1. Kurt Cobain was the lead vocalist, guitarist, primary songwriter, and a founding member of the grunge band Nirvana.
110 Facts About Kurt Cobain
1. 2.
Kurt Cobain was heralded as a spokesman of Generation X, and is widely recognized as one of the most influential rock musicians.
3.
Kurt Cobain struggled with the personal and professional pressures of fame, and was often in the spotlight for his tumultuous marriage to fellow musician Courtney Love, with whom he had a daughter named Frances.
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Kurt Cobain was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, alongside Nirvana bandmates Novoselic and Grohl, in their first year of eligibility in 2014.
5.
Kurt Cobain was ranked 7th by MTV in the "22 Greatest Voices in Music", and was placed 20th by Hit Parader on their 2006 list of the "100 Greatest Metal Singers of All Time".
6.
Kurt Donald Cobain was born at Grays Harbor Hospital in Aberdeen, Washington, on February 20,1967, the son of waitress Wendy Elizabeth.
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Kurt Cobain's parents married in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, on July 31,1965.
8.
Kurt Cobain had Dutch, English, French, German, Irish, and Scottish ancestry.
9.
The Kurt Cobain surname comes from his Irish ancestors, who emigrated in 1875 from Carrickmore, a village near Omagh in County Tyrone in Ulster, the northern province in Ireland.
10.
Kurt Cobain mistakenly believed that his Irish ancestors came from County Cork.
11.
Kurt Cobain's younger sister, Kimberly, was born on April 24,1970.
12.
Kurt Cobain was described as a happy and excitable child, who exhibited sensitivity and care.
13.
Kurt Cobain was encouraged by his grandmother, Iris Cobain, a professional artist.
14.
Kurt Cobain developed an interest in music at a young age.
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Kurt Cobain later said the divorce had a profound effect on his life, and his mother noted that his personality changed dramatically; Cobain became defiant and withdrawn.
16.
Kurt Cobain liked Westeby at first, as she gave him the maternal attention he desired.
17.
Kurt Cobain's mother dated a man who was abusive; Kurt Cobain witnessed the domestic violence inflicted upon her, with one incident resulting in her being hospitalized with a broken arm.
18.
Kurt Cobain's mother refused to press charges, remaining committed to the relationship.
19.
Kurt Cobain behaved insolently toward adults during this period and began bullying another boy at school.
20.
On June 28,1979, Kurt Cobain's mother granted full custody to his father.
21.
Kurt Cobain later renounced Christianity, engaging in what were described as "anti-God" rants.
22.
Kurt Cobain claimed that "Lithium" was about his experience while living with the Reed family.
23.
Kurt Cobain stated in a 1992 interview that it was a fictionalized account of a man who "turned to religion as a last resort to keep himself alive" after the death of his girlfriend, "to keep him from suicide".
24.
Kurt Cobain was a skilled wrestler but despised the experience.
25.
Kurt Cobain befriended a gay student at school and was bullied by peers who concluded that he was gay.
26.
Police records show that Kurt Cobain was arrested for spray painting the phrase "ain't got no how watchamacallit" on vehicles.
27.
When given a caricature assignment for an art course, Kurt Cobain drew Michael Jackson but was told by the teacher that the image was inappropriate for a school hallway.
28.
Kurt Cobain then drew an image of then-President Ronald Reagan that was seen as "unflattering".
29.
Kurt Cobain claimed that the first live show he attended was the Melvins, when they played a free concert outside the Thriftway supermarket where Osborne worked.
30.
Kurt Cobain wrote in his journals of this experience, as well as in interviews, singling out the impact it had on him.
31.
Kurt Cobain's mother gave him an ultimatum: find employment or leave.
32.
Kurt Cobain claimed that during periods of homelessness, he lived under a bridge over the Wishkah River, an experience that inspired the song "Something in the Way".
33.
Kurt Cobain spent most of his time sleeping into the late evening, watching television, and concentrating on art projects.
34.
Marander's insistence that he get a job caused arguments that influenced Kurt Cobain to write the song "About a Girl", which appeared on Nirvana's debut album, Bleach.
35.
Kurt Cobain did not become aware that Cobain wrote "About a Girl" about her until years after his death.
36.
On his 14th birthday, February 20,1981, Kurt Cobain's uncle offered him the choice of either a bike or a used guitar; Kurt Cobain chose the guitar.
37.
In early 1985, Kurt Cobain formed Fecal Matter after he had dropped out of Aberdeen High School.
38.
One of "several joke bands" that arose from the circle of friends associated with the Melvins, it initially featured Kurt Cobain singing and playing guitar, Melvins drummer Dale Crover playing bass, and Greg Hokanson playing drums.
39.
Kurt Cobain became disenchanted after early touring because of the band's inability to draw substantial crowds and the difficulty in supporting themselves financially.
40.
Kurt Cobain became dissatisfied with Channing's style and subsequently fired him.
