Joe Strummer

Joe Strummer, was a member of the pub rock band The 101'ers, co-founder and singer/guitarist of influential punk band The Clash, and leader of the diverse rock outfit, Joe Strummer and The Mescaleros. Strummer was known for helping to found Future Forrests (since renamed The Carbon Neutral Company), an organization that plants trees across the world with the aim of alleviating global warming. In 2002, at age 50, he died of an undiagnosed congenital heart defect.

Before the Clash

Strummer was born John Graham Mellor in 1952. Though he spent most of his later childhood in England, he travelled widely with his family, due to his father's employment with the British Foreign Service. (In his later years, he reflected that his international childhood played a part in the eclecticism of his music.) Strummer became fascinated by American rock and roll as a teenager, and later by folk music, reggae and world music. In his early 20s, he hitchhiked across Europe, earning his way as a busker. In 1974, Strummer formed the band The 101'ers, which was part of a musical movement known as pub-rock, considered to have been a precursor to punk.

The Clash and After

Strummer left the 101'ers in 1976 to form The Clash with lead guitarist and co-frontman Mick Jones. The band became as influential to British punk as The Sex Pistols, to whom they were often seen as a less nihilistic, more tuneful alternative. The Clash achieved international notoriety, but failed to gain commercial success, until the release of 1982's hit album Combat Rock. The Clash have since influenced an array of younger musicians, including Rage Against the Machine, MIA and The Libertines. Though the band name was officially retired in 1985, Strummer's 1983 split with Jones effectively marked the end of the band. Strummer went on to compose several acclaimed soundtracks, release a solo album (1989's Earthquake Weather) and form a new band, The Mescaleros, in 1999. Fast Facts:

1. Birth Name: John Graham Mellor
2. Born: August 21, 1952
3. Birthplace: Ankara, Turkey
4. Raised (mostly) in London, England
5. Nationality: British
6. Ethnicity: Scottish, English and Armenian
7. Died: December 22, 2002
8. Years Active: 1973 – 2002
9. Record Labels: CBS, Sony, Hellcat
10. Discography

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