William Patrick Corgan Jr. (born March 17, 1967) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and professional wrestling promoter. He is best known as the co-founder, lead guitarist, primary songwriter, singer, and only constant member of alternative rock band the Smashing Pumpkins. Corgan is credited with helping popularize the alternative rock genre. Considered as one of the finest and most underrated rock guitarists of the 1990s, Rolling Stone called him and his Smashing Pumpkins bandmates "ruthless virtuosos". He has also been the owner and promoter of the National Wrestling Alliance since 2017.
Corgan formed the Smashing Pumpkins in Chicago in 1988 alongside guitarist James Iha, with bassist D'arcy Wretzky and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin joining soon after. Strong album sales and large-scale tours propelled the band to commercial success and critical acclaim throughout the 1990s. After their break-up in 2000, Corgan and Chamberlin started a new band called Zwan; after the band's demise, he released the collection of poetry Blinking with Fists (2004) and the solo album TheFutureEmbrace (2005) before reforming Smashing Pumpkins in 2007. The new version of the band, consisting of Corgan and a revolving lineup, has released new albums and toured extensively. In October 2017, Corgan released Ogilala, his first solo album in over a decade. His latest solo album, Cotillions, was released in 2019.
Corgan co-founded Resistance Pro Wrestling in 2011. He joined TNA Wrestling in 2015 and became its president in 2016, but left a few months later. He purchased the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) in 2017; thereafter, Corgan made it his primary focus in professional wrestling.
Early life
William Patrick Corgan Jr. was born at Columbus Hospital in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago on March 17, 1967, the oldest child of Martha Louise Maes (1947–1996) and guitarist William Dale Corgan (1947–2021). He is of English, Irish, and Scottish descent on his father's side, and Belgian, Flemish, and Italian descent on his mother's side. He grew up Catholic and has a younger brother. His parents divorced in 1970. Billy said he went to live with his great-grandmother, and then his grandmother. Next he and his brother went to live with his father and new wife (a flight attendant whom his father had married) in Glendale Heights, Illinois, a Chicago suburb 22 miles west of the city. His father was a musician and was often away; when Billy was nine his father and stepmother (whom Billy considers to be his mother) split.
Billy alleges that his father was abusive to him, both physically and emotionally. He developed a protective bond with his younger paternal half-brother, Jesse, who had special needs as a child. When Billy's father and stepmother separated, all three boys lived with their stepmother. Billy said his father was a "drug dealing, gun-toting musician [and] mad man". Although William Corgan Sr. negatively impacted his son's childhood, Corgan said he came to have tremendous respect for his father's musicianship.
Corgan, who grew much faster than his fellow students, was a strong athlete in elementary school. In addition to being a member of his baseball team at Marquardt Middle School, he amassed over 10,000 baseball cards and listened to every Chicago Cubs game on the radio. However, by the time he began attending Glenbard North High School, his athletic prowess had greatly diminished. He decided to start playing guitar after seeing a Flying V when he went over to a friend's house.
Corgan gave his savings to his father, who bought him a used Les Paul knock-off. His father encouraged him to listen to Jeff Beck and Jimi Hendrix, but offered little other support, so Corgan taught himself. His musical interests in high school included hard rock music like Guts-era John Cale, heavy metal pioneers Black Sabbath, and mainstream rock like Van Halen, Queen, Boston, ELO, Rush, and Cheap Trick. Corgan discovered the alternative rock genre by listening to Bauhaus and the Cure. He performed in a string of bands in high school and graduated as an honor student. Despite grant and scholarship offers from a number of schools, and a tuition fund left by his grandmother, Corgan decided to pursue music full-time.
Music career
1985–1987: Early career
Not finding the Chicago music scene to his liking, Corgan moved to St. Petersburg, Florida, in 1985 with his first major band, The Marked (named for the conspicuous birthmarks of both Corgan and drummer Ron Roesing). Not finding success in St. Petersburg, the band dissolved; Corgan moved back to Chicago and lived with his father. From 1987 to 1988, he played guitar in Chicago band Deep Blue Dream, which also featured future Static-X frontman Wayne Static. He left the band to focus on the Smashing Pumpkins.
