Kurt Cobain
Kurt Donald Cobain was born on February 20,1967 in the town of
Aberdeen,
Washington. Aberdeen is on the west coast and is about 108 miles
southwest of
Seattle. Aberdeen is a dreary place with about seven feet of
rain a year. Kurt
was born to Mrs. Wendy Cobain and to Mr. