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[[File:KC.jpg|thumb|230x230px|Kurt Cobain in MTV Unplugged 1993]]
'''Kurt Donald Cobain''' was the lead singer trolololand guitarist for Nirvana. Cobain was born in Aberdeen, Washington and helped establish the Seattle music scene, as well as the style known as Grunge.
 
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'''Kurt Donald Cobain,''' jokingly known as '''Shotgun Man''' in ''[[Bleach]]'s'' personnel credits (born February 20, 1967), was the lead singer, lead guitarist, and primary songwriter for ''[[Nirvana]]''. Cobain was born in Aberdeen, Washington, and helped establish the Seattle music scene, as well as the style known as Grunge. He was married to the lead singer of the band ''[[w:c:hole|Hole]]'', '''[[Courtney Love]]'''. In 1992, the couple had a daughter named '''[[Frances Bean Cobain]]'''.
   
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In 2014, Cobain along with his bandmates Krist and Dave were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame during the first year they were eligible.
== History ==
 
   
==Life and career==
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== Early Life ==
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Kurt Cobain was born on February 20, 1967 in Grays Harbor County Hospital in Aberdeen, Washington. His family lived in Hoquiam, Washington. In 1976 his parents divorced after 11 years of marriage. Kurt lived with his father Donald in Montesano, Washington. Both of his parents got remarried and Kurt had step-siblings. In 1985, he went to live with his mother in Aberdeen.
===Early life===
 
Kurt Cobain was born to Irish-American parents Donald and Wendy Cobain on February 20, 1967 in Aberdeen, Washington, Washington and spent his first six months living in the city of [[Hoquiam, Washington|Hoquiam]], [[Washington]] before the family moved to Aberdeen.<ref>Azerrad, p. 13</ref> He began developing an interest in music early in his life. According to his Aunt Mari, "He was singing from the time he was two. He would sing [[The Beatles|Beatles]] songs like '[[Hey Jude]]'. He had a lot of [[charisma]] from a very young age."<ref>Gaar, Gillian. "Verse Chorus Verse: The Recording History of Nirvana." ''[[Goldmine (magazine)|Goldmine Magazine]]''. February 14, 1997.</ref>
 
[[Image:Young cobain.jpg|thumb|left|Young Kurt Cobain, seen here in a yearbook picture. This picture was handed out at his memorial service.]]
 
Cobain's life changed at the age of eight when his parents divorced in 1975, an event which he later cited as having a profound impact on his life. His mother noted that his personality changed dramatically, with Cobain becoming more withdrawn.<ref>Azerrad, p. 17</ref> In a 1993 interview, Cobain said, "I remember feeling ashamed, for some reason. I was ashamed of my parents. I couldn't face some of my friends at school anymore, because I desperately wanted to have the classic, you know, typical family. Mother, father. I wanted that security, so I resented my parents for quite a few years because of that."<ref>Savage, Jon. "Kurt Cobain: The Lost Interview". ''[[Guitar World]]''. 1997.</ref> After a year spent living with his mother following the divorce, Cobain moved to [[Montesano, Washington|Montesano]], [[Washington]] to live with his father, but after a few years his youthful rebellion became too overwhelming and he found himself being shuffled between friends and family.<ref name = "Azerrad-p22">Azerrad, p. 22</ref> [[File:Kurt_Cobain_mugshot_2.jpg|thumb|Kurt's police mugshots after his arrest for vandalism ]]
 
   
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On his fourteenth birthday, Kurt's uncle took him out to buy his present. He offered Kurt either an old bicycle or a used acoustic guitar-- he obviously chose the guitar. Kurt began teaching himself how to play his favorite songs, such as "''My Best Friend's Girl''" by The ''Cars'', "''Louie Louie''", ''AC/DC's'' "''Back in Black''", and a few ''Led Zeppelin ''songs. He later became more involved with Punk Rock bands, such as the ''Sex Pistols'', ''Black Flag'' and ''the Stooges''.
At school, Cobain took little interest in sports. At his father's insistence, Cobain joined the junior high wrestling team. While he was good at it, he despised it. Later, his father signed him up for a local baseball league, where Cobain would intentionally strike out to avoid having to play.<ref>Azerrad, pp. 20–25</ref> <!-- Needs summary --> Instead, Cobain focused on his art courses. He often drew during classes, including objects associated with [[human anatomy]]. Cobain was friends with a [[Homosexuality|gay]] student at his school, sometimes suffering bullying at the hands of [[homophobia|homophobic]] students. That friendship led some to believe that he himself was gay. In a 1993 interview with ''[[The Advocate]]'', Cobain claimed that he was "gay in spirit" and "probably could be bisexual". He also stated that he used to spray paint "God is Gay" on pickup trucks around Aberdeen. He was arrested in 1985 for spray-painting "HOMO SEX RULES" on a bank.<ref>Allman, Kevin. "The Dark Side of Kurt Cobain". ''[[The Advocate]]''. February 1993.</ref> However, Aberdeen police records show that the phrase for which he was arrested was actually "Ain't got no how watchamacallit".<ref>Cross, p. 68</ref> In one of his personal journals, Cobain wrote, "I am not gay, although I wish I were, just to piss off homophobes."<ref>{{cite book|author = Cobain, Kurt|title = Journals| publisher = Riverhead Hardcover|year = 2002|id = ISBN 978-1573222327}}</ref> As a teenager growing up in small-town [[Washington]], Cobain eventually found escape through the thriving [[Pacific Northwest]] punk scene, going to [[punk rock]] shows in Seattle. Eventually, Cobain began frequenting the practice space of fellow Montesano musicians the [[Melvins]].
 
