Kurt Cobain’s songs and impact are still very much in demand today.

Thirty years ago, on Tuesday, April 5, 1994, Kurt Cobain, the frontman of Nirvana and a music legend, passed away.

 

During the course of his five-year tenure with Nirvana, Cobain only recorded three albums, the most notable of which being the RIAA Diamond-certified “Nevermind,” which established him as the face of the grunge and alternative movements of the early 1990s and counterculture. Nevertheless, despite their short existence, Nirvana and its frontman had a significant influence on pop culture and rock music that is still felt more than a generation later.

Aberdeen, Washington, was the place of Kurt Donald Cobain’s birth on February 20, 1967.

Kurt Cobain formed a band with fellow musician Krist Novoselic when they were still in high school.

 

Nirvana was formed with Kurt Cobain on drums, Novoselic on bass, and Cobain on guitar and vocals following a series of personnel and name changes. They chose to release their first album, “Bleach,” in June 1989 on the well-known independent Seattle label Sub Pop, which was influenced by Kurt Cobain’s love of punk and indie rock’s anti-corporate philosophy.

As the author of the 1993 officially sanctioned Nirvana biography “Come as You Are: The Story of Nirvana,” Michael Azerrad, who spoke with Kurt about this, told ABC News that Cobain “subscribed to that very deeply.” Nevertheless, he felt that his talent deserved for him to be as famous as possible, which was a contradictory urge. I believe that was a significant disagreement that he was never able to settle.

Following “Bleach,” Nirvana made the switch from Sub Pop to DGC Records, a big label, and hired Dave Grohl, a drummer who first gained experience in punk bands in Washington, D.C. The group recorded the song that would eventually become “Nevermind,” giving their sound a glossier, broader finish.

When “Nevermind” was published in September 1991, the video for the lead song, “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” which had Nirvana performing in a high school gym with anarchist cheerleaders surrounding her, went viral very fast.

“Nevermind” peaked at number one on the all-genre Billboard 200 album chart in January 1992. Motivated by songs like “Come as You Are,” “In Bloom,” and “Lithium,” the album eventually sold over 10 million copies and was awarded a Diamond certification by the RIAA in just seven years.

It was thought that Nirvana’s catchy, distorted rock and Cobain’s lyrics, which ranged from self-loathing to teenage rebellion, were an antidote to the excess and revelry of the ’80s hair metal culture and spoke directly to the young of that generation’s disillusionment. The Seattle bands Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden—all of whom embodied the same sound and ethos—soared up the charts as the term “grunge” quickly gained popularity.

The increased curiosity in Cobain’s personal life that accompanied Nirvana’s rise in notoriety had a serious negative impact on his already precarious mental and emotional state. His association with Hole frontwoman Courtney Love and reports of his heroin use were turned into tabloid fodder.

August 1992 saw the arrival of Frances Bean, Cobain and Love’s baby daughter. The claim that Love had used heroin while pregnant was made in an article published by Vanity Fair shortly after. Frances’s custody was temporarily taken away from Cobain and Love in September when Los Angeles officials looked into the couple’s suitability to parent.

In September 1993, the discordant “In Utero,” Nirvana’s third and last album, was released. During the band’s peak of fame in November of the following year, they taped a private performance for the TV concert series “MTV Unplugged.” The live album “MTV Unplugged in New York,” which featured the performance, was eventually certified eight times platinum by the RIAA. It was first released in 1994. A record-breaking $6 million was paid for the guitar Cobain played at the concert at auction in 2020, some thirty years after it was played, and $334,000 was received for the ragged green cardigan he wore.

Cobain, however, remained a troubled person. His drug usage persisted, and while Nirvana was on tour in Europe on March 4, 1994, Kurt overdosed and ended up in the hospital in Rome. After being admitted to the hospital for five days, Cobain went back to his Seattle home.

When an electrician went to perform some maintenance at Cobain’s Seattle residence on April 8, he found him dead. It was determined after an inquiry that he had shot himself on April 5 and died. It was barely two months ago that Cobain had turned 27.

Along with bringing an end to the grunge era and Nirvana, Cobain’s death also increased the sinister reputation of the so-called “27 Club,” which was also home to the late performers Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, and Janis Joplin—all of whom passed away at a similar age. More tragically, Cobain’s passing brought attention to his previous remarks and songs that included references to guns or self-harm, as well as increased public awareness of suicide and mental health issues.

When Azerrad reviewed those previous Cobain remarks, she told ABC News, “It’s very painful.” You give yourself a mental pat on the forehead and ask yourself, ‘Oh, why didn’t I notice that?’ It was right there, gazing back at you. However, there are instances when something is hidden in plain sight, and it was one of such instances.

Grohl left Nirvana and started the critically acclaimed Foo Fighters as his own band. During the 2014 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, when Cobain and Nirvana were inducted within their first year of eligibility and sang Nirvana hits with guest singers like Joan Jett and Lorde, he and Novoselic got back together numerous times. That event was probably the most memorable ever.

“That’s why Kurt made music – to rock people and himself,” stated Azerrad. “To make him feel better, and, by extension, hopefully, the audience feel better.”

 

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