It is uncommon in many fields, but history is nonetheless littered with examples of youthful athletes, leaders, and artists who accomplish something huge at a young age. New York Mets pitcher Dwight Gooden won the NL Rookie Of The Year award at age 19 and an NL Cy Young award in his age 20 season, while Billie Eilish became a pop megastar and multiple-time Grammy winner before even exiting her teens. Australia’s Silverchair is right up there with some of the most staggering feats, too.
On March 27th, 1995, the band released their debut album Frogstomp. While grunge was still popular even in the wake of the death of Kurt Cobain the year prior, almost all successful grunge and post-grunge bands were based in North America – and mostly the USA. In came Silverchair, however, and they were already armed to the teeth with some of the era’s biggest songs. In fact, led by massive single “Tomorrow”, the song garnered a worldwide response – notably becoming the biggest rock song in the USA at one point. The members of Silverchair were also not even 16 when the album was released, which is an extreme rarity. And interestingly, their growth as songwriters became evident on future albums – especially 1999’s Neon Ballroom and 2002’s Diorama, which showcased alternative metal and art rock influences, respectively. With Frogstomp, though, that album ranks as one of Australia’s most important exports – showing that Aussieland was able to churn out some of music’s most iconic musicians.