   
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During this period, Kurt being very enamored with, and highly influenced by punk rock where he would make drastic changes to his appearance to mirror the bands he loved much to Aberdeen's public dismay. It was striking that such a clean and bright-looking boy could become so dark and "grungy". This dichotomy was prevalent in Kurt's personal journals.
In the middle of tenth grade, Cobain moved back to live with his mother in Aberdeen. Two weeks before his graduation, Cobain dropped out of high school after realizing that he did not have enough credits to graduate. His mother gave him a choice: either get a job or leave. After a week or so, Cobain found his clothes and other belongings packed away in boxes.<ref>Azerrad, p. 35</ref> Forced out of his mother's home, Cobain often stayed at friends' houses and sneaked into his mother's basement occasionally.<ref name="Azerrad37">Azerrad, p. 37</ref> Cobain later claimed that when he could not find anywhere else to stay, he lived under a bridge over the [[Wishkah River]],<ref name="Azerrad37"/> an experience that inspired the ''Nevermind'' track "[[Something in the Way]]". However, Krist Novoselic claimed that Cobain never really lived there, saying, "He hung out there, but you couldn't live on those muddy banks, with the tides coming up and down. That was his own revisionism."<ref name="requiem">Cross, Charles R. "Requiem for a Dream." ''Guitar World''. October 2001.</ref>
 
   
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Kurt attended Aberdeen High School and befriended a gay student there. From his change of heart due to his personal life issues and newfound punk rock, Kurt was now an outcast that he wasn't was as a child. He later stated he was gay, just to "sneeze off homophobes". He dropped out when he realized he didn't have enough credits to graduate.
In late 1986, Cobain moved into the first house he lived in alone and paid his rent by working at a coastal resort twenty miles from Aberdeen.<ref>Azerrad, p. 43</ref> At the same time, Cobain was traveling more frequently to [[Olympia, Washington|Olympia]], [[Washington]] to check out rock shows.<ref>Azerrad, p. 46</ref> During his visits to Olympia, Cobain started a relationship with Tracy Marander.
 
   
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Later in 1985, Cobain formed his first band "''[[Fecal Matter]]''", with Cuddles, Giggles and Toothy. The band lasted for a year. The group's sole recording was issued as the ''Illiteracy Will Prevail'' demo tape, which remains unreleased officially with exception of the song "''Spank Thru''".
===Nirvana===
 
{{main|Nirvana (band)}}
 
<!--
 
Please do not significantly expand this section. This section is intended to simply cover the basics of Cobain's involvement in Nirvana. The details about Nirvana's career are already more extensively discussed in [[Nirvana (band)]]. -->
 
   
For his 14th birthday, Cobain's uncle gave him the option of a guitar or a bicycle as a gift; Cobain chose the guitar. He started learning a few covers, including [[AC/DC]]'s "Back in Black" and [[The Cars]]' "My Best Friend's Girl", and soon began working on his own songs.<ref name = "Azerrad-p22"/>[[File:Kurt_Cobain.jpg|thumb|Kurt Performing On Stage]]
 
   
In high school, Cobain rarely found anyone to jam with. While hanging out at the [[Melvins]] practice space, he met [[Krist Novoselic]], a fellow devotee of [[punk rock]]. Novoselic's mother owned a hair salon and Cobain and Novoselic would occasionally practice in the upstairs room. A few years later, Cobain tried to convince Novoselic to form a band with him by lending him a copy of a [[Illiteracy Will Prevail|home demo]] recorded by Cobain's earlier band, [[Fecal Matter (band)|Fecal Matter]]. After months of asking, Novoselic finally agreed to join Cobain, forming the beginnings of Nirvana.<ref>Azerrad, p. 45</ref>
 
   
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== Nirvana Years ==
During their first few years playing together, Novoselic and Cobain were hosts to a rotating list of drummers. Eventually, the band settled on [[Chad Channing]], with whom Nirvana recorded the album ''[[Bleach (album)|Bleach]]'', released on [[Sub Pop|Sub Pop Records]] in 1989. Cobain, however, became dissatisfied with Channing's style, leading the band to seek out a replacement, eventually settling on [[Dave Grohl]]. With Grohl, the band found their greatest success via their 1991 major-label debut, ''[[Nevermind]]''.
 