1988–2000: The Smashing Pumpkins
Upon his return to Chicago, Corgan had already devised his next project – a band that would be called the Smashing Pumpkins. Corgan met guitarist James Iha while working in a record store, and the two began recording demos, which Corgan describes as "gloomy little goth-pop records". He met bassist D'arcy Wretzky after a local show, arguing with her about a band that had just played, the Dan Reed Network. Soon after, the Smashing Pumpkins were formed. The trio began to play together at local clubs with a drum machine for percussion. To secure a show at the Metro in Chicago, the band recruited drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, and played for the first time as a quartet on October 5, 1988.
The addition of Chamberlin drove the band in a heavier direction almost immediately. On the band's debut album, Gish (1991), the band integrated psychedelic rock and heavy metal into their sound. Gish fared better than expected, but the follow-up, Siamese Dream, released on Virgin Records in 1993, became a multi-platinum hit. The band became known for internal drama during this period, with Corgan frequently characterized in the music press as a "control freak" due to rumors that he played all the guitar and bass parts on Siamese Dream (a rumor that Corgan later confirmed as true). Despite this, the album was well received by critics, and the songs "Today", "Cherub Rock", and "Disarm" became hits.
The band's 1995 follow-up effort, the double album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, was even more successful, spawning a string of hit singles. According to Jon Pareles from The New York Times, Corgan wanted to "lose himself and find himself ..." in this album. The album was nominated for seven Grammy awards that year, and would eventually be certified ten times platinum in the United States. The song "1979" was Corgan's biggest hit to date, reaching No. 1 on Billboard's modern rock and mainstream rock charts. Their appearance on Saturday Night Live on November 11, 1995, to promote this material (their second appearance on the show overall) was also the television debut appearance of Corgan's shaved head, which he has maintained consistently since.
On July 12, 1996, touring keyboardist Jonathan Melvoin died in a Manhattan hotel room of a heroin overdose after he and Chamberlin used the drug together. Chamberlin was later arrested on a misdemeanor drug possession charge. The Smashing Pumpkins made the decision to fire Chamberlin and continue as a trio. This shakeup, coupled with Corgan going through a divorce and the death of his mother, influenced the somber mood of the band's next album, 1998's Adore. Featuring a darker, more subdued and heavily electronic sound at a time when alternative rock was declining in mainstream cachet, Adore divided both critics and fans, resulting in a significant decrease in album sales (it sold 1.3 million in the US).
Chamberlin was reunited with the band in 1999. In 2000, they released Machina/The Machines of God, a concept album on which the band deliberately played to their public image. Critics were again divided, and sales were lower than before; Machina is the second lowest-selling commercially released Smashing Pumpkins album to date, with U.S. sales of 583,000 units up to 2005. During the recording for Machina, Wretzky quit the band and was replaced for the upcoming tour by former Hole bassist Melissa Auf der Maur. In 2000 the band released Machina II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music free over the Internet and broke up at the end of the year, playing their last show on December 2, 2000, at the Cabaret Metro.
2001–2005: Zwan and solo career
Following a brief stint touring with New Order in the summer, Corgan reunited with Chamberlin to form the band Zwan with Corgan's old friend Matt Sweeney in late 2001. The lineup was completed with guitarist David Pajo and bassist Paz Lenchantin. The band had two distinct incarnations, the primary approach being an upbeat rock band with a three-guitar-driven sound, the second, a folk and gospel inspired acoustic side with live strings. The quintet performed throughout 2002, and their debut album, Mary Star of the Sea, was released in early 2003 to generally positive reviews. In the midst of their supporting tour for the album, mounting conflict between Corgan and Chamberlin and the other band members led to the cancellation of the rest of the tour as the band entered an apparent hiatus, formally breaking up in September 2003.