41.
Nirvana was considered the "flagship band of Generation X", and Kurt Cobain found himself reluctantly anointed by the media as the generation's "spokesman".
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Kurt Cobain resented this characterization since he believed his artistic message had been misinterpreted by the public.
43.
Kurt Cobain struggled to reconcile the massive success of Nirvana with his underground roots and vision.
44.
Kurt Cobain felt persecuted by the media, comparing himself to Frances Farmer whom he named a song after.
45.
Kurt Cobain began to harbor resentment against people who claimed to be fans of the band yet refused to acknowledge, or misinterpreted, the band's social and political views.
46.
Kurt Cobain was a vocal supporter of the pro-choice movement, and Nirvana was involved in L7's Rock for Choice campaign.
47.
Kurt Cobain received death threats from a small number of anti-abortion activists for participating in the pro-choice campaign, with one activist threatening to shoot Cobain as soon as he stepped on a stage.
48.
Kurt Cobain was really into the fact that I was creative and into music.
49.
In 1992, Cobain contacted William S Burroughs about a possible collaboration.
50.
Two months later at a studio in Seattle, Kurt Cobain added guitar backing based on "Silent Night" and "To Anacreon in Heaven".
51.
Kurt Cobain was introduced to punk rock and hardcore music by his Aberdeen classmate Buzz Osborne, lead singer and guitarist of the Melvins, who taught Cobain about punk by loaning him records and old copies of the Detroit-based magazine Creem.
52.
Kurt Cobain quickly discovered contemporary American hardcore bands like Black Flag, Bad Brains, Millions of Dead Cops and Flipper.
53.
The Melvins' heavy, grungey sound was mimicked by Nirvana on many songs from Bleach; in an early interview given by Nirvana, Kurt Cobain stated that their biggest fear was to be perceived as a "Melvins rip-off".
54.
Kurt Cobain was a fan of protopunk acts like the Stooges, whose 1973 album Raw Power he listed as his favorite of all time in his journals.
55.
The 1980s American alternative rock band Pixies were instrumental in helping an adult Kurt Cobain develop his own songwriting style.
56.
Kurt Cobain even invited his favorite musicians to perform with him: ex-Germs guitarist Pat Smear joined the band in 1993, and the Meat Puppets appeared onstage during Nirvana's 1993 MTV Unplugged appearance to perform three songs from their second album, Meat Puppets II.
57.
Kurt Cobain originally wanted Nevermind to be divided into two sides: a "Boy" side, for the songs written about the experiences of his early life and childhood, and a "Girl" side, for the songs written about his dysfunctional relationship with Vail.
58.
Kurt Cobain escaped after gaining the trust of her captor Gerald Friend through flirting with him.
59.
Patrick Suskind's novel Perfume: The Story of a Murderer inspired Kurt Cobain to write the song "Scentless Apprentice" from In Utero.
60.
Kurt Cobain immersed himself in artistic projects throughout his life, as much so as he did in songwriting.
61.
Kurt Cobain would cut out pictures of meat from grocery-store fliers, then paste these orchids on them.
62.
Kurt Cobain met with Burroughs at his home in Lawrence, Kansas in October 1993.
63.
Kurt Cobain's first guitar was a used electric guitar from Sears that he received on his 14th birthday.
64.
Kurt Cobain found the guitar smashed after leaving it in a locker, but he was able to purchase new equipment, including a Peavey amp, by recovering and selling his stepfather's gun collection, which his mother had dumped in a river after discovering his infidelity.
65.
Kurt Cobain used a Boss DS-1 for distortion, while playing Hi-Flier guitars, which cost him each.
66.
Nirvana embarked on their first American tour in 1989, at the start of which Kurt Cobain played an Epiphone ET270; however, he destroyed the guitar onstage during a show, a subsequent habit that forced label Sub Pop to have to call local pawn shops looking for replacement guitars.
67.
Kurt Cobain became a fan of Japanese-made Fender guitars ahead of recording Nevermind, due to their slim necks and wide availability in left-handed orientation.
68.
For Nirvana's Unplugged performance, Kurt Cobain played a righthanded 1959 Martin D-18E acoustic guitar modified for left-handed playing.
69.
Early in their interactions, Kurt Cobain broke off dates and ignored Love's advances because he was unsure if he wanted a relationship.
70.
Kurt Cobain was already aware of Love through her role in the 1987 film Straight to Hell.
71.
The couple's daughter, Frances Bean Kurt Cobain, was born August 18,1992.
72.
Kurt Cobain described himself as being "feminine" in childhood, and often wore dresses and other stereotypically feminine clothing.
73.
Kurt Cobain advocated for LGBTQ+ rights, including traveling to Oregon to perform at a benefit opposing the 1992 Oregon Ballot Measure 9, and supported local bands with LGBTQ+ members.
74.