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Kurt and '''[[Krist Novoselic]]''' had a ''Creedence Clearwater Revival'' cover band that was not successful. They later founded ''Nirvana'' in 1987.
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During the early days of the band, Kurt was very unhappy with the band's inability to draw in large crowds that lead the band to rotate drummers on almost a regular basis. After some time, the band settled on '''[[Chad Channing]]''', whom they recorded their first album with Sub Pop Records in 1989, titled Bleach. However after the recording of this album, Cobain became unhappy with Channing's drumming style which eventually lead them to let him go and hire '''[[Dave Grohl]]''' in his place. The band didn't return to the studio to record again until April of 1990 where they recorded the song "''[[Polly]]''" that would later appear on their next studio album, ''[[Nevermind]] in'' 1991, the band would return to the studio once again to record the album that would change the Seattle music scene forever. ''Nevermind'' was then released later in the year, featuring the single "Go Home" release in 1991 in Spain that became a hit song upon its release. It was this album that pushed '''Michael Jordan's''' ''Ford commercial'' off the number one spot on the Billboard 200 chart. Along with the lead single "''Smells like Teen Spirit''" the album also produced three other top hit singles "''[[Come As You Are]]''", "''[[Lithium]]''", and "''[[In Bloom]]''". Upon the release of the album on September 24, 1991, the album launched the grunge scene into the mainstream, opening the pathway for bands such as ''Alice in Chains'', ''Pearl Jam'', and ''Soundgarden''. During this period, ''Nirvana'' was considered the "Flagship Band of Generation X" and Cobain found himself reluctantly anointed by the media as the generation's "spokesman." Cobain's discomfort with the media attention prompted him to focus on the band's music and, believing their message and artistic vision to have been misinterpreted by the public, challenged the band's audience with its third studio album "''[[In Utero]]''". It should be noted that throughout all this Cobain started using hard drugs such as heroin and pills which affected his social behavior as well as his equally drug-addicted wife “Courtney Love“ from another punk band ”Hole”.
   
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== Political Views ==
Cobain struggled to reconcile the massive success of Nirvana with his [[underground rock|underground]] roots. He also felt persecuted by the [[news media|media]], comparing himself to [[Frances Farmer]], and harbored resentment for people who claimed to be fans of the band but who completely missed the point of the band's message. One incident particularly distressing to Cobain involved two men who [[rape]]d a woman while singing the Nirvana song "[[Polly (song)|Polly]]". Cobain condemned the episode in the [[liner notes]] of the US release of the album ''[[Incesticide]]'': "Last year, a girl was raped by two wastes of sperm and eggs while they sang the lyrics to our song 'Polly'. I have a hard time carrying on knowing there are plankton like that in our audience. Sorry to be so anally [[Political correctness|P.C.]] but that's the way I feel!"
 
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Cobain struggled to reconcile the massive success of ''Nirvana'' to his underground roots. He also felt persecuted by the media, comparing himself to Lifty and Shifty. He began to harbor resentments for people who claimed to be fans of the band yet refused to acknowledge, or misinterpreted, the band's social and political views. A vocal opponent of sexism, racism and homophobia, he was publicly proud that ''Nirvana'' had played at a gay rights benefit supporting No-on-Nine in Massachusetts in 1992, in opposition to Ballot Measure Nine, a ballot measure, that if passed, would have prohibited schools in the state from acknowledging or positively accepting LGBT rights and welfare.
   
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Cobain was a vocal supporter of the pro-choice movement, and had been involved in Rock for Choice from the campaign inception by ''L7''. He received death threats from a small number of anti-abortion activists for doing so, with one activist threatening Cobain that he would be shot as soon as he stepped on stage.
===Marriage===
 
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==Personal Life==
[[Courtney Love]] first saw Cobain perform in 1989 at a show in [[Portland, Oregon|Portland]], [[Oregon]]; the pair talked briefly after the show and Love developed a crush on him.<ref>Azerrad, p. 169</ref> According to journalist [[Everett True]], the pair were formally introduced at an [[L7 (band)|L7]]/[[Butthole Surfers]] concert in [[Los Angeles]] in May 1991.<ref>True, Everett. [http://planbmag.com/blogs/staff/2006/03/01/wednesday-1-march/ "Wednesday March 1"]. Plan B Magazine Blogs. March 1, 2006.</ref> In the weeks that followed, after learning from Dave Grohl that she and Cobain shared mutual crushes, Love began pursuing Cobain. After a few weeks of on-again, off-again courtship in the fall of 1991, the two found themselves together on a regular basis, often bonding through drug use.<ref name="Azerrad172">Azerrad, p. 172. Courtney Love: "We bonded over pharmaceuticals."</ref>[[File:Kurt_Courtney_and_Francis.jpg|thumb|Kurt with his wife and daughter]]
 
