Bradley James Nowell (February 22, 1968 – May 25, 1996) was an American musician and the lead singer of the band Sublime.

[1] Born and raised in Belmont Shore, Long Beach, California,[2] Nowell developed an interest in music at a young age.

Nowell formed Sublime with bassist Eric Wilson and drummer Bud Gaugh, whom he had met while attending California State University, Long Beach.

Nowell became a difficult child and was often hyperactive and disruptive; his mother recalled that he was "very emotional, very sensitive, very artistic, but he was needy … He was always testing just to see what he could get away with.

His mother was originally awarded custody, but found him too difficult to control, and at the age of 10 he moved in full time with his father.

[5] In the summer of 1979, 11-year-old Nowell accompanied his father on a month-long sailing trip in the Virgin Islands, where he was first exposed to reggae music.

[5][10] In 1988, according to a Westwood One interview, which is available on disc three of the Sublime box set, Nowell, bassist Wilson, and drummer Bud Gaugh grouped together to perform small shows at house parties and barbecues.

[4] That recording session resulted in the cassette tape Jah Won't Pay the Bills, released in 1991.

Around this same time, Nowell teamed up with longtime friend Gwen Stefani of No Doubt, to record the song "Saw Red".

to Freedom to Los Angeles radio station KROQ-FM, requesting that Sublime's song "Date Rape" be added to the playlist.

Nowell, an avid reader who enjoyed quoting historians and philosophers, began studying European history to prepare for the trip.

Production was done by Paul Leary of the Butthole Surfers (and producer of Marcy Playground and Meat Puppets) at Willie Nelson's Pedernales Studio in Austin, Texas.

[citation needed] By 1997, the album had entered Billboard's Top 20, with the largely acoustic single, "What I Got", becoming the number one song on the Modern Rock chart.

In October 1994, Troy became pregnant, giving birth to a son, Jakob James Nowell, on June 25, 1995.

In Sublime's most successful radio track, "What I Got", Nowell sings, "Livin' with Louie Dog's the only way to stay sane".

Nowell is said by some to have predicted his own death in the song "Pool Shark", with the line, "One day I'm gonna lose the war.

However, while the band was staying at the Ocean View Motel in San Francisco (later Seascape Inn),[1] drummer Bud Gaugh awoke to find Nowell lying on the floor next to his bed.

Nowell's widow wanted to make it clear that the goal of the concert was not to glamorize his death, but rather to promote drug awareness and prevention among fans.

Proceeds from the concert were given to a non-profit offering support for musicians struggling with drug addiction, as well as a scholarship fund for Nowell's son, Jakob.