Kurt Donald Cobain was born in Aberdeen, Washington on February 20, 1967. His parents divorced when he was young, after that he lived sometimes with his mother, sometimes with his father, and the only source of joy in his troubled and unhappy childhood was a guitar he received as a gift. He didn’t like going to school, he was attracted to painting and music, he listened to the recordings of the Beatles and the Monkees, later Kiss, Black Sabbath, and the Sex Pistols.
Nirvana Photo: Alamy
Attracted by punk music, he neglected his studies, started drinking and using drugs, and eventually dropped out of school. After a while, he didn’t go home anymore, he stayed with friends and relatives, he slept under the bridge or in waiting rooms more than once, and in 1985 he received a suspended sentence for vandalism. He bumped into a local punk band called the Melvins, then started his own band called Fecal Matter, but no one noticed them. He was twenty years old when he and bassist Krist Novoselic formed Nirvana, their first performance was at a house party.
The trio consumed a whole series of drummers, until in 1990 they found Dave Grohl, who is currently the singer-guitarist of Foo Fighters.
In 1989, Nirvana recorded their first album, Bleach, in one week, on which grunge made up of elements of punk, heavy metal and indie rock can already be heard, but it did not cause a stir. Two years later, they were signed by the Geffen label, and they were able to make the album Nevermind, which – like the song Smells Like Teen Spirit on it – jumped to the top of the charts, sold more than 30 million copies and is regularly chosen as one of the best albums of all time.
The sudden success filled Cobain with fear and insecurity, who had always defined himself against the mainstream, the elite, artistically as well. Due to the continuous tours, constant media attention and stomach complaints, he started using heroin, and his manic depression worsened.
In 1992, he married Courtney Love, singer of the band Hole. They had a daughter, but their relationship was far from stable and balanced. Both of them used drugs, were constantly arguing, and in 1993, after an argument that turned into a fight, they were both arrested. This was not felt in Nirvana’s music, their third and last album, In Utero – although it was not as successful as Nevermind – opened at the top of the charts in 1993. Cobain’s lyrics reflect his struggles, and according to many, they foreshadow his suicide.
In 1993, the band gave a memorable Unplugged concert on the MTV music channel, and then went on a European tour. On March 4, 1994, Cobain overdosed on sleeping pills while drunk in a Rome hotel room and fell into a coma, the tour had to be cut short. His mental state continued to deteriorate, and upon returning home he tried withdrawal therapy.
He did not complete the treatment, he left the clinic on April 1, and his whereabouts were unknown for days. His body was not discovered until April 8, 1994, in an outbuilding of his Seattle home. According to the official investigation, on April 5, he essentially injected himself with a lethal amount of heroin and then shot himself in the head with his firearm.
Although the musician left behind a long farewell letter addressed to his fans and family, conspiracy theories that a murder had taken place immediately began to spread. With Cobain’s death, he entered the club of the 27s, that is, musicians who died at the age of twenty-seven, often under mysterious circumstances – Robert Johnson, Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Amy Winehouse between