   
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In 1991, Cobain met Courtney Love in a club where the two found a shared sense of punk rock romance, tussling on the floor. Courtney was considerably stronger than Kurt and Kurt admitted to finding her attractive as she was like "a Nancy Spungen". After this, Kurt was heavily in love with the tall, booming confident rocker sending her letters, calling her often at nights, and writing poems for her. A year later, Cobain and Love got married after learning that Love was pregnant with their only child, Frances Bean Cobain.
Around the time of Nirvana's 1992 performance on ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'', Love discovered that she was pregnant with Cobain's child. A few days after the conclusion of Nirvana's [[Pacific Rim]] tour, on Monday, February 24, 1992, Cobain married Love on [[Waikiki Beach]], [[Hawaii]]. "In the last couple months I've gotten engaged and my attitude has changed drastically," Cobain said in an interview with ''[[Sassy Magazine|Sassy]]'' magazine. "I can't believe how much happier I am. At times I even forget that I'm in a band, I'm so blinded by love. I know that sounds embarrassing, but it's true. I could give up the band right now. It doesn't matter, but I'm under contract."<ref>Kelly, Christina. "[http://www.moonwashedrose.com/media/sassy.html Kurt and Courtney Sitting in a Tree]". ''Sassy Magazine''. April 1992.</ref> On August 18, the couple's daughter, [[Frances Bean Cobain]], was born. The unusual middle name was given to her because Cobain thought she looked like a [[kidney bean]] on the first [[Medical ultrasonography|sonogram]] he saw of her. She was named for [[Frances McKee]] of [[United Kingdom|British]] band [[The Vaselines]] and not [[Frances Farmer]] as is sometimes reported.<ref name="Azerrad270">Azerrad, p. 270</ref> <!-- Frances Farmer was NOT a namesake for Frances Bean. Cobain is on record saying that he wished he had thought of naming her for Farmer, but did not. Had Frances Bean been a boy, she would have been named Eugene for Eugene Kelly of the Vaselines. -->
 
   
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== After Nirvana ==
Love was somewhat unpopular with Nirvana fans; her harshest critics said she was merely using him as a vehicle to make herself famous.<ref name="Azerrad172"/> Critics who compared Cobain to [[John Lennon]] were also fond of comparing Love to [[Yoko Ono]]. Rumors persist that Cobain wrote most of the songs on the breakthrough album ''[[Live Through This]]'' of Love's band [[Hole (band)|Hole]], partially fueled by the 1996 appearance of a rough mix of "Asking for It" with Cobain singing backing vocals. However, there is no specific evidence to support the assertion.
 
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Kurt had planned to continue Nirvana, but he was found dead in his home in Seattle, it was said he said he died 3 days before by a self inflicted gunshot. Afterwards, [[Dave Grohl]] founded the band Foo Fighters as a one-man project. [[Krist Novoselic]] co-founded the band Sweet 75 with Venezuelan-born street singer Yva Las Vegass. The band disbanded after 6 years and it had an one self titled album.
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==Legal Issues==
   
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Kurt Cobain have been involved in legal issues, and this is the list.
At the same time, one song by Hole was discovered to be a song originally written by Nirvana. The song "Old Age" appeared as a [[B-side]] on the 1993 single for ''Beautiful Son'', credited to Hole. Initially, there was no reason to believe it was anything other than a Hole-penned song. However, in 1998, a [[boombox]] recording of the song performed by Nirvana (with significantly different lyrics) was surfaced by Seattle newspaper ''[[The Stranger (newspaper)|The Stranger]]''. In the article that accompanied the clip, Novoselic confirmed that the recording was made in 1991 and that "Old Age" was a Nirvana song, leading to more speculation about Cobain's involvement in Hole's catalog. Nirvana had even attempted to record "Old Age" during the sessions for ''Nevermind'', but it was left incomplete as Cobain had yet to finish the lyrics and the band had run out of studio time. (The incomplete recording appeared on the 2004 compilation ''[[With the Lights Out]]'', credited to Cobain.) As for Hole's version, guitarist [[Eric Erlandson]] noted that he believed Cobain wrote the music for the song, but that Love had written the lyrics for their version.<Ref>[http://www.livenirvana.com/sessions/home/fall-1992.php LIVE NIRVANA SESSIONS HISTORY: Spring 1991-Fall 1992]. LiveNirvana.com.</ref>
 
