7 Memorable Rock Performances From ‘MTV Unplugged’

Jim Burns, co-creator of MTV Unplugged, passed away this week at the age of 65 from injuries resulting from being accidentally hit by a taxi cab in Manhattan.

Burns, along with Robert Small, created the iconic performance show that ran on –and-off from 1989-1999 and 2000-2009, with various specials cropping up since 2009.  During this time, MTV Unplugged provided fans with some of the most memorable performances by our favorite acts.  In honor of Burns’ life, here are six of the most memorable MTV Unplugged performances from classic rock artists.

You can’t talk about MTV Unplugged without talking about Nirvana’s performance.  Recorded just five months before Kurt Cobain’s untimely passing, the band’s performance would later be released as the live LP MTV Unplugged in New York.  It was Nirvana’s first release following Cobain’s suicide, and it would go on to win the GRAMMY for Best Alternative Music Album.

R.E.M is the reason this list goes to seven and not six, because they’re responsible for two marvelous performances from 1991 and 2001 which were both released in 2014 as Unplugged:  The Complete 1991 and 2001 Sessions.

Later episodes in MTV Unplugged’s history are tragically overlooked, but this incredible set from Thirty Seconds To Mars more than holds its own thanks to Jared Leto’s dynamic vocal performance.

Speaking of dynamic vocal performances, Eddie Vedder simply kills it in this set from March 1992, about seven months after the release of Pearl Jam’s debut album Ten.

Honestly, MTV Unplugged is just a goldmine of remarkable performances for anyone that loves rock from the 90s.  Stone Temple Pilots recorded their set in 1993, which marked the first time they performed “Big Empty.”  (You can watch that performance as the 16:36 mark in the video below.)

Equal parts extraordinary and bitter-sweet, AIC’s 1996 performance on MTV Unplugged was the band’s first performance together in over two years due to Layne Staley’s issues with drug abuse.  It would also be one of the band’s last high-profile gigs with Staley.  In spite of that and Jerry Cantrell famously battling food poisoning, AIC’s set served as a reminder why they were the first band to really break out of the fruitful Seattle music scene.

Erica Banas is a rock/classic rock blogger that loves the smell of old vinyl in the morning.