The term grunge was first used to describe the murky-guitar bands (most notably Nirvana and Pearl Jam) that emerged from Seattle in the late 1980s as a bridge between mainstream 1980s heavy metal–hard rock and postpunk alternative rock.

Who started the grunge era?

The music of these bands, many of which had recorded with Seattle's independent record label Sub Pop, became labeled as "grunge". Nirvana's frontman Kurt Cobain, in one of his final interviews, credited Jonathan Poneman, cofounder of Sub Pop, with coining the term "grunge" to describe the music.

What was the first grunge band?

"Green River were arguably the first grunge band, forming around the same time as the rest of Seattle's first wave (the Melvins, Soundgarden, and Malfunkshun). In 1985, they became the first grunge band to release a record, kickstarting the Seattle music scene and later helping to establish the Sub Pop label.