   
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In 1993, Cobain was arrested for assaulting his then-wife, Courtney Love, at their Seattle house. Police reports said that they found guns at the time of the arrest. Courtney Love denied Cobain ever assaulted her.
In a 1992 article in ''[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]'', Love admitted to using [[heroin]] while (unknowingly) pregnant. Love claimed that ''Vanity Fair'' had misquoted her,<ref>Azerrad, p. 266</ref> but her admission created controversy for the couple. While Cobain and Love's romance had always been something of a media attraction, the couple found themselves hounded by [[tabloid]] reporters after the article was published, many wanting to know if Frances was addicted to drugs at birth. The Los Angeles County Department of Children's Services took the Cobains to court, claiming that the couple's drug usage made them unfit parents.<ref name="Azerrad270"/> Two-week-old Frances Bean Cobain was ordered by the judge to be taken from their custody and placed with Courtney's sister Jamie for several weeks, after which the couple obtained custody, but had to submit to urine tests and a regular visit from a social worker. After months of legal wrangling, the couple were eventually granted full custody of their daughter.
 
   
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In June 1993, he was arrested at a baguette shop for possession of his Remington shotgun, which police found at his home in Seattle while he was out.
===Drug addiction===
 
Throughout most of his life, Cobain battled chronic [[bronchitis]] and intense physical pain due to an undiagnosed chronic stomach condition.<ref>Azerrad, p. 66</ref> This last condition was especially debilitating to him emotionally, and he spent years trying to find its cause. However, none of the doctors he consulted were able to pinpoint the specific cause, guessing that it was either a result of Cobain's childhood [[scoliosis]] or related to the stresses of performing.
 
   
 
==Quotes==
His first drug experience was with [[cannabis (drug)|marijuana]] in 1980 at age 13. Cobain's first experience with [[heroin]] occurred sometime in 1986, administered to him by a local drug dealer in [[Tacoma, Washington]], who had previously been supplying him with [[Percodan]].<ref>Azerrad, p. 41</ref> Cobain used heroin sporadically for several years, but, by the end of 1990, his use had developed into a full-fledged [[addiction]]. Cobain claimed that he was "determined to get a habit" as a way to self-medicate his stomach condition. Related Cobain, "It started with three days in a row of doing heroin and I don't have a stomach pain. That was such a relief."<ref>Azerrad, p. 236.</ref>
 
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"It's better to burn out than fade away." - From Kurt on Suicide Note from the song "Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)" by Neil Young.
   
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"I'm a much happier guy than a lot of people think I am." - From Kurt
His heroin use eventually began affecting the band's support of ''Nevermind'', with Cobain [[unconsciousness|passing out]] during photo shoots. One memorable example came the day of the band's 1992 performance on ''Saturday Night Live'', where Nirvana had a shoot with photographer Michael Levine. Having shot up beforehand, Cobain nodded off several times during the shoot. Regarding the shoot, Cobain related to biographer [[Michael Azerrad]], "I mean, what are they supposed to do? They're not going to be able to tell me to stop. So I really didn't care. Obviously to them it was like practicing [[witchcraft]] or something. They didn't know anything about it so they thought that any second, I was going to die."<ref>Azerrad, p. 241</ref>
 
   
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"It's all in the music man! It's all in the raw raw soda!" - Kurt in a 1991 Toronto interview
Cobain's heroin addiction worsened as the years progressed. Cobain made his first attempt at [[Drug rehabilitation|rehab]] in early 1992, not long after he and Love discovered they were going to become parents. Immediately after leaving rehab, Nirvana embarked on their Australian tour, with Cobain appearing pale and gaunt while suffering through [[withdrawal]]s. Not long after returning home, Cobain's heroin use resumed.
 
   
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==Discography==
Prior to a performance at the New Music Seminar in [[New York, New York|New York City]] in July 1993, Cobain suffered a heroin [[overdose]]. Rather than calling for an ambulance, Love injected Cobain with illegally acquired [[naloxone|Narcan]] to bring him out of his unconscious state. Cobain proceeded to perform with Nirvana, giving the public no indication that anything out of the ordinary had taken place.<ref>Cross, p. 296–297</ref>
 
 
===With Nirvana===
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”Floyd the Barber” (1989) - Bleach
   
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“Love Buzz” (1989) - Bleach
===Cobain's final weeks and death===
 
{{main|Death of Kurt Cobain}}
 
Following a tour stop at [[Munich-Riem airport|Terminal Eins]] in [[Munich]], Germany, on [[March 1]], [[1994]], Cobain was diagnosed with [[bronchitis]] and severe [[laryngitis]]. He flew to [[Rome]] the next day for medical treatment, and was joined there by his wife on [[March 3]]. The next morning, Love awoke to find that Cobain had overdosed on a combination of [[Champagne (wine)|champagne]] and [[flunitrazepam|Rohypnol]] (Love had a prescription for Rohypnol filled after arriving in Rome). Cobain was immediately rushed to the hospital, and spent the rest of the day unconscious. After five days in the hospital, Cobain was released and returned to Seattle.<ref>{{cite book |author = Halperin, Ian & Wallace, Max| title = Who Killed Kurt Cobain?| publisher = Birch Lane Press| year = 1998|id = ISBN 1-55972-446-3}}</ref> Love later stated that the incident was Cobain's first [[parasuicide|suicide attempt]].<ref name="life after death">David Fricke, "[http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/courtneylove/articles/story/5937442/life_after_death Courtney Love: Life After Death]", ''Rolling Stone'', December 15, 1994.</ref>
 
