Jerry Fulton Cantrell (born March 18, 1966, Tacoma, Washington) was the lead guitarist and principal songwriter for the grunge band Alice in Chains until the group's dissolution in the mid- 1990s due to lead singer Layne Staley's recurrent drug addiction and eventual withdrawal from the recording industry. (Staley died of a drug overdose in April 2002).
Cantrell began a solo career following his tenure with Alice in Chains and in 1998 released the album Boggy Depot ( Columbia), featuring Alice in Chains drummer Sean Kinney and bassist (one of four) Les Claypool of Primus. In June 2002 Cantrell issued his second album Degradation Trip ( Roadrunner), with Mike Bordin ( Faith No More) on drums and Robert Trujillo ( Ozzy Osbourne, Metallica, Suicidal Tendencies) as bassist; it was followed in November of that year by a re-release as a double album on the same label, featuring eleven additional tracks. The album was released shortly after Staley's death and is dedicated to him. The Degradation Trip song "She Was My Girl" was included on the soundtrack for the 2002 movie Spider-Man.
Cantrell is featured in the movie Singles along with the rest of Alice in Chains performing the songs "It Ain't Like That" and "Would?". He is also featured as an actor in the movie Jerry Maguire. He has homes in Los Angeles and in Oklahoma at the Double-J Ranch.
