They shot out of Georgia on a wave of showy, cocksure rock action, like full-blown rock stars with their preening bohemian grandeur and druggy bonhomie looking like ’60s British rock gods reconstituted for the '90s—even though they were suburban kids from the outskirts of Atlanta, hailing from the same small town as Food Network’s Alton Brown. Never mind that. Chris Robinson and Rich Robinson just seemed to have been born knowing, with that perfect hair, brash confidence, and uncompromising attitude. Outsiders to the core, even when they were standing dead center.

In only a few months, their debut album, Shake Your Money Maker, racked up sales in excess of 5 million copies and thrust them straight into rock’s Valhalla, alongside Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, Guns N" Roses, and Ian Hunter—all of whom came to see them, size them up, meet them. Izzy Stradlin even offered advice, which they didn’t heed.