk Grove Village, Illinois) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional poet. Corgan is the vocalist and lead guitarist for alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins.
Music journalist Jim DeRogatis declared, "Of all the memorable artists and characters that the alternative era produced, [Corgan] was the most traditional rock star, with all of the good and bad traits that implies." When the band broke up in 2000, Corgan went on to form the short-lived Zwan with former Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlin.
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Quotations
I'm Irish and I was born on St. Patrick's day. I'm lucky sevens.
Corgan, William. Interview. Chicago Sports Channel. April 1997.
This is not a reaction against a negative world. It's a response to a negative world.
on Adore, Guitar World. July 1998.
About six months ago, I listened to Siamese Dream. That was the first time I'd ever really heard my own album, because I had separated from the experience of making the record. And it really moved me. It made me cry, it's so beautiful.
"Out on a Limb." Details Magazine. October 1996.
I think the original, 'They're the next Jane's Addiction' things that people said about us in the beginning have been pretty much wiped out.
Stapleton, Jim. Smashing Pumpkins (Interview disk and fully illustrated book). Carlton Books Ltd. 1996.
The Pumpkins love rock-and-roll, we absolutely love it, but we also think it's a flatulent, ego-serving kiddie playground. You can have your cake and eat it too.
"Out on a Limb." Details Magazine. October 1996.
The closer I get back to being who I really am, the stronger the music gets.
Stapleton, Jim. Smashing Pumpkins (Interview disk and fully illustrated book). Carlton Books Ltd. 1996.
Encyclopedia
William Patrick Corgan, Jr. (born March 17, 1967 in Elk Grove Village, Illinois) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional poet. Corgan is the vocalist and lead guitarist for alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins.
Music journalist Jim DeRogatis declared, "Of all the memorable artists and characters that the alternative era produced, [Corgan] was the most traditional rock star, with all of the good and bad traits that implies." When the band broke up in 2000, Corgan went on to form the short-lived Zwan with former Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlin. After releasing a solo album and a collection of poetry, Corgan reformed The Smashing Pumpkins with Chamberlin in 2006.
History
Childhood and formative years
Corgan is the oldest son of William Corgan Sr., a blues guitarist, and Martha Louise Maes Corgan Lutz. His parents had one more child, Ricky, before divorcing in 1970. William also fathered a half-brother, but Corgan has never found out who he is. His father was soon remarried to a flight attendant, and Corgan and his brother went to live with them in Glendale Heights, Illinois. During this time, Corgan alleges he was subject to much physical and emotional abuse by his stepmother. Corgan's half-brother, Jesse, was born in 1976. Jesse was afflicted with mild cerebral palsy, Tourette's syndrome, and other disabilities, and Corgan spent a good deal of his youth taking care of and defending him. The two remain close - Jesse joined the Smashing Pumpkins on stage in Chicago in December 2008. When Corgan's father and stepmother separated, all three children would live alone with the stepmother, with both of Corgan's birth parents living separately within an hour's drive.
Corgan, who grew much faster than his fellow students, was a strong athlete in elementary school. In addition to being a member of his Marquardt Middle School baseball team, he collected baseball cards (amassing over 10,000) and listened to every Chicago Cubs game. However, by the time he began attending Glenbard North High School in Carol Stream, Illinois, he had become only an average athlete. He decided to start playing guitar when he went over to a friend's house and saw his friend's Flying V. Corgan gave his savings to his father, who bought him a used imitation Gibson Les Paul. Corgan Sr. steered his son stylistically, encouraging him to listen to Jeff Beck and Jimi Hendrix, but refused on-hand instruction because he was skeptical of his son's dedication. Billy Corgan would later claim he is a self-taught guitarist. His musical interests in his formative years included hard rock like Led Zeppelin, heavy metal pioneers Black Sabbath, and mainstream rock like Queen, Boston, ELO, and Cheap Trick. In high school, Corgan discovered alternative rock through Bauhaus, The Cure, and The Smiths.
