Bradley James Nowell (February 22, 1968 – May 25, 1996) was an American musician and the lead singer of the band Sublime. Born and raised in Belmont Shore, Long Beach, California, Nowell developed an interest in music at a young age. Nowell formed Sublime with bassist Eric Wilson and drummer Bud Gaugh, whom he had met while attending California State University, Long Beach. During his lifetime, Sublime released the albums 40oz. to Freedom and Robbin' the Hood to critical and commercial success. In 1996, Nowell died of a heroin overdose in a San Francisco hotel while Sublime was on tour.
Early life Nowell and his sister, Kellie, were born and raised in the Belmont Shore neighborhood of Long Beach, California, to Jim and Nancy Nowell. As a child, he enjoyed surfing and sailing, often participating in boat races. Nowell became a difficult child and was often hyperactive and disruptive; his mother recalled that he was "very emotional, very sensitive, very artistic, but he was needy … He was always testing just to see what he could get away with." Nowell was diagnosed with attention-deficit disorder and prescribed Ritalin, which his widow stated partially led to his drug addiction later in life. After his parents' divorce when he was 10, Nowell's behavior worsened. His mother was originally awarded custody, but found him too difficult to control, and at the age of 10 he moved in full time with his father. Music was an integral part of Nowell's upbringing on the part of both of his parents. His father, a construction worker, enjoyed playing guitar and exposed him to the music of Jim Croce; his mother taught piano for a living in addition to playing the flute. Both parents helped teach young Nowell to play the guitar. In the summer of 1979, 11-year-old Nowell accompanied his father on a month-long sailing trip in the Virgin Islands, where he was first exposed to reggae music. By the age of 16, he had started his first band, Hogan's Heroes, with Michael Yates and Eric Wilson. Nowell was described as a "gifted kid without many friends." At first, Wilson did not share Nowell's interest in reggae music. Nowell recalled the experience: "I was trying to get them to do (UB40's version of) 'Cherry Oh Baby,' and it didn't work. They tried, but it just sounded like such garbage. We were horrible." Nowell attended Long Beach Polytechnic High School (where he took advanced courses) and graduated from Woodrow Wilson Classical High School in Long Beach. He attended the University of California, Santa Cruz before transferring to California State University, Long Beach to study finance. He dropped out one semester shy of earning a degree.
Sublime In 1988, according to a Westwood One interview, which is available on disc three of the Sublime box set, Nowell, bassist Wilson, and drummer Bud Gaugh grouped together to perform small shows at house parties and barbecues. The band was often asked to leave the parties due to excessive noise. Despite their local success, music venues were skeptical of the band's eclectic musical fusion and many refused to book the band. In response, Nowell and Wilson created their own music label, Skunk Records, telling venues they were "Skunk Records recording artists," helping the band seem more accomplished and enabling them to book more shows. The band produced and distributed Sublime's early recordings on the label, later selling demo tapes at shows and local record stores. In 1990, music student Michael "Miguel" Happoldt offered to let the band record in the studio at the school where he was studying, although without the school's knowledge. The band agreed, then sneaked into the school at night, where they recorded from midnight to seven in the morning. That recording session resulted in the cassette tape Jah Won't Pay the Bills, released in 1991. The tape helped the band gain a grassroots following throughout Southern California. Using the same tactics they used in recording Jah Won't Pay the Bills, the band recorded its debut album 40oz. to Freedom in secrecy at the studios at California State University, Dominguez Hills. Nowell recalled, "You weren't supposed to be in there after 9 p.m., but we'd go in at 9:30 and stay until 5 in the morning. We'd just hide from the security guards. They never knew we were there. We managed to get $30,000 worth of studio time for free". 40oz. to Freedom was released in 1992; 60,000 copies were sold.
Despite their growing popularity in Southern California, Sublime still was not signed with a major label. Around this same time, Nowell teamed up with longtime friend Gwen Stefani of No Doubt, to record the song "Saw Red". The song was eventually released on Sublime's Robbin' the Hood album, which was self-recorded on a four-track cassette, and released in October 1994. Several songs from the album detail Nowell's worsening drug addiction. About a year later, Tazy Phillipz took a copy of 40oz. to Freedom to Los Angeles radio station KROQ-FM, requesting that Sublime's song "Date Rape" be added to the playlist. Soon after, MCA Records picked up 40oz. to Freedom for national distribution, and Sublime was scheduled to tour throughout Europe. Nowell, an avid reader who enjoyed quoting historians and philosophers, began studying European history to prepare for the trip. In February 1996, Sublime returned to the studio to record the bulk of their self-titled album, which would be their debut with MCA. Production was done by Paul Leary of the Butthole Surfers (and producer of Marcy Playground and Meat Puppets) at Willie Nelson's Pedernales Studio in Austin, Texas. Nowell died on May 25, 1996. Sublime's final album was released on July 30, 1996. Its original title, Killin' It, was replaced by the eponymous title Sublime. By 1997, the album had entered Billboard's Top 20, with the largely acoustic single, "What I Got", becoming the number one song on the Modern Rock chart. The album produced three more radio hits: "Santeria", "Wrong Way", and "Doin' Time". Sublime became one of the most successful American rock acts of 1997. Rolling Stone reported in March 2010 that the album Sublime had sold over six million copies.
Personal life and death
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