Drummer Bud Gaugh is born Floyd I. Gaugh IV in Long Beach, California. With lead singer Brad Nowell and bass player Eric Wilson, he forms Sublime in 1988. After Nowell's death in 1996, he and Wilson keep making music together but can't use the Sublime name until Nowell's son Jakob joins them in 2023.
Sublime lead singer Brad Nowell is born in Long Beach, California. He dies of a drug overdose in 1996 at 28, just months before the band break through with a string of hits that includes "Doin' Time" and "Santeria." Sublime return to action with Brad's son Jakob at the helm in 2023.
Sublime bass player Eric Wilson is born in Long Beach, California.
Ska music bubbles under in America as Billboard publishes a cover story called "Hunt for 'Next Big Thing' Unearths Ska Underground." Bands like No Doubt, Reel Big Fish and Sublime soon break through with ska-inflected sounds.
Brad Nowell of Sublime marries Troy Dendekker, the mother of his son, Jakob. He dies of a drug overdose a week later.
Sublime's self-titled album is released. It's their major-label debut, and also their last, as lead singer Brad Nowell died of a heroin overdose two months earlier. The album goes on to sell over 5 million copies.More
©2026 Songfacts®, LLC