Corgan performed in a string of bands in high school. One band was called Lex, with guitarist Mike Subrt, bassist Dan Shaw, and drummer Pete Sallis. They performed in a few back yards, garages, and the high school variety show and played two songs - "Bastille Day" by Rush, and "Crazy Train" by Ozzy. Corgan graduated as an honor student. Despite grant and scholarship offers from a number of schools, including the University of Michigan, and a tuition fund left by his grandmother, Corgan decided to pursue music full-time. Not finding the Chicago music scene to his liking, he moved from Chicago to St. Petersburg, Florida in 1985 with his first major band, The Marked (so named for the conspicuous birthmarks of both Corgan and drummer Ron Roesing). Not finding success in St. Petersburg, the band dissolved; Corgan moved back to Chicago to live with his father.
The Smashing Pumpkins
While working at a record store, Corgan met guitarist James Iha and the two began recording demos, which Corgan describes as "doomy little goth-pop records." He then met bassist D'arcy Wretzky after a local show, arguing with her about a band that had just played. Soon after, the Smashing Pumpkins were formed. The trio began to play together at local clubs with only a drum machine for percussion. The band would soon recruit drummer Jimmy Chamberlin to secure a show at the Metro, in Chicago, where they played for the first time as a quartet on October 5, 1988.
The new band fused diverse threads such as psychedelic rock and heavy metal into a distinctive sound on their inaugural album, Gish (1991). Gish fared better than expected, but the follow-up, Siamese Dream, became a huge hit. The band became known for internal drama during this period, with Corgan frequently characterized in the music press as a "control freak" and a perfectionist because he was said to have often rerecorded Iha and Wretzky's guitar and bass parts on Gish and Siamese Dream. Despite this, the album was well received by critics, and the songs "Today" and "Disarm" became smash hits.
The band's 1995 follow up effort, the double album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, was even more successful, spawning a string of hit singles. The album was nominated for seven Grammy awards that year and would eventually be certified nine times platinum in the United States. The song "1979" was Corgan's biggest hit to date, reaching #1 on Billboard's modern rock and mainstream rock charts. Their appearance on Saturday Night Live on November 11, 1995 to promote this material also was the television debut appearance of Corgan's shaved head, which he has maintained consistently ever since (as of 2008). Previously, Corgan had, in typical rockstar fashion, varied his hair styles fairly often.
During the album's tour, the band was plagued by Chamberlin's heroin addiction. On July 12, 1996, Chamberlin and touring keyboardist Jonathan Melvoin overdosed in a hotel room. Chamberlin survived, but Melvoin did not. The Pumpkins made the decision to fire Chamberlin and would continue as a trio. Their next effort, 1998's Adore, was undertaken with drum machines and studio drummers, and consisted of more subdued material than the band's previous efforts. Adore earned high praise from some critics and many fans, but other critics and most of the more casual listeners thought the band had strayed too far from its strengths, resulting in a significant decrease in album sales (it sold 1.3 million discs in the U.S. alone).
Chamberlin was reunited with the band in 1999, and 2000 saw Machina/The Machines of God, a concept album on which the band deliberately played to their public image; critics were again divided, and sales were lower than ever. At the end of the recording for Machina, bassist D'Arcy quit the band and was replaced for the upcoming tour by former Hole bassist Melissa Auf der Maur. In 2000, the band released Machina II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music for free over the internet.
The Smashing Pumpkins split up later in 2000 and played their last show on December 2 of that year at the Metro.
Solo career
Corgan began writing revealing autobiographical posts on his website and his MySpace page, commenting, "I no longer want to protect the people I tormented." On February 17, 2004, Corgan posted a message in which he blamed guitarist James Iha for the breakup of The Smashing Pumpkins four years prior. He also referred to bassist D'arcy Wretzky as "a mean spirited drug addict." On June 3, 2004 he posted an apology of sorts to Iha, writing that "I love him very, very much...the depth of my hurt is only matched by the depth of my gratitude". In another post, Corgan insulted his former Zwan bandmates, claiming they had been obnoxiously self-conscious about their "indie cred" to the point of hurting those around them. Poking fun at their indie stance, he called them "poseurs" and declared them to be "filthy", opportunistic, and selfish. In late 2004, Corgan published Blinking with Fists, a book of poetry. Despite mixed reviews, the book debuted on the New York Times Best Seller list.
