Rocker Jerry Cantrell Shows Off His Stellar Vintage Corvette Collection
Alice in Chains guitarist talks to Motor Trend about his two Sting Rays, and how he developed a taste early on for fast cars and road tripping.
Jerry Cantrell gained fame as a founding member of the iconic rock band Alice in Chains, which is currently climbing the charts with its new album Rainier Fog. The singer-songwriter is also an acclaimed madman on the axe and an in-demand collaborator who has worked with fellow heavy-hitters like Ozzy Osbourne and Metallica. When he’s not in the studio or onstage, the 52-year-old musician and hardcore auto enthusiast is most likely back in his home state of Washington riding around in one of his vintage Corvettes. Cantrell recently spoke to Motor Trend about his impressive car collection and the unforgettable vehicles that made an impact on him.
“I grew up in the era of the astronauts, and a lot of those guys drove Corvettes,” says Cantrell. “I was a big Speed Racer fan, too, and that was a car that reminded me of the Mach Five.”
Today, Cantrell owns not one but two versions of his own Mach Five courtesy of a pair of vintage Corvette Sting Rays: a mint cherry red 1967 and a white 1963 ‘Vette. He purchased the 1967 convertible Corvette with removable hardtop in 1994. Avoiding the trappings of rock star excess, Cantrell reveals to Motor Trend that the $60,000 convertible was his most “extravagant purchase.”
“It just rumbles and it’s so throaty,” says Cantrell, “but it looks so good and it really just drips power, as well as looking amazing.”
After owning the 1967 sports car for a year, Cantrell had acquired a palate for classic Corvette style and performance and promptly acquired a 1963 split-window coupe, too.
‘[The 1967 Sting Ray] just rumbles and it’s so throaty, but it looks so good and it really just drips power, as well as looking amazing.’
Owning two classic Corvettes is not just an awesome status symbol for the humble rocker, they’re also a far cry from the type of vehicles he was used to driving before landing in Alice in Chains. Cantrell tells Motor Trend that in his younger days he learned to drive using his mother’s 1976 VW Super Beetle, which is perhaps the most un-rockstar car you can find!
“All of those Beetles, when you get in them they smell exactly the same,” he tells Motor Trend. “It’s a similar thing to the ‘Vette, they have a very unique odor. If I get in one blindfolded I could tell I was in a f–kin’ VW Beetle. Same thing with a ‘Vette, as well.”
If you’re going to spend that much time on the road, you better believe life is all that much sweeter when you’re driving a sweet-smelling classic Corvette.
Photos: Motor Trend
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