Kurt Cobain | |
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.jpg) Cobain with Nirvana in 1992 | |
| Born | February 20, 1967 Aberdeen, Washington, U.S. |
| Died | c. April 5, 1994 (aged 27) Seattle, Washington, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Suicide by gunshot |
| Body discovered | April 8, 1994 |
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| Spouse | |
| Children | Frances Bean Cobain |
| Musical career | |
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| Years active | 1985–1994 |
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Kurt Donald Cobain (February 20, 1967 – c. April 5, 1994) was an American musician. He was the lead vocalist, guitarist, primary songwriter, and a founding member of the grunge band Nirvana. Through his angsty songwriting and anti-establishment persona, his compositions widened the thematic conventions of mainstream rock music. He was heralded as a spokesman of Generation X, and is widely recognized as one of the most influential rock musicians.
Cobain formed Nirvana with Krist Novoselic and Aaron Burckhard in 1987, establishing themselves as part of the Seattle music scene that later became known as grunge. Burckhard was replaced by Chad Channing before the band released their debut album Bleach (1989) on Sub Pop, after which Channing was in turn replaced by Dave Grohl. With this finalized lineup, the band signed with DGC and found commercial success with the single "Smells Like Teen Spirit" from their critically acclaimed second album Nevermind (1991). Cobain wrote many other hit Nirvana songs such as "Come as You Are", "Lithium", "In Bloom", "Heart-Shaped Box", and "Something in the Way".[1][2] Although he was hailed as the voice of his generation following Nirvana's sudden success, he was uncomfortable with this role.[3]
During his final years, Cobain struggled with a heroin addiction, stomach pain, and chronic depression.[4] He also struggled with the personal and professional pressures of fame, and was often in the spotlight for his tumultuous marriage to fellow musician Courtney Love, with whom he had a daughter named Frances.[5] In March 1994, he overdosed on a combination of champagne and Rohypnol, subsequently undergoing an intervention and detox program. On April 8, 1994, he was found dead in the greenhouse of his Seattle home at the age of 27,[6] with police concluding that he had died around three days earlier from a self-inflicted shotgun wound to the head.[7]
Cobain was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, alongside Nirvana bandmates Novoselic and Grohl, in their first year of eligibility in 2014. Rolling Stone included him on its lists of the 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time, 100 Greatest Guitarists, and 100 Greatest Singers of All Time.[8] He was ranked 7th by MTV in the "22 Greatest Voices in Music", and was placed 20th by Hit Parader on their 2006 list of the "100 Greatest Metal Singers of All Time".
- ^ Shoup, Brad (March 24, 2022). "'I Will Crawl Away For Good': 20 Years Ago, Nirvana Reconquered Modern Rock With an Uncanny Old New Song". Billboard. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
- ^ Petridis, Alexis (June 20, 2019). "Nirvana's 20 greatest songs – ranked!". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on June 5, 2020. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
- ^ Hilburn, Robert (April 5, 2019). "From the Archives: Nirvana's Kurt Cobain was a reluctant hero who spoke to his generation". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
- ^ Mazullo, Mark (2000). "The Man Whom the World Sold: Kurt Cobain, Rock's Progressive Aesthetic, and the Challenges of Authenticity". The Musical Quarterly. 84 (4). Oxford University Press: 713–749. doi:10.1093/mq/84.4.713. ISSN 0027-4631. JSTOR 742606.
- ^ Hirschberg, Lynn. "Strange Love: The Story of Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love". HWD. Archived from the original on December 15, 2016. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
- ^ "The27s.com roster". January 20, 2018. Archived from the original on January 20, 2018.
- ^ "Kurt Cobain's Downward Spiral and Last Days". Rolling Stone. June 2, 1994. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
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