In 2004, Corgan began writing revealing autobiographical posts on his website and his MySpace page under the title The Confessions of Billy Corgan, discussing subjects from his troubled childhood, failed marriage, and dynamics behind the breakups of both his prior bands. He commented that the Smashing Pumpkins endured the departure of Wretzky, who he called "a mean spirited drug addict", only to break up in 2000 largely because of Iha's desire to leave the group. Corgan called his former Zwan bandmates Sweeney, Pajo and Lenchantin "dirty, filthy people who have no self-respect or class...never have I met such creatures who feel so entitled to all yet contribute so little, not only to my life but the culture and the world in general...the world is on the brink of wars and mass terror, and their main concern is whether or not their indy friends still like them."
In late 2004, Corgan published Blinking with Fists, a book of poetry. Despite mixed reviews, the book debuted on The New York Times Best Seller List. He had made his debut as a poet on September 17, 2003, presenting at the Art Institute of Chicago's Rubloff Auditorium.
Also in 2004, he began a solo music career, landing on an electronic/shoegaze/alternative rock sound for his first solo album, TheFutureEmbrace, co-produced and arranged by Bon Harris of Nitzer Ebb. Released on June 21, 2005, through Reprise Records, it garnered mixed reviews from the press and only sold 69,000 copies. Corgan toured behind his solo album with a touring band that included Linda Strawberry, Brian Liesegang and Matt Walker in 2005. This tour was not as extensive as previous Smashing Pumpkins or Zwan tours. The tour was also controversial in Australia, with Corgan antagonising the audience and storming off the stage when Smashing Pumpkins songs were yelled out as requests. Prior to recording TheFutureEmbrace, Corgan had recorded some 72 songs inspired by Chicago history for the largely acoustic ChicagoSongs project, which have yet to be released.
2005–present: The Smashing Pumpkins revival
In 2005, Corgan took out a full-page ad in Chicago's two major newspapers (Chicago Tribune and The Chicago Sun-Times) revealing his desire to re-form the Smashing Pumpkins. Several days later, Jimmy Chamberlin accepted Corgan's offer for a reunion.
On April 20, 2006, the band's official website confirmed that the group was reuniting. The re-formed Smashing Pumpkins went into studio for much of 2006 and early 2007, and performed its first show in seven years on May 22, 2007, with new members Ginger Pooley (bass) and Jeff Schroeder (guitar) replacing Wretzky and Iha. The new album, titled Zeitgeist, was released in the United States on July 10, 2007, and debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard charts. Corgan and the rest of the Pumpkins toured extensively throughout 2007 and 2008, also releasing the EP American Gothic and the singles "G.L.O.W." and "Superchrist". Chamberlin left the band in March 2009, and Corgan chose to continue under the name.
In summer 2009, Corgan formed the band Spirits in the Sky to play a tribute concert to the late Sky Saxon of the Seeds. He toured with the band, composed of ex-Catherine member and "Superchrist" producer Kerry Brown, the Electric Prunes bassist Mark Tulin, Strawberry Alarm Clock keyboardist Mark Weitz, frequent Corgan collaborator Linda Strawberry, flautist Kevin Dippold, "Superchrist" violinist Ysanne Spevack, saxist Justin Norman, new Pumpkins drummer Mike Byrne, and Jane's Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro, playing covers and new Pumpkins material at several clubs in California. At the end of the tour, Corgan, Byrne, Tulin, and Brown headed back to Chicago to begin work on the new Smashing Pumpkins album, Teargarden by Kaleidyscope. The lineup at the time which included new bassist Nicole Fiorentino, toured through much of 2010, then spent 2011 recording the "album-within-an-album" Oceania and mounting tours of the United States and Europe. However, Byrne and Fiorentino would later leave the band in 2014.
On May 15, 2014, Corgan released AEGEA, a new solo record of experimental recordings he made in 2007. Limited to 250 vinyl copies, the album was mostly sold online, with a few copies sold at Madame Zuzu's, a tea house he owns and operates in Highland Park, a suburb northwest of Chicago. On July 25, 2014, Corgan also released the tapes from his "Siddhartha" show from March 2014, much in the vein of AEGEA. The set was expected to contain between 5 and 6 discs. During the summer 2014, he recorded the Smashing Pumpkins's ninth studio album, Monuments to an Elegy, with Tommy Lee and Jeff Schroeder. The album was released in early December 2014.
In October 2017, he released a new solo album titled Ogilala.
