SEATTLE, WA – Mainstream Rock n’ Roll has a long history of excluding Black artists,
despite the genre’s spawning from Black-culture and often the most pivotal voices in rock being
Black themselves. Tina Bell is one such figure. Posthumously credited as “the Godmother of
Grunge” and “The Queen of Grunge,” Bell’s rock band Bam Bam is often cited as one of the
first ‘grunge’ pioneers. Despite being amongst many great musicians of their time, Bam Bam
never enjoyed the recognition their contemporaries did. Bam Bam founding bassist Scott
Ledgerwood said this was not because of the bands’ musical ability but because music
executives were unwilling to take a chance on a band fronted by a Black woman.