   
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”Negative Creep” (1989) - Bleach
On [[March 18]], Love phoned police to inform them that Cobain was suicidal and had locked himself in a room with a gun. Police arrived and confiscated several guns and a bottle of pills from Cobain, who insisted that he was not suicidal and had locked himself in the room to hide from Love. When questioned by police, Love admitted that Cobain had never mentioned that he was suicidal and that she had not seen him with a gun.<ref>{{cite web|author=[[Seattle Police Department]] | year=1994| title=Incident Report - March 18| url=http://www.justiceforkurt.com/investigation/documents/march_18_report.shtml| accessmonthday=March 13 | accessyear=2006}}</ref>
 
   
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“Smells Like Teen Spirit” (1991) - Nevermind
Love arranged an [[Intervention (counseling)|intervention]] concerning Cobain's drug use that took place on [[March 25]]. The ten people involved included musician friends, record company executives, and one of Cobain's closest friends, [[Dylan Carlson]]. Former Nirvana manager Danny Goldberg described Cobain as being "extremely reluctant" and that he "denied that he was doing anything self-destructive." However, by the end of the day, Cobain had agreed to undergo a [[detoxification|detox]] program.<ref>{{cite web| author=[[The Seattle Times]]| year=1994| title=Questions Linger After Cobain Suicide| url=http://www.justiceforkurt.com/coverage/newspapers/seattle_times.shtml| accessmonthday=March 13 | accessyear=2006}}</ref> Cobain arrived at the Exodus Recovery Center in [[Los Angeles]], [[California]], on [[March 30]]. The following night, Cobain walked outside to have a cigarette, then climbed over a six-foot-high fence to leave the facility. He took a taxi to Los Angeles Airport and flew back to Seattle. Over the course of April 2 and April 3, Cobain was spotted in various locations around Seattle, but most of his friends and family were unaware of his whereabouts. On April 3, Love contacted a private investigator, [[Tom Grant (private investigator)|Tom Grant]], and hired him to find Cobain. On April 7, amid rumors Nirvana was going to break up, at the high water mark of the grunge movement the band pulled out of the Lollapalooza that year.
 
   
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“Come as You Are” (1991) - Nevermind
On April 8, 1994, Cobain's body was discovered at his Lake Washington home by an electrician who had arrived to install a security system. Apart from a minor amount of blood coming out of Cobain's ear, Smith reported seeing no visible signs of physical trauma, and initially believed that Cobain was asleep until he saw the shotgun pointing at his chin. [[Kurt's Suicide Note]] was found that said, "I haven't felt the excitement of listening to as well as creating music, along with really writing . . . for too many years now". A high concentration of heroin and traces of Valium were also found in his body. Cobain's body had been lying there for days; the coroner's report estimated Cobain to have died on April 5, 1994.
 
   
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”Drain You” (1991) - Nevermind
A public vigil was held for Cobain on April 10 at a park at Seattle Center which drew approximately seven thousand mourners.Prerecorded messages by Krist Novoselic and Courtney Love were played at the memorial. Love read portions of Cobain's suicide note to the crowd and broke down, crying and chastising Cobain. Near the end of the vigil Love arrived at the park and distributed some of Cobain's clothing to those who still remained. Cobain's body was [[cremated]].
 
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== Quotes ==
 
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”Very Ape” (1993) - In Utero
* "Holding [[Frances Bean Cobain|Frances]] in my arms is the best drug in the world."
 
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* "Grunge is dead."
 
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”All Apologies” (1993) - In Utero
* "There is nothing I like more than pure underground music."
 
* "Punk is musical freedom. It's saying, doing and playing what you want. In Webster's terms, "Nirvana" means freedom from pain, suffering and the external world, and that is pretty close to my definition of Punk Rock."
 
* "My name is Kurt and I sing and play the guitar and I'm a walking, talking bacterial infection."
 
* "Grunge, isn't that some gross shade of greenish orange?"
 
* "We're so trendy we can't even escape ourselves."
 