In 2004, he began a solo music career, initially performing acoustic folk songs related to Chicago history. He abandoned this style in favor of an electronic/shoegaze/alternative rock sound for his first solo album, TheFutureEmbrace. Released on June 21, 2005 through Reprise Records, it garnered mixed reviews from the press and only sold 69,000 copies. Corgan toured behind his solo album with a touring band that included Linda Strawberry, Brian Liesegang and Matt Walker in 2005. This tour was not as extensive as previous Smashing Pumpkins or Zwan tours.
Smashing Pumpkins revival
In 2005, Corgan took out a full-page ad in Chicago's two major newspapers (The Chicago Tribune and The Chicago Sun-Times) revealing his desire to reform the Smashing Pumpkins. Several days later, Jimmy Chamberlin accepted Billy Corgan's offer for a reunion.
On April 20, 2006 the band's official website confirmed that the group was indeed reuniting.. The band went into studio for much of 2006 and early 2007, and performed its first show in seven years on May 22, 2007, with new members Ginger Reyes (bass) and Jeff Schroeder (guitar) replacing Wretzky and Iha. The new album, titled Zeitgeist, was released in the U.S. on July 10, 2007, and debuted at #2 on the Billboard charts. Corgan and the rest of the Pumpkins toured extensively throughout 2007 and 2008, also releasing the EP American Gothic and the single "Superchrist". The band is currently working on new material.
Personal life
Billy Corgan has struggled with depression for much of his life, including bouts of self-injury, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and suicidal thoughts. Corgan attributes this to the abuse he endured as a child, as well as his personal anxieties and issues. While he believes he is far more stable now, he still occasionally battles depression and has become an advocate for support networks.
Corgan dated Courtney Love prior to her courtship and marriage to Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain. In 1993, he married his longtime on-again, off-again girlfriend, museum book restorer and artist Chris Fabian. They were married at a small ceremony at his house in Wrigleyville. Rumors circulated that Corgan and Love rekindled their romance during the Pumpkins' 1994 Lollapalooza tour, after Cobain's death. Corgan and Fabian separated sometime in 1995, and divorced in 1997. Corgan refused to discuss the subject in interviews, saying "There is not and will not be any public record on my marriage - that's one thing I have to draw lines around." He nevertheless described the circumstances of his marriage in his online Confessions, in 2005.
In late 1995, he started dating photographer Yelena Yemchuk, who had contributed to several Smashing Pumpkins videos and album art. The 2000 Smashing Pumpkins hit "Stand Inside Your Love" was written about her. He continued to date Yemchuk until around 2004. According to Corgan, his breakup with her contributed to the themes of his 2005 solo release, TheFutureEmbrace. In 2008, Corgan said, "Ive had a bad marriage and seven bad girlfriends in a row", a perspective he attributes to his dedication to music.
In early 2006, he moved in with Courtney Love and her daughter, Frances Bean Cobain. According to Love, he had his own wing in her new Hollywood Hills mansion.
His mother Martha died in 1996. The song "For Martha", from Adore, was written in her memory. In the early 2000s, Corgan would name his label Martha's Music after her as well. A picture of Martha as a little girl sat on a fake moon is featured on the flipside of the Siamese Dream booklet.
Corgan is an avid sports fan. A childhood fan of the Cubs, he later commented on that team for WXRT DJ Lin Brehmer. He has appeared at Cubs games many times, occasionally throwing the ceremonial first pitch or singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame." He was a devoted fan of the Chicago Bulls and Chicago Blackhawks in the 1990s, and became personal friends with Dennis Rodman and Chris Chelios. He is a lifelong fan of professional wrestling and self-described "wrestlemaniac," and appeared in an ECW pro wrestling match wielding an acoustic guitar as a weapon. In 2008, the Pumpkins song "Doomsday Clock" was used by Ring of Honor for promotional videos.. As far as other entertainment, Corgan once commented that all he watches on TV are "sports and Three Stooges." In March 2008, Billy was spotted in the crowd at the final day of the cricket test match between New Zealand and England in Wellington.