Kurt Cobain reported having felt "different" from the age of seven, and was a frequent target of homophobic bullying in his school due to his having a "gay friend".
75.
Kurt Cobain was interviewed by two gay magazines, Out and The Advocate; the 1993 interview with The Advocate being described as "the only [interview] the band's lead singer says he plans to do for Incesticide", an album whose liner notes included a statement decrying homophobia, racism and misogyny:.
76.
At school Kurt Cobain was diagnosed with attention deficit disorder and was prescribed Ritalin.
77.
Kurt Cobain then goes on to mention that he, "had minor scoliosis in junior high".
78.
Kurt Cobain's cousin brought attention to the family history of suicide, mental illness and alcoholism, noting that two of her uncles had died by suicide with guns.
79.
Kurt Cobain completed the remaining five European tour dates and returned to the USA.
80.
Kurt Cobain had a period of consuming "notable" amounts of LSD, as observed by Marander, and had been involved in solvent abuse as a teenager.
81.
Kurt Cobain occasionally experimented with methamphetamine and cocaine when the band were on tour.
82.
One example was when Novoselic and Kurt Cobain took cocaine after their gig in New York on July 18,1989.
83.
Kurt Cobain first took heroin in 1986, administered to him by a dealer in Tacoma, Washington, who had previously supplied him with oxycodone and aspirin.
84.
Kurt Cobain used heroin sporadically for several years; by the end of 1991, his use had developed into addiction.
85.
Kurt Cobain claimed that he was "determined to get a habit" as a way to self-medicate his stomach condition.
86.
The morning after the band's performance on Saturday Night Live in 1992, Kurt Cobain experienced his first near-death overdose after injecting heroin; Love resuscitated him.
87.
On May 2,1993 Kurt Cobain overdosed at his home in Seattle and Love called the paramedics.
88.
Kurt Cobain was taken to Harborview Medical Center, but was discharged the same day.
89.
Kurt Cobain proceeded to perform with Nirvana, giving the public no indication that anything had happened.
90.
The next morning, Love awoke to find that Kurt Cobain had overdosed on a combination of champagne and Rohypnol.
91.
Kurt Cobain was rushed to the hospital and was unconscious for the rest of the day.
92.
On March 18,1994, Love phoned the Seattle police informing them that Kurt Cobain was suicidal and had locked himself in a room with a gun.
93.
Police arrived and confiscated several guns and a bottle of pills from Kurt Cobain, who insisted that he was not suicidal and had locked himself in the room to hide from Love.
94.
Kurt Cobain reacted with anger, insulting and heaping scorn on the participants, and locked himself in the upstairs bedroom.
95.
Grohl believed that he knew Kurt Cobain would die at an early age, saying that "sometimes you just can't save someone from themselves", and "in some ways, you kind of prepare yourself emotionally for that to be a reality".
96.
In 2006, Love said she retained Kurt Cobain's ashes, kept in a bank vault in Los Angeles because "no cemetery in Seattle will take them".
97.
Kurt Cobain's death became a topic of public fascination and debate.
98.
Ciesynski stated that Kurt Cobain's death remains a suicide and that the images would not have been released publicly.
99.
Kurt Cobain is remembered as one of the most influential rock musicians in the history of alternative music.
100.
Kurt Cobain's angst-fueled songwriting and anti-establishment persona led him to be referenced as the spokesman of Generation X In addition, Cobain's songs widened the themes of mainstream rock music of the 1980s to discussion of personal reflection and social issues.
101.
Kurt Cobain is one of the best-known members of the 27 Club, a list of musicians who died when they were 27 years old.
102.
Kurt Cobain was later ranked the 73rd greatest guitarist and 45th greatest singer of all time by the same magazine, and by MTV as seventh in the "22 Greatest Voices in Music".
103.
In December 2013, the small city of Hoquiam, where Kurt Cobain once lived, announced that April 10 would become the annual Nirvana Day.
104.
In 2002, a sampling of Kurt Cobain's writings was published as Journals.
105.
Many were elated to be able to learn more about Kurt Cobain and read his inner thoughts in his own words, but were disturbed by what was viewed as an invasion of his privacy.
106.
Kurt Cobain took a film crew to visit a number of people associated with Cobain and Love; Love's father, Cobain's aunt, and one of the couple's former nannies.
107.
The documentary Teen Spirit: The Tribute to Kurt Cobain was released as a home video in 1996, and on DVD in 2001.
108.
Gus Van Sant loosely based his 2005 movie Last Days on the events in the final days of Kurt Cobain's life, starring Michael Pitt as the main character Blake who was based on Kurt Cobain.
109.
The film details the events leading up to the death of Kurt Cobain, as seen through the perspective of Tom Grant, the private detective who was hired by Courtney Love to find Cobain, her husband, shortly before his death in 1994.
110.
Kurt Cobain was included as a playable character in the 2009 video game Guitar Hero 5; he can be used to play songs by Nirvana and other acts.