Smashing Pumpkins were one of the most prominant of the 1990's alternative rock bands. Their sound was instantly recognizable, from Billy Corgan's nasal voice that ranged between a sneer and a tremble to Corgan's and James Iha's warped, buzzing, distorted, orverlaid guitars to D'Arcy's (and Corgan's) heavy bass and Jimmy Chamberlin's busy drums. They straddled many genres convincingly, from hard-rock to prog-rock to dream pop to noise pop, with a little psychedelia and goth thrown in. Their sound was layered, textured, fairly sophisticated and intricate, but capable of reaching the central nervous system. Corgan's lyrics were angst-ridden almost to the point of ridiculous; this was actually a drawing card. Unlike most alternative-rock groups, they played the larger-than-life role of rock stars; they never came across as anti-hero in the Kurt Cobain sense.

Also unlike their alternative rock contemporaries, they didn't seem to have much indie influence; if one were to deconstruct their sound, touchstones like Blue Oyster Cult, Queen, T. Rex, Cheap Trick, and maybe even Styx come to mind, rather than the underground punk and metal that informed the grunge bands and other 90's alt-rockers. The members of Smashing Pumpkins grew up listening to mainstream rock, and traces of it are audible in their music. However, their modern 90's updating and recontextualizing of these influences was new and radical in its own way; it was a sound that was appreciated by the young alt-rock crowd, and the older 70's rock listeners. Which gave them fairly broad support early on in their career. They became alt-rock leaders by default; Nirvana crashed and burned, and Pearl Jam didn't want to lead anything.

Yet, although their music was "alternative" by early 1990's standards, their approach to the music business was shrewd and aggressive; it also worked.

Billy Corgan, born March 17, 1967, grew up in the suburb of Elk Grove, IL, not far from Chicago. His father, Bill Corgan Sr., was a jazz guitarist, and young Billy gained his first exposure to music from an early age. However, his parents divorced while he was still a child, and he spent the next few years shuttling between relatives' homes. Like many kids in similar circumstances, he became obsessed with rock 'n' roll, listening to bands like the power-pop Cheap Trick and the arena metal of Van Halen. He learned guitar as a teen, absorbing much from both bands, and formed his first real band at the age of 18, in 1985. The Marked was a goth metal group featuring Billy Corgan on guitar, Ron Roesing on drums, and Dale Meiners on bass. The name was chosen for pronounced birthmarks on both Corgan and Roesing. After gigging around Chicago, they decided to relocate to St. Petersburg, FL, seeking a wider audience.

The Marked got some gigs in 1986-1987 the St. Petersburg area, but didn't seem to be getting anywhere, and Meiners left the band. Corgan and Roesing returned to Chicago, where Corgan landed a job at a record store to pay the bills. Within a year, he had met guitarist James Iha, who briefly became a member of the Marked, and then bassist D'Arcy Wretzky. In 1988 a trio of Corgan-Iha-D'Arcy began playing in clubs around Chicago, often with a drum machine. They renamed the band Smashing Pumpkins.