While Corgan typically avoids discussing US politics, he said after the 2008 presidential election, "I'm very proud of my country right now for doing the right thing." In 2009, he posted a transcript of a webcast by Lyndon LaRouche to the official Smashing Pumpkins forum.
Collaborations
In addition to performing, Corgan has produced albums for Ric Ocasek, The Frogs, and Catherine. He shared songwriting credit on several songs on Hole's 1998 album Celebrity Skin; the title track became Corgan's second #1 modern rock hit. He also acted as a consultant for Marilyn Manson during the album Mechanical Animals. He has produced three soundtracks for the movies Ransom (1996), Stigmata (1999) and Spun (2002) in which he appeared as a doctor. He has performed vocals and guitar for Tony Iommi, Blindside, New Order and Marianne Faithfull. Corgan would also guide and collaborate with three bands in the 2000sBreaking Benjamin (during sessions for 2004's We Are Not Alone), Taproot (for Blue-Sky Research, 2005), and Sky Saxon. Corgan appeared as a guest vocalist on the song "Loki Cat" on Jimmy Chamberlin's first solo album Life Begins Again and Chamberlin played drums for the song "DIA" on Corgan's solo debut.
Recently, Corgan has worked on several collaborationsCourtney Love's Nobodies Daughter, Garbage vocalist Shirley Manson's debut solo album, and the Scorpions' Humanity - Hour 1.
Aborted projects
Corgan has often mentioned or developed projects that remain commercially unreleased. During the press junkets for 1995's Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, he claimed that the Pumpkins were planning on an MTV Unplugged appearance and album. In 1998, he spoke of his hope to release a solo acoustic album, a sequel to Vieuphoria, and a comprehensive boxset of live Smashing Pumpkins recordings. Around the time of the Pumpkins' disbandment, Corgan explained plans to reissue every Pumpkins album complete with bonus tracks, which has not yet happened. Also at this time, Corgan hoped to record an instrumental progressive rock album with Jimmy Chamberlin and Mike Garson. The final Pumpkins concert before the 2000 breakup was recorded professionally, and a DVD of this performance had been mentioned frequently after the breakup but never materialized (though one song from the concert, "An Ode to No One," was later released on the DVD Greatest Hits Video Collection). Meanwhile, the Glass and the Machines of God animated series, a tie-in to the Machina albums, was never completed, though several apparent cuts of episodes were leaked in 2003. Also that year, Zwan recorded "tons of music" outside of their Mary Star of the Sea album, possibly including an entire second album as the "Djali Zwan", but neither the album nor the footage were released (and won't be released until Corgan "can stomach it"), and Zwan soon broke up. In 2004, Corgan publicly acknowledged that he was writing a novel, via the "About the Author" section of Blinking with Fists. It is not known whether the novel was finished, but no portion has been made available. His life story, The Confessions of Billy Corgan, was also published at this time, but was apparently never completed. Also in this era, he gave several interviews promoting a ChicagoSongs DVD/EP, a release of several songs related to his native Chicago, which was apparently shelved when he and Jimmy Chamberlin began work on Zeitgeist.
Musical style and influences
When asked in a 1994 Rolling Stone interview about his influences, Corgan replied:
Although Corgan is not widely recognized for his guitar playing, it has been praised numerous times. Allmusic said "Starla" "proves that Corgan was one of the finest (and most underrated) rock guitarists of the '90s", while Rolling Stone called him and his Smashing Pumpkins bandmates "ruthless virtuosos". Within guitar circles, he has assumed a position of respect. He wrote six articles for Guitar World in 1995, and his solos for "Cherub Rock" and "Geek USA" were included on their list of the top guitar solos of all time. His solo for "Soma" was #24 on Rolling Stones list of the top guitar solos. He is a fan of Eddie Van Halen and interviewed him in the late nineties for Guitar World.
