When did he live?
Kurt Cobain was born on February 20, 1967 in the town of Aberdeen, near Seattle. He committed suicide on April 5, 1994.
Why is he famous?
Kurt Cobain was the lead singer, songwriter and guitarist for the band Nirvana. Nirvana was one the most successful groups of the 1990s.
The success of Nirvana’s second album, Nevermind, made Cobain a superstar, and the media painted him as a spokesperson for ‘Generation X’ (the directionless children born between 1960 and 1980).
Cobain and his wife Courtney Love (herself a singer, guitarist and song-writer with the band Hole) both had heavy drug addictions, including heroin. This addiction and dysfunction was part of the media fascination with him.
The death of Kurt Cobain was a major news story. Reportedly deeply unhappy, Cobain supposedly had tried to kill himself one month earlier. When he disappeared for a few days at the beginning of April 1994, many people began to believe Nirvana was breaking up; instead his body was found on April 8th in his home, believed to have been there for 3 days. He had shot himself.
What is his mark on history?
Nevermind is often called one of the best and most influential albums of modern times. Nirvana’s other albums were ‘Bleach’, ‘In Utero’, and some live recordings – all have sold millions of copies.
Nirvana’s success, along with other bands from the area, made the city of Seattle famous for ‘grunge’ music in the 1990s. Although grunge music is not as popular now, it was one of the key movements in late-20th century rock and is a part of Seattle’s history.
Although fans and the media loved Cobain he was not comfortable being famous, feeling a lot of people didn’t understand his music.
Cobain was a supporter of gay rights, pro-choice (the right for women to choose to have an abortion), and overall equality.
There were 3 people in Nirvana. The final line-up was: Cobain, Krist Novoselic (bass guitar), and Dave Grohl (drums). Grohl replaced an earlier drummer, Chad Channing, after Nirvana’s first album, and went on to become the lead guitarist, singer and songwriter for the successful band Foo Fighters.
Kurt Cobain is another member of ‘The 27 Club’, the group of famous musicians and actors who have died at the age of 27.