Kurt Cobain

Cobain suffered from chronic bronchitis and a stomach issue throughout his life.

Troubled family and health distress took him to drinking and drugs. He did his first drug when he was just 13 and by 1990, he had become a severe addict.

He was also arrested a couple of times for spray painting buildings and wandering on streets in drunken state.

Cobain was born on February 20, 1967 in Aberdeen, Washington, to Wendy Elizabeth, a waitress and Donald Leland Cobain, an automotive mechanic.

As a child he was of a happy go lucky temperament, fascinated by art. His inclination towards art was evident from his drawings of cartoon characters on his room walls such as Donald Duck, the creature from the Black Lagoon. His inspirational source was his grandmother Iris Cobain, an artist by profession.

Cobain was attracted to music from a very early age. By the age of four, he could play the piano and even write simple songs like about visiting a local park. He was touched by artists like the Ramones and Electric Light.

He enjoyed listening to songs such as “Motorcycle Song” by Arlo Gutherie, The Beatles, “Hey Jude” and many more.

Seeing his parents separate at the tender age of nine changed his temperament immensely. He became an introvert and at times rebellious, a very different Cobain for everyone.

It was only in 1988 that Cobain finally decided on a name for his group as ‘Nirvana’ which started with a first single, “Love Buzz” that was released by a small label ‘Sub Pop Records’.

Their first album ‘Bleach’ was finally released in 1989. It showcased their punk base along with signature heavy metal sounds.

Aaron Burckhard left the group and was replaced by Chad Channing for drums, later replaced by Dale Crover.

Nirvana as a band was getting famous in Seattle and Cobain also tried writing songs such as a ballad, “About a Girl”.

The year 1990 brought in more associations for Nirvana with some rock and roll masters while the band toured with the Sonic Youth resulting in further replacement of Dale Crover by Dave Grohl from the band Scream.

Cobain was ranked as the 12th greatest guitarist of all time by David Fricke of Rolling Stone in 2003.

He was ranked seventh in the MTV “22 Greatest Voices in Music” list whereas Hit Parader list of “100 Greatest Metal Singers of All Time” placed him at the 20th rank in 2006.

The Kurt Cobain Memorial Committee put up a sign in Aberdeen, Washington, saying “Come As You Are” in Cobain’s honor in 2004.

Post the sell off Nirvana song catalogue, Cobain replaced Elvis Presley for being the highest earning deceased celebrity; which was again replaced by Elvis in 2007.

He was placed into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014 with his two band mates, along with Nirvana bandmates Novoselic and Dave Grohl.