* "A friend is nothing but a known enemy"
 
* "Drugs are a waste of time, they destroy your memory and your self-respect and everything that goes along with your self-esteem"
 
* "I bought a gun and chose drugs instead"
 
* "I had a really good childhood up until I was nine, then a classic case of divorce really affected me"
 
* "I really haven't had that exciting of a life. There are a lot of things I wish I would have done, instead of just sitting around and complaining about having a boring life. So I pretty much like to make it up. I'd rather tell a story about somebody else"
 
* "I started being really proud of the fact that I was gay even though I wasn't"
 
* "I was looking for something a lot heavier, yet melodic at the same time. Something different from heavy metal, a different attitude"
 
* "I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not"
 
* "If you die you're completely happy and your soul somewhere lives on. I'm not afraid of dying. Total peace after death, becoming someone else is the best hope I've got"
 
* "The worst crime is faking it"
 
* "The duty of youth is to challenge corruption"
 
* "Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are"<br />
 
   
 
== Trivia ==
 
== Trivia ==
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* In ''Journals'', Cobain created a list of his top 50 favorite albums. See [[Kurt Cobain's Top 50 Albums]].
 
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* On the one hot minute, which is an Red Hot Chili Peppers album, the 9th track of the album is a song written and sung by Antony Keidis which was a tribute song to Kurt Cobain’s legacy and art, after hearing the news a year prior. Nirvana also went on tour with Pearl Jam and Red Hot Chili Peppers in December 1991.<br />
* Kurt's first poem: (he wrote it on the wall when he was 9)
 
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'I hate mum, <br>
 
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==References==
I hate dad, <br>
 
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Dad hates mum, <br>
 
Mum hates dad, <br>
 
It just wants to make u feel so sad.' <br>
 
* In August 1992, Cobain was strolling in London’s Piccadilly area before playing the Reading Festival. Desperately needing to pee, he tried to enter the Rock 'N' Roll Wax Museum, but guards told him toilets were for "patrons only." The rejected Cobain was upset to see his own waxwork gazing at him from the window.
 
* In 1979, his great-uncle Burle Cobain committed suicide with gunshots to the abdomen and head. His great-uncle Kenneth shot himself in the head in 1984. His great-grandfather James Irving stabbed himself, survived, but tore open the wounds in a psychiatric hospital and died. Aged 15, Kurt made a film called "''Kurt Commits Bloody Suicide''"[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eERfW-7wgc]. "He was the shape of suicide," remembered friend and original manager Ryan Aigner.
 
* During his life, Kurt colored his hair many colors including red & blue.
 
 
[[Category:Members]]
 
[[Category:Members]]
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[[Category:People]]
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[[Category:Guitarists]]
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[[Category:Vocalists]]
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[[Category:Recording Session]]

Latest revision as of 11:28, 18 January 2024

KC

Kurt Cobain in MTV Unplugged 1993

Kurt Donald Cobain, jokingly known as Shotgun Man in Bleach's personnel credits (born February 20, 1967), was the lead singer, lead guitarist, and primary songwriter for Nirvana. Cobain was born in Aberdeen, Washington, and helped establish the Seattle music scene, as well as the style known as Grunge. He was married to the lead singer of the band Hole, Courtney Love. In 1992, the couple had a daughter named Frances Bean Cobain.

In 2014, Cobain along with his bandmates Krist and Dave were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame during the first year they were eligible.

Early Life[]

Kurt Cobain was born on February 20, 1967 in Grays Harbor County Hospital in Aberdeen, Washington. His family lived in Hoquiam, Washington. In 1976 his parents divorced after 11 years of marriage. Kurt lived with his father Donald in Montesano, Washington. Both of his parents got remarried and Kurt had step-siblings. In 1985, he went to live with his mother in Aberdeen.

On his fourteenth birthday, Kurt's uncle took him out to buy his present. He offered Kurt either an old bicycle or a used acoustic guitar-- he obviously chose the guitar. Kurt began teaching himself how to play his favorite songs, such as "My Best Friend's Girl" by The Cars, "Louie Louie", AC/DC's "Back in Black", and a few Led Zeppelin songs. He later became more involved with Punk Rock bands, such as the Sex Pistols, Black Flag and the Stooges.

During this period, Kurt being very enamored with, and highly influenced by punk rock where he would make drastic changes to his appearance to mirror the bands he loved much to Aberdeen's public dismay. It was striking that such a clean and bright-looking boy could become so dark and "grungy". This dichotomy was prevalent in Kurt's personal journals.

Kurt attended Aberdeen High School and befriended a gay student there. From his change of heart due to his personal life issues and newfound punk rock, Kurt was now an outcast that he wasn't was as a child. He later stated he was gay, just to "sneeze off homophobes". He dropped out when he realized he didn't have enough credits to graduate.

Later in 1985, Cobain formed his first band "Fecal Matter", with Cuddles, Giggles and Toothy. The band lasted for a year. The group's sole recording was issued as the Illiteracy Will Prevail demo tape, which remains unreleased officially with exception of the song "Spank Thru".


