Cobain

Kurt Donald Cobain (February 20, 1967 – April 5, 1994) was an American musician, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the rock band Nirvana, a central figure in the 1990s grunge movement. His work helped bring alternative rock into the mainstream and shaped the sound of modern rock.

Hailing from Aberdeen, Washington, Cobain formed Nirvana with Krist Novoselic in 1987. The band released Bleach in 1989 on Sub Pop and gradually built an underground following, with drummer Dave Grohl joining before Nirvana’s major breakthrough in the early 1990s. Cobain’s songs combined raw guitar textures with introspective, often bleak lyrics.

Nirvana achieved worldwide fame with Nevermind (1991) and the hit single Smells Like Teen Spirit, which helped propel alternative rock into the mainstream. The subsequent album In Utero (1993) continued the band’s influence, while Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged in New York performance (recorded in 1993 and released posthumously in 1994) added to Cobain’s enduring legacy. His songwriting frequently explored themes of alienation, fame, and personal pain, mixed with a direct, pared-down musical approach.

Cobain married Courtney Love in 1992; they had a daughter, Frances Bean Cobain, born the same year. He died by suicide in Seattle in 1994 at age 27, an event that profoundly affected music and youth culture. Nirvana’s influence persisted beyond Cobain’s life, and the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014.