.jpg/1383px-Billy_Corgan_of_The_Smashing_Pumpkins_-_2019158213151_2019-06-07_Rock_am_Ring_-_2085_-_AK8I7435_(cropped).jpg)
Recent from talks
Billy Corgan
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Billy Corgan
William Patrick Corgan Jr. (born March 17, 1967) is an American guitarist and songwriter, and professional wrestling promoter. He is best known as the co-founder, lead guitarist, primary songwriter, singer, and only constant member of alternative rock band the Smashing Pumpkins. Corgan is credited with helping popularize the alternative rock genre. He has also been the owner and promoter of the National Wrestling Alliance since 2017.
Corgan formed the Smashing Pumpkins in Chicago in 1988 alongside guitarist James Iha, with bassist D'arcy Wretzky and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin joining soon after. Strong album sales and large-scale tours propelled the band to commercial success and critical acclaim throughout the 1990s. After their break-up in 2000, Corgan and Chamberlin started a new band called Zwan; after the band's demise, he released the collection of poetry Blinking with Fists (2004) and the solo album TheFutureEmbrace (2005) before reforming Smashing Pumpkins in 2007. The new version of the band, consisting of Corgan and a revolving lineup, has released new albums and toured extensively. In October 2017, Corgan released Ogilala, his first solo album in over a decade. His latest solo album, Cotillions, was released in 2019.
Corgan co-founded Resistance Pro Wrestling in 2011. He joined TNA Wrestling in 2015 and became its president in 2016, but left a few months later. He purchased the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) in 2017; thereafter, Corgan made it his primary focus in professional wrestling.
William Patrick Corgan Jr. was born at Columbus Hospital in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago on March 17, 1967, the oldest child of Martha Louise Maes Corgan Lutz (1947-1996) and guitarist William Dale Corgan (1947–2021). He grew up Catholic and has a younger brother. His parents divorced in 1970. Billy said he went to live with his great-grandmother, and then his grandmother. Next he and his brother went to live with his father and new wife (a flight attendant whom his father had remarried) in Glendale Heights, Illinois, a Chicago suburb 22 miles west of the city. His father was a musician and was often away; when Billy was nine his father and stepmother (whom Billy considers to be his mother) split. Billy grew up an hour away from both of his natural parents.
Billy alleges that his father was abusive to him, both physically and emotionally. He developed a protective bond with his younger paternal half-brother, Jesse, who had special needs as a child. When Billy's father and stepmother separated, all three boys lived alone with their stepmother. Billy said his father was a "drug dealing, gun-toting musician [and] mad man". Although William Corgan Sr. negatively impacted his son's childhood, Corgan said he came to have tremendous respect for his father's musicianship.
Corgan, who grew much faster than his fellow students, was a strong athlete in elementary school. In addition to being a member of his baseball team at Marquardt Middle School, he amassed over 10,000 baseball cards and listened to every Chicago Cubs game on the radio. However, by the time he began attending Glenbard North High School, his athletic prowess had greatly diminished. He decided to start playing guitar after seeing a Flying V when he went over to a friend's house.
Corgan gave his savings to his father, who bought him a used Les Paul knock-off. His father encouraged him to listen to Jeff Beck and Jimi Hendrix but offered little other support, so Corgan taught himself. His musical interests in high school included hard rock music like Guts-era John Cale, heavy metal pioneers Black Sabbath, and mainstream rock like Van Halen, Queen, Boston, ELO, Rush, and Cheap Trick. Corgan discovered the alternative rock genre by listening to Bauhaus and the Cure. He performed in a string of bands in high school and graduated as an honor student. Despite grant and scholarship offers from a number of schools, and a tuition fund left by his grandmother, Corgan decided to pursue music full-time.
Not finding the Chicago music scene to his liking, Corgan moved to St. Petersburg, Florida, in 1985 with his first major band, The Marked (named for the conspicuous birthmarks of both Corgan and drummer Ron Roesing). Not finding success in St. Petersburg, the band dissolved; Corgan moved back to Chicago and lived with his father. From 1987 to 1988, he played guitar in Chicago band Deep Blue Dream, which also featured future Static-X frontman Wayne Static. He left the band to focus on the Smashing Pumpkins.
