Paul Westerberg

Paul Westerberg
Westerberg performing in May 2005
Background information
Birth name	Paul Harold Westerberg
Born	(1959-12-31) December 31, 1959 (age 57) Minneapolis, Minnesota
Origin	Minnesota, United States
Genres	Alternative rock, punk rock (early)
Instruments	Guitar, vocals, bass guitar, piano, drums
Years active	1979–present
Labels	Sire/Reprise Records Vagrant Records Fat Possum Records
Associated acts	The Replacements, Tommy Keene, Grandpaboy

Paul Harold Westerberg (born December 31, 1959) is an American musician, best known as the lead singer, guitarist and songwriter in The Replacements, one of the seminal alternative rock bands of the 1980s. He launched a solo career after the dissolution of that band. In recent years, he has cultivated a more independent-minded approach, primarily recording his music at home in his basement.

In the late 1970s Westerberg was working as a janitor for U.S. Senator David Durenberger, and one day while walking home from work, he happened to hear a band practicing Yes's "Roundabout" in a basement. He talked his way into the band by convincing the singer that the other band members – Bob Stinson, Chris Mars and Tommy Stinson – were going to fire him. The singer quit and Westerberg joined the group. The band was originally called "The Impediments," and played their first gig in the basement of a church, playing to members of a nearby halfway house who did not appreciate their drunken shenanigans, but they soon changed their name to "The Replacements" after several venues declined to advertise the band under their original name.

The Replacements quickly made a name for themselves in the Twin Cities punk scene, largely thanks to Westerberg's songwriting and their classic-rock-friendly punk presentation. The band made several critically acclaimed albums for local label Twin/Tone before signing to Sire Records in 1985. Despite the jump to Sire, the Replacements never translated their critical success into commercial sales.

The band broke up in 1991. Their final album, All Shook Down, was for all intents and purposes a Westerberg solo project. There are numerous guest performers and the other three members of the band (including Slim Dunlap, who had replaced Bob Stinson three years earlier to tour in support of Pleased to Meet Me) made minimal contributions. Mars left the band soon after the album was released. After touring for the album (which was critically well-received) with replacement Replacements, Westerberg and Stinson went their separate ways.