In July 2018, the Smashing Pumpkins embarked on a reunion tour, the Shiny and Oh So Bright Tour, with a focus on performing material from their first five studio albums. The lineup consists of himself, James Iha, Jimmy Chamberlin, and Jeff Schroeder. Former bassist D'arcy Wretzky was not a part of the lineup, reportedly due to unresolved tension between her and Corgan. Wretzky has stated that Corgan offered her a contract but later retracted the offer, saying that "we also have to balance the forces at play... there is no room for error." After Wretzky released text messages between her and Corgan, a feud ensued, each party attacking each other with biting remarks.
On November 22, 2019, Corgan released his third solo album Cotillions, which he called "a labor of love". He also said, "This is absolutely an album from my heart." On July 14, 2022, he and his partner, Chloe Mendel, announced that they would host a livestream charity show on July 27 to benefit the victims of the July 4 Highland Park, Illinois, shooting.
Professional wrestling career
ECW (1999–2000)
Billy Corgan sporadically made appearances for Extreme Championship Wrestling. In 2000, Corgan met with ECW owner Paul Heyman about investing in the company. Corgan declined.
Resistance Pro Wrestling (2011–2014)
In 2011, Corgan formed a Chicago-based independent wrestling promotion called Resistance Pro. Two years later, in 2013, he starred in a commercial for Walter E. Smithe Furniture, using the platform to promote his wrestling company.
In March 2014, it was reported that Corgan was in discussions with American television channel AMC to develop an unscripted reality series about Resistance Pro. The premise being a behind-the-scenes look at the promotion as Corgan "takes over creative direction for the independent wrestling company". The show was given the green light by AMC, under the working title of "Untitled Billy Corgan Wrestling Project," the same month.
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2015–2016)
In April 2015, Corgan became the new Senior Producer of Creative and Talent Development for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where his role was to "develop characters and create story lines", which he has called "a dream come true". In August 2016, Corgan took over as the promotion's new president.
In November 2016, Corgan had left TNA after disputes about not being paid on time, and subsequently, Anthem Sports & Entertainment Corp and Impact Ventures, parent company of TNA Impact Wrestling, provided a credit facility to TNA to fund operations. In 2016, he loaned money to Anthem Sports & Entertainment to fund TNA, and they promised to pay him back. On November 11, Corgan and Anthem signed a settlement, with Anthem repaying TNA's loan from Corgan.
Newly appointed TNA/Impact Wrestling President Ed Nordholm credits the invention of and the vision behind the Matt Hardy Broken gimmick to Jeremy Borash, David Lagana and Billy Corgan.
National Wrestling Alliance (2017–present)
In May 2017, Corgan purchased the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), including its name, rights, trademarks and championship belts. Corgan's ownership took effect on October 1, 2017.
Personal life
Mental health
For much of his life, Corgan has struggled with anxiety, depression, panic attacks, self-harm, obsessive–compulsive disorder, and suicidal ideation. He attributes these problems to the abuse he endured as a child at the hands of his father and stepmother, as well as other personal issues. He has since become an advocate for abuse support networks.
Involvement with sports
Corgan is an avid fan of the Chicago Cubs; he was also an occasional commentator on the team for late WXRT DJ Lin Brehmer. He has appeared at many Cubs games, occasionally throwing the ceremonial first pitch or singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame". He is also a fan of the Chicago Bulls, Chicago Blackhawks and Chicago Bears, and became personal friends with Dennis Rodman and Chris Chelios. He is an avid professional wrestling fan, and appeared at an ECW event wielding an acoustic guitar as a weapon. In 2008, the Pumpkins song "Doomsday Clock" was used by ROH for promotional videos. On April 26, 2010, Corgan appeared on the SIRIUS Satellite Radio program Right After Wrestling with Arda Ocal to discuss his love for wrestling and the importance of unique theme songs for characters. On August 26, 2010, he took part in a storyline with AAA during a concert for MTV World Stage. As far as other entertainment, Corgan once commented that all he watches on TV are "sports and the Three Stooges". In March 2008, he was spotted in the crowd at the final day of a cricket test match between New Zealand and England.