Nirvana Years[]

Kurt and Krist Novoselic had a Creedence Clearwater Revival cover band that was not successful. They later founded Nirvana in 1987. During the early days of the band, Kurt was very unhappy with the band's inability to draw in large crowds that lead the band to rotate drummers on almost a regular basis. After some time, the band settled on Chad Channing, whom they recorded their first album with Sub Pop Records in 1989, titled Bleach. However after the recording of this album, Cobain became unhappy with Channing's drumming style which eventually lead them to let him go and hire Dave Grohl in his place. The band didn't return to the studio to record again until April of 1990 where they recorded the song "Polly" that would later appear on their next studio album, Nevermind in 1991, the band would return to the studio once again to record the album that would change the Seattle music scene forever. Nevermind was then released later in the year, featuring the single "Go Home" release in 1991 in Spain that became a hit song upon its release. It was this album that pushed Michael Jordan's Ford commercial off the number one spot on the Billboard 200 chart. Along with the lead single "Smells like Teen Spirit" the album also produced three other top hit singles "Come As You Are", "Lithium", and "In Bloom". Upon the release of the album on September 24, 1991, the album launched the grunge scene into the mainstream, opening the pathway for bands such as Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden. During this period, Nirvana was considered the "Flagship Band of Generation X" and Cobain found himself reluctantly anointed by the media as the generation's "spokesman." Cobain's discomfort with the media attention prompted him to focus on the band's music and, believing their message and artistic vision to have been misinterpreted by the public, challenged the band's audience with its third studio album "In Utero". It should be noted that throughout all this Cobain started using hard drugs such as heroin and pills which affected his social behavior as well as his equally drug-addicted wife “Courtney Love“ from another punk band ”Hole”.

Political Views[]

Cobain struggled to reconcile the massive success of Nirvana to his underground roots. He also felt persecuted by the media, comparing himself to Lifty and Shifty. He began to harbor resentments for people who claimed to be fans of the band yet refused to acknowledge, or misinterpreted, the band's social and political views. A vocal opponent of sexism, racism and homophobia, he was publicly proud that Nirvana had played at a gay rights benefit supporting No-on-Nine in Massachusetts in 1992, in opposition to Ballot Measure Nine, a ballot measure, that if passed, would have prohibited schools in the state from acknowledging or positively accepting LGBT rights and welfare.

Cobain was a vocal supporter of the pro-choice movement, and had been involved in Rock for Choice from the campaign inception by L7. He received death threats from a small number of anti-abortion activists for doing so, with one activist threatening Cobain that he would be shot as soon as he stepped on stage.

Personal Life[]

In 1991, Cobain met Courtney Love in a club where the two found a shared sense of punk rock romance, tussling on the floor. Courtney was considerably stronger than Kurt and Kurt admitted to finding her attractive as she was like "a Nancy Spungen". After this, Kurt was heavily in love with the tall, booming confident rocker sending her letters, calling her often at nights, and writing poems for her. A year later, Cobain and Love got married after learning that Love was pregnant with their only child, Frances Bean Cobain.

After Nirvana[]

Kurt had planned to continue Nirvana, but he was found dead in his home in Seattle, it was said he said he died 3 days before by a self inflicted gunshot. Afterwards, Dave Grohl founded the band Foo Fighters as a one-man project. Krist Novoselic co-founded the band Sweet 75 with Venezuelan-born street singer Yva Las Vegass. The band disbanded after 6 years and it had an one self titled album.

Legal Issues[]

Kurt Cobain have been involved in legal issues, and this is the list.

In 1993, Cobain was arrested for assaulting his then-wife, Courtney Love, at their Seattle house. Police reports said that they found guns at the time of the arrest. Courtney Love denied Cobain ever assaulted her.

In June 1993, he was arrested at a baguette shop for possession of his Remington shotgun, which police found at his home in Seattle while he was out.

Quotes[]

"It's better to burn out than fade away." - From Kurt on Suicide Note from the song "Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)" by Neil Young.

"I'm a much happier guy than a lot of people think I am." - From Kurt

"It's all in the music man! It's all in the raw raw soda!" - Kurt in a 1991 Toronto interview

Discography[]

With Nirvana[]

”Floyd the Barber” (1989) - Bleach

“Love Buzz” (1989) - Bleach

”Negative Creep” (1989) - Bleach

“Smells Like Teen Spirit” (1991) - Nevermind

“Come as You Are” (1991) - Nevermind

”Drain You” (1991) - Nevermind

”Very Ape” (1993) - In Utero

”All Apologies” (1993) - In Utero

Trivia[]

  • On the one hot minute, which is an Red Hot Chili Peppers album, the 9th track of the album is a song written and sung by Antony Keidis which was a tribute song to Kurt Cobain’s legacy and art, after hearing the news a year prior. Nirvana also went on tour with Pearl Jam and Red Hot Chili Peppers in December 1991.

References[]