His distinctive, nasal singing style is often a point of contention among critics. The Miami Herald called his voice "one of rock's most annoying sounds."
His bass playing, which has featured on nearly every Smashing Pumpkins album, was influenced by Post Punk figures like Peter Hook and Simon Gallup.
Corgan has praised Radiohead, saying "if they're not the best band in the world, then they're one of the best", and is also a fan of Pantera. Pantera producer Terry Date would later be brought in to produce the Smashing Pumpkins' Zeitgeist. Other favorites include Rush, Metallica, Dinosaur Jr., My Bloody Valentine, and Spiritualized.
His literary influences include William S. Burroughs, Philip K. Dick, and Jack Kerouac.
Solo discography
Albums
TheFutureEmbrace (June 21, 2005) #31 US, #67 GER
Singles
Soundtrack work
Lost Highway ("Eye") 1996 Ransom 1997 First Love, Last Rites ("When I Was Born, I Was Bored") 1997 Batman & Robin ("The End is the Beginning is the End") 1999 Stigmata 2000 Any Given Sunday (Corgan is credited on "Be A Man" by Hole) 2001 Not Another Teen Movie(Smashing Pumpkins provided the song "Never Let Me Down Again") 2002 Spun 2004 National Treasure (Corgan is credited on writing "Forget It") 2006 Dance of the Dead (Masters of Horror episode) 2007 When a Man Falls in the Forest (three previously unreleased songs)
Albums featured
Sparkle (by Catherine, The EP is produced by Corgan) 1992 Singles "Drown" 1994 Songs About Girls (by Catherine, The song "It's No Lie" is produced by Corgan) 1994 Chante Des Chanson Sur Les Filles (by Catherine, The EP is produced by Corgan as "Johhny Goat" 1994 Sleepy EP (by Catherine, The EP is produced by Corgan" 1996 Guitars That Rule the World, Vol. 2: Smell the Fuzz:The Superstar Guitar Album
(by Various Artists, Corgan is credited as writer and performer of Ascendo)
Starjob (by The Frogs, The EP is produced by Corgan as "Johhny Goat" 1997 Troublizing (by Ric Ocasek, Corgan is credited as writer of Asia Minor and playing guitar on The Next Right Moment, Crashland Consequence, Situation, Fix On You and People We Know) 1998 Celebrity Skin (by Hole, Corgan is credited as writer of Celebrity Skin, Hit So Hard, Malibu, Dying and Petals) 1998 I Belong To You - Single (by Lenny Kravitz, Corgan remixed the second track If You Can't Say No (Flunky In The attic Mix) 2000 Iommi (by Tony Iommi, Corgan is credited as writer of and sings on Black Oblivion) 2001 Get Ready (by New Order, Corgan is contributing voice on Turn My Way) 2002 Kissin' Time (by Marianne Faithfull, Corgan is credited as writer of Wherever I Go, Song For Nico and I'm On Fire) 2003 Lights Out - Single (by Lisa Marie Presley, Corgan is credited as writer of Savior) 2004 We Are Not Alone (by Breaking Benjamin, Corgan is credited as writer of Follow, Forget It and Rain) 2004 The Essential Cheap Trick (by Cheap Trick, Corgan is playing guitar on the live recording of the track Mandocello) 2004 About A Burning Fire (by Blindside, Corgan is Playing guitar on Hooray, It's L.A.) 2005 Life Begins Again (by Jimmy Chamberlin Complex, Corgan is contributing voice on Loki Cat) 2005 Blue-Sky Research (by Taproot, Corgan wrote the track Lost In The Woods and co-wrote the tracks Violent Seas and Promise) 2006 ONXRT:Live From The Archives Volume 9 , A compilation CD from the radio station 93 WXRT in Chicago features the live recording of the track A100 2007 Humanity Hour 1 (by Scorpions, Corgan is contributing voice on The Cross)
External links
- at MySpace
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- An extensive 5 year archive of Billy's journal entries, including The Confessions of Billy Corgan, solo work and the revival of the Pumpkins.
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