Iowa History Daily: April 26 - Slipknot's Joey Jordison

Iowa History Daily: On April 26, 1975, famed drummer of Iowa’s unofficial heavy metal band Slipknot Joey Jordison was born. A multi-platinum and critically-acclaimed success, Jordison helped lift Slipknot from the streets of Des Moines to global heavy metal fame. 

Joey Jordison, a gifted drummer and songwriter for both Slipknot and Murderdolls, started hammering away at the drums at the age of eight. A performer with various acts early in his career including Des Moines trash metal band Modifidious, in the summer of 1995 Jordison joined a group called the Pale Ones. Debuting as a six member act called Meld on December 4, 1995, the band schemed toward success while Jordison manned the graveyard shift at a Des Moines Sinclair station. In late 1995 the band changed names a final time, settling on Slipknot before self-financing their debut album “Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat.” on October 31, 1996. 

After vocalist Corey Taylor of local band Stone Sour joined the mix in 1997, the band released a second studio demo before signing a seven-album, $500,000 deal with Roadrunner Records. The band started recording and releasing records including 1999’s self-titled record and 2001’s “Iowa.” Known for a large lineup of performers, aggressive musical style, and chaotic live shows, the group was nominated for Grammy Awards in the ‘Best Metal Performance’ category from 2001-2003 before finally capturing the award in 2006. A ten-time Grammy nominated artist, the group has sold over 30 million records worldwide. 

Jordison ended his time with the band in December of 2013 before going on to work on a variety of other successful projects. In 2016, Jordison announced he suffered from acute transverse myelitis. Eventually the neurological disease temporarily cost him the use of his legs. Jordison died in his sleep on July 26, 2021 at the age of 46. #IowaHistoryDaily #IowaHistoryCalendar #IowaOTD