Andy Witchger · CC BY 2.0

Osborne founded the Melvins in the early 1980s and slowed hardcore punk down into something heavier and stranger, effectively inventing sludge metal and drone doom in the process and earning the nickname "Godfather of Grunge" for reshaping Seattle's music scene from underneath. He personally introduced a young Dave Grohl to Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic after Grohl's previous band broke up — a connection that led directly to Nirvana. He later co-founded Fantômas with Mike Patton and Venomous Concept, and has stayed sober since the 1990s.