Paul Harold Westerberg (born December 31, 1959) is an American musician, best known as the lead singer, guitarist and songwriter in The Replacements, one of the seminal alternative rock bands of the 1980s. He launched a solo career after the dissolution of that band. In recent years, he has cultivated a more independent-minded approach, primarily recording his music at home in his basement.\n', '

In the late 1970s Westerberg was working as a janitor for U.S. Senator David Durenberger, and one day while walking home from work, he happened to hear a band practicing Yes\'s "Roundabout" in a basement. He talked his way into the band by convincing the singer that the other band members — Bob Stinson, Chris Mars and Tommy Stinson — were going to fire him. The singer quit, and Westerberg joined the group. The band was originally called The Impediments, and they played their first gig in the basement of a church, playing to members of a nearby halfway house who did not appreciate their drunken shenanigans. They soon changed their name to The Replacements after several venues declined to advertise the band under their original name.\n', '

The Replacements quickly made a name for themselves in the Twin Cities punk scene, largely thanks to Westerberg\'s songwriting and their classic rock–friendly punk presentation. The band made several critically acclaimed albums for local label Twin/Tone before signing to Sire Records in 1985. Despite the jump to Sire, The Replacements never translated their critical success into commercial sales.\n', '

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