Henry Rollins was born Henry Garfield in Washington, D.C., on February 13, 1961. He performed in local hardcore bands as a teenager, and one night when his heroes Black Flag came to town, he leaped up on stage and began singing with them. Shortly thereafter, when Flag vocalist Dez Cadena decided to switch to guitar, the band invited Rollins to audition, and he became their new lead singer. By the time Black Flag broke up in 1986, Rollins had not only garnered a reputation as one of the fiercest performers in hardcore punk, but had already begun touring as a spoken-word performer. Rollins made his recording debut as a solo artist in 1987 with Hot Animal Machine, and ... issued his first spoken-word album, Big Ugly Mouth, that year (as well as the Drive By Shooting EP, recorded as Henrietta Collins and the Wifebeating Childhaters).