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Kurt Cobain formed Nirvana in 1986 and released Nevermind in 1991. He became the defining voice of the grunge era. Despite a short career, his influence on music and culture continues. He died by suicide on April 5, 1994, at age 27.
Names, aliases, and relatives of Kurt Cobain — birth name, kin, and personal ties.
Kurt Cobain by the numbers — life, work, and family.
Kurt Cobain — early life, career, personal life, and legacy.
On February 20, 1967, Kurt Cobain was born in Aberdeen, Washington to Wendy Elizabeth Fradenburg and Donald Leland Cobain. His early life was happy until his parents’ divorce, which left him withdrawn and anti-social. He moved between relatives and friends, often homeless, and attended Aberdeen High School where he was not popular.
Cobain moved to Olympia in 1985 and formed Nirvana the following year. Sub Pop released their debut album Bleach in 1989; it gained popularity in Britain. In 1991, Nirvana signed with Geffen and released Nevermind, which became a defining album of the 1990s with hits like Smells Like Teen Spirit. The album’s success brought pressure on Cobain. Nirvana released In Utero in 1993, and it topped the charts.
In February 1992, Kurt Cobain married Courtney Love, who was pregnant with his daughter Frances Bean Cobain born August 18, 1992. He struggled with chronic stomach pain, scoliosis, and bronchitis, as well as heroin addiction. On March 4, 1994, he was hospitalized in a coma, officially an accident but believed to be a suicide attempt. After fleeing rehab, his body was found on April 8, 1994 at his Seattle home, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Kurt Cobain’s death marked the end of the grunge era. In 1995, he posthumously won a Grammy for Nirvana: MTV Unplugged, the only Grammy for the band. Rolling Stone named him the 12th greatest guitarist of all time in 2003. His song Smells Like Teen Spirit was voted the 3rd best pop song by Rolling Stone and MTV. Cobain is remembered as the defining voice of the grunge movement and a cultural icon.
The complete filmography of Kurt Cobain — every film, TV show, and documentary credit, ranked by popularity.
Kurt Cobain's bibliography — every authored, edited, and co-written book, ranked by edition count.
A wall of memorable lines from Kurt Cobain — lyrics, interviews, and off-the-cuff remarks captured over a lifetime.
Wanting to Be Someone Else Is a Waste of the Person You Are.
I’m Not Well Read, but When I Read, I Read Well.
I’m Not a Death Rocker, and I Don’t Wear Black.
I’d Rather Be Hated for Who I Am Than Loved for Who I Am Not.
I Think People Who Glamorize Drugs Are F**king *Ssholes and If There’s Hell They’ll Go There.
I Stared into His Eyes and Told Him That I Thought He Was a Respectable Human. I Did Tell Him Straight Out That I Think His Band Still Sucks. on His Encounter with Pearl Jam Lead Singer Eddie Vedder.
I’m Not Gay, but I Wish I Was Just to Piss off the Homophobes.
If I Went to Jail, at Least I Wouldn’t Have to Sign Autographs.
When I Heard the Pixies for the First Time, I Connected with That Band so Heavily I Should Have Been in That Band or at Least in a Pixies Cover Band.
I Never Wanted to Sing. I Just Wanted to Play Rhythm Guitar Hide in the Back and Just Play.
I Didn’t Know How to Deal with Success. If There Was a Rock Star 101, I Would Have Liked to Take It. It Might Have Helped Me.
It Just so Happens That There’s a Bunch of People That Are Concerned with What I Have to Say. I Find That Frightening at Times Because I’m Just as Confused as Most People.
None of You Will Ever Know My True Intent.
I Would Like to Get Rid of the Homophobes, Racists and Sexists in Our Audience. I Know They’re Out There, and It Really Bothers Me. so at This Point I Have a Request for Our Fans: If Any of You in Any Way Hate Homosexuals, People of a Different Color, or Women, Please Do This One Favor for Us… Don’t Come to Our Shows and Don’t Buy Our Records.
I’m a Fan of Rap Music but Most of It Is so Misogynist That I Can’t Even Deal with It. I’m Really Not That Much of a Fan. I Totally Respect and Love It Because It’s One of the Only Original Forms of Music That’s Been Introduced. but the White Man Doing Rap Is Just Like Watching a White Man Dance. We Can’t Dance, We Can’t Rap.
Little-known facts about Kurt Cobain — origins, oddities, and behind-the-scenes details from a public life.
He eventually wanted to experiment with filmmaking and even wrote a script for a horror movie.
The last movie he watched before his death was The Piano 1993.
During a Nirvana concert, he witnessed a girl being groped in the audience. Without missing a beat, he threw his guitar a Martin D-18E to the ground, dived into the audience and angrily confronted the man. Upon returning to the stage, Cobain and the other band members openly mocked the man as he was led out by security.
Died at 27 years old, making him a member of the 27 Club, a group of prominent musicians who died at age 27 including Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, and Amy Winehouse.
John Lennon’s song In My Life was played at his funeral.
In his suicide note, he wrote: Thank you all from the pit of my burning, nauseous stomach for your letters of concern over the past years. I don’t have the passion anymore and so remember, it’s better to burn out than fade away.
