The band that would become Mötley Crüe formed in Los Angeles 40 years ago today when bassist Nikki Sixx began rehearsing with drummer Tommy Lee and vocalist/guitarist Greg Leon (who later performed with Quiet Riot and Dokken).

Leon departed after a few months. He was replaced by a guitarist calling himself Mick Mars after Nikki and Tommy answered a want ad in The Recycler — the same publication that united James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich — that simply read “Loud, rude and aggressive guitar player available.”

Vince Neil, a high school friend of Tommy’s, joined as lead vocalist later the same month. Over 100 million albums sold later, the rest is some of the wildest history the genre has ever seen.

Among the band’s legendary exploits, Nikki (left) overdosed on a variety of narcotics and was declared dead two different times. He turned 62 in December.