Hub AI
Billy Corgan AI simulator
(@Billy Corgan_simulator)
Billy Corgan
William Patrick Corgan Jr. (born March 17, 1967) is an American guitarist and songwriter, and professional wrestling promoter. He is best known as the co-founder, lead guitarist, primary songwriter, singer, and only constant member of alternative rock band the Smashing Pumpkins. Corgan is credited with helping popularize the alternative rock genre. He has also been the owner and promoter of the National Wrestling Alliance since 2017.
Corgan formed the Smashing Pumpkins in Chicago in 1988 alongside guitarist James Iha, with bassist D'arcy Wretzky and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin joining soon after. Strong album sales and large-scale tours propelled the band to commercial success and critical acclaim throughout the 1990s. After their break-up in 2000, Corgan and Chamberlin started a new band called Zwan; after the band's demise, he released the collection of poetry Blinking with Fists (2004) and the solo album TheFutureEmbrace (2005) before reforming Smashing Pumpkins in 2007. The new version of the band, consisting of Corgan and a revolving lineup, has released new albums and toured extensively. In October 2017, Corgan released Ogilala, his first solo album in over a decade. His latest solo album, Cotillions, was released in 2019.
Corgan co-founded Resistance Pro Wrestling in 2011. He joined TNA Wrestling in 2015 and became its president in 2016, but left a few months later. He purchased the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) in 2017; thereafter, Corgan made it his primary focus in professional wrestling.
William Patrick Corgan Jr. was born at Columbus Hospital in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago on March 17, 1967, the oldest child of Martha Louise Maes Corgan Lutz (1947-1996) and guitarist William Dale Corgan (1947–2021). He grew up Catholic and has a younger brother. His parents divorced in 1970. Billy said he went to live with his great-grandmother, and then his grandmother. Next he and his brother went to live with his father and new wife (a flight attendant whom his father had remarried) in Glendale Heights, Illinois, a Chicago suburb 22 miles west of the city. His father was a musician and was often away; when Billy was nine his father and stepmother (whom Billy considers to be his mother) split. Billy grew up an hour away from both of his natural parents.
Billy alleges that his father was abusive to him, both physically and emotionally. He developed a protective bond with his younger paternal half-brother, Jesse, who had special needs as a child. When Billy's father and stepmother separated, all three boys lived alone with their stepmother. Billy said his father was a "drug dealing, gun-toting musician [and] mad man". Although William Corgan Sr. negatively impacted his son's childhood, Corgan said he came to have tremendous respect for his father's musicianship.
Corgan, who grew much faster than his fellow students, was a strong athlete in elementary school. In addition to being a member of his baseball team at Marquardt Middle School, he amassed over 10,000 baseball cards and listened to every Chicago Cubs game on the radio. However, by the time he began attending Glenbard North High School, his athletic prowess had greatly diminished. He decided to start playing guitar after seeing a Flying V when he went over to a friend's house.
Corgan gave his savings to his father, who bought him a used Les Paul knock-off. His father encouraged him to listen to Jeff Beck and Jimi Hendrix but offered little other support, so Corgan taught himself. His musical interests in high school included hard rock music like Guts-era John Cale, heavy metal pioneers Black Sabbath, and mainstream rock like Van Halen, Queen, Boston, ELO, Rush, and Cheap Trick. Corgan discovered the alternative rock genre by listening to Bauhaus and the Cure. He performed in a string of bands in high school and graduated as an honor student. Despite grant and scholarship offers from a number of schools, and a tuition fund left by his grandmother, Corgan decided to pursue music full-time.
Not finding the Chicago music scene to his liking, Corgan moved to St. Petersburg, Florida, in 1985 with his first major band, The Marked (named for the conspicuous birthmarks of both Corgan and drummer Ron Roesing). Not finding success in St. Petersburg, the band dissolved; Corgan moved back to Chicago and lived with his father. From 1987 to 1988, he played guitar in Chicago band Deep Blue Dream, which also featured future Static-X frontman Wayne Static. He left the band to focus on the Smashing Pumpkins.
Recent media