Suffered chronic stomach pain due to a recurring red irritation, back pain from scoliosis, and chronic bronchitis due to heavy smoking.
Was a left-handed guitarist and a right-handed drummer.
Drew Barrymore is the godmother of his daughter Frances Bean Cobain.
In a 2008 NME interview, Courtney Love claimed Cobain turned down the role of Lance in Pulp Fiction 1994; the part was taken by Eric Stoltz.
According to Courtney Love, Cobain left behind 109 unreleased recorded songs when he died in 1994, including song fragments and about eight acoustic numbers deemed good enough for release. One song, Stinking of You, which he co-wrote with Love, includes the line Stinking of you…I don’t care if my life is shattered, it’s my point of view…
The posthumous album Nirvana: MTV Unplugged earned him and Nirvana a 1995 Grammy, the only Grammy they won.
He wore blue-plaid pajamas and a woven Guatemalan purse to his wedding to Courtney Love.
The original title for Heart-Shaped Box was Heart-Shaped Coffin.
His body was discovered on April 8, 1994, a day on which he was originally scheduled to perform at the Point Theatre in Dublin, Ireland.
Obsessed with vinyl, he had a substantially expensive record collection.
He said in interviews that he always wanted to give acting a try and be in a movie.
Although Cobain’s death was officially ruled a suicide, certain aspects have led to speculation he was murdered: he had too much heroin in his system to have operated a shotgun, and one of his credit cards was used a few days after his death.
His three favorite films were Paris, Texas 1984, Over the Edge 1979, and Rear Window 1954.
Strong supporter of LGBT equality; he stated emphatically that if someone was homophobic, racist, or misogynistic, they should refrain from buying a Nirvana album or attending their concerts.
His ashes were scattered in McLane Creek in Olympia, Washington; a handful was scattered under a willow at 171 Lake Washington Boulevard in Seattle, and another handful was given to a Buddhist to make a tsatsu memorial sculpture.
His death marked the end of the grunge era.
Surpassed Elvis Presley to become the world’s top-earning dead celebrity in 2006, according to Forbes.com, earning £26.3 million.
Frequently changed the words or order of lines when performing his songs live, rarely singing them the same way from show to show.
On the first Nirvana album Bleach, his first name is spelled as Kurdt; all subsequent releases use the more familiar Kurt.
Although he stated several times he didn’t like Pearl Jam, he got along well with lead singer Eddie Vedder. When Cobain’s body was found on April 8, 1994, Vedder paid tribute during a Pearl Jam concert, saying none of them would be there if not for Cobain.
His most famous song, Smells Like Teen Spirit, was voted by Rolling Stone and MTV as the 3rd best pop song of all time out of 100.
The song About a Girl was about his one-time girlfriend Tracy Marander.
After his death, many musicians recorded tribute songs including R.E.M.’s Let Me In, Patti Smith’s About a Boy, Foo Fighters’ My Hero, Neil Young’s Sleeps with Angels, and Cher’s The Fall.
One of the last songs he ever recorded was titled I Hate Myself and Want to Die, released on the Beavis and Butt-Head Experience compilation album.
His mother was 19 and his father was 21 when he was born.
His death was similar to that of Kenny MacLean and Layne Staley in that nobody found him until three days after he died; Cobain and Staley both died on April 5, eight years apart.
Played a trick on MTV executives at the 1992 Video Music Awards by starting with the chords of Rape Me before switching to Lithium, a compromise agreed upon with MTV.
Named 12th greatest guitar player of all time by Rolling Stone in 2003.
At one time sang in the choir at a Baptist church.
Bob Dylan, a fan of Nirvana, counted Polly as his favorite song by the band.
Despite Nirvana’s popularity, the group only released three studio albums.
His songs have been covered by bands ranging from Evanescence to Velvet Revolver to Cibo Matto.
Ranked #49 on VH1’s 100 Sexiest Artists.
His songs have been covered by Tori Amos, Sinéad O’Connor, Herbie Hancock, and Branford Marsalis.
Daughter Frances Bean Cobain looks almost exactly like him, with distinct blue eyes and nose.
The Nirvana song Scentless Apprentice is based on the book Perfume by Patrick Süskind.
Was runner-up for Best Songwriter of 1994 in Rolling Stones annual critics poll, between Freedy Johnston and Sam Phillips.
Was of European-American ancestry.
Samples of his song lyrics: ‘I’m a negative creep and I’m stoned’ Negative Creep, 1989; And I forget just why I taste/oh yeah, I guess it makes me smile Smells Like Teen Spirit, 1991; All in all is all we all are All Apologies, 1993.
Nirvana were voted the 27th Greatest Rock n Roll Artists of all time by Rolling Stone.
Voted as ‘the greatest rock’n’roll hero of all time’ by NME magazine readers in 2006.
A recent biography by Charles Cross, Heavier Than Heaven, is said to be the most comprehensive biography of Cobain.
The song Mighty K.C. by For Squirrels was written about him.
Quick answers to the questions readers ask most about Kurt Cobain.
Celebrities similar to Kurt Cobain — same craft, ranked by reach.
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