"My definition of Punk Rock is saying, doing, or playing whatever you want. Which is basically what nirvana means, not having to worry about anything."

-Kurt Cobain

 

 

       

 

 

After Kurt Cobain and Chris Novoselic met in 1986 they formed a band called "Skid Row". They played a few gigs and were "no big deal". In 1988 Kurt and Krist formed Nirvana and played their first show with Dave Fosters of drums. In 1989 Nirvana signed to Subpop (with Dan Peters from the band "Mudhoney" on drums), a small record label, to record "Bleach", their first album. "Bleach" was recorded for only $606.17. In 1990 their single "Sliver/Love Buzz" sold 15,000 copies which was an enormous amount of sales for such a small label. After the release of "Bleach" Dan Peters had to leave Nirvana play with Mudhoney. Krist and Kurt went to a "Scream" concert and saw Dave Grohl playing drums, they were completely blown away by his drumming skills. After the show Kurt called his producer and told him that they had found the best drummer in the world, they asked Dave if he would join their band. Dave accepted to become their sixth drummer, and the 3rd and final member of Nirvana. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Nirvana signed to DGC records in 1991 to record Nevermind, their second album. Nirvana toured in Europe to support Nevermind, they were completely unaware of the phenomenon called grunge that had their names written all over it going on back in the US. Nevermind debuted at number 144 on the Billboard top 200 albums because of their smash hit "Smells Like Teen Spirit". In 1992 Nirvana played Saturday Night Live that same day they found out that Nevermind had hit number one on nearly every music countdown. In 1992 they released Incesticide a collection of B-sides and rarities, many people consider it an unknown album. Nirvana began to get the reputation as "sellouts" because of their radio friendly album Nevermind. In 1993 Nirvana left their "sellout" reputations behind and released In Utero, their third album. The band predicted correctly that In Utero would only gain half as much attention. In 1993 Nirvana decided to do the show MTV Unplugged, where they'd do an all acoustic set. A lot of people called them crazy for taking such a risk. They played only one big hit that night and was still considered the greatest performance ever. The band's fame ended abruptly in 1994 when front man Kurt Cobain was found dead in his Seattle home on April 8, 1994. After the tragedy the remaining members of Nirvana released their MTV Unplugged performance on CD  along with From the Muddy Banks Of Wishkah, another live CD but this time electric. And in 2002 a previously unreleased track entitled "You Know You're Right", it was released on their Best of album. "You Know You're Right" was recorded in one take only months before Cobain's death.

 

 

 

 

 

Nirvana had a lasting impact on the music industry teaching that it was okay to sing about how you feel instead of singing about the "rock star life". They broke boundaries and are still making artists today think twice about what they're doing. They are still considered to be one of the greatest bands of all time, with timeless hits such as Smells Like Teen Spirit, Come as You Are, Lithium, In bloom, Heart Shaped Box, Dumb, and You Know You're Right.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Home Kurt Cobain David Grohl Chris Novoselic