Spiritual beliefs
Corgan identifies as Christian, though has mentioned that he accepts elements of Buddhism and Ken Wilber's spiritual ideas as well as gnosticism. In 2009, he launched Everything From Here to There, an interfaith website that is devoted to "Mind-Body-Soul" integration. He mentions praying each morning and night to be able to see through Jesus Christ's eyes and feel with his heart. An analysis of the symbolism of Corgan's lyrics considered the blend of beliefs he has cited in various interviews, which include ideas about religion, multiple dimensions, and psychic phenomena. In an interview on the Howard Stern Show, Corgan said he had an encounter with a person who had the ability to shapeshift, though he later stated it could have been a hallucination.
Family
Corgan's mother Martha died in December 1996. The song "For Martha", from Adore, was written in her memory. In the early 2000s Corgan named his label Martha's Music after her as well. A picture of Martha as a young girl sitting on a fake moon at Riverview Park is featured on the flipside of the Siamese Dream booklet.
On December 19, 2021, Corgan's father, William Dale Corgan, died at age 74.
Romantic relationships
In 1991, Corgan briefly dated musician and actress Courtney Love. In an interview on The Howard Stern Show, Corgan confessed that he arranged for Love's band to stay in his Chicago apartment in order to meet her, an encounter he had longed for after seeing her photograph on the back of Hole's new single. Their relationship ended on October 12, 1991, when Love found out that Corgan had another relationship.
In 1993, Corgan married art conservator and artist Chris Fabian, his longtime on-again, off-again girlfriend. They were married at a small ceremony at his house in Wrigleyville. Corgan and Fabian separated in late 1995. Corgan filed for divorce in December 1996 on grounds of "irreconcilable differences," and the divorce was granted in 1997. Corgan refused to discuss the marriage for years, only allowing that it was "unhappy." In 2005 he described the circumstances of his marriage in depth via his personal blog.
In late 1995, Corgan started dating Ukrainian photographer Yelena Yemchuk, who later contributed to several Smashing Pumpkins videos and album art. He continued to date Yemchuk until around 2004. According to Corgan, his breakup with her contributed to the themes of his 2005 solo release TheFutureEmbrace.
In 2005, Corgan dated musician Emilie Autumn for a number of months. The pair collaborated on multiple occasions during this time, with Autumn providing vocals and violin on his solo album and costume for a supporting music video.
In early 2006, Corgan moved in with Courtney Love and her daughter Frances Bean Cobain. According to Love, he had his own wing in her Hollywood Hills mansion. Two years later, Love criticized him publicly over his alleged refusal to attend her daughter's sweet 16 party. After they parted ways, Corgan stated in a March 2010 interview, "I have no interest in supporting [Love] in any way, shape or form. You can't throw enough things down the abyss with a person like that." Shortly after, when her band's album Nobody's Daughter was released, Corgan used Twitter to post anger-filled rants against her in reference to two songs he had written, "Samantha" and "How Dirty Girls Get Clean", which ended up on the album without his permission. Love then wrote an apology to him on her Facebook account, but the feud continued. Corgan took to Twitter to rant against her again. She responded to him on Twitter, saying, "All i am is nice about you so if you wanna be mean be mean i don't feel anything. i have too much to feel dear." In 2008, he blamed his dedication to music for what he called "a bad marriage and seven bad girlfriends in a row". The two eventually reconciled, and Love was invited to perform at Smashing Pumpkins 30th Anniversary Show. In 2020, Corgan told the Los Angeles Times that only a few people really matter to him and that Courtney is one of them, describing their relationship as a family bond.
In 2009, Corgan was linked with pop star Jessica Simpson. He started dating Australian singer Jessica Origliasso in 2010, and remained in a relationship with her until early June 2012. Origliasso blamed their split on their careers forcing them to spend too much time apart.
He has been in a relationship with Chloe Mendel since 2013. He announced their marriage on September 17, 2023, during the 30th anniversary Siamese Dream show at Madame Zuzu's. They had wed the day before, on September 16. They have three children together, a son: Augustus Juppiter, born November 16, 2015, and two daughters: Philomena Clementine, born October 2, 2018, and Juno Delphine, born on March 18, 2025.