Hole was an American alternative rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California in 1989 by singer and guitarist Courtney Love and lead guitarist Eric Erlandson. The band had a revolving line-up of bassists and drummers, their most prolific being drummer Patty Schemel, and bassists  Kristen Pfaff (d. 1994) and Melissa Auf der Maur. Over the duration of their career, Hole went on to become one of the most successful female-fronted rock bands of all time, with their studio albums selling over three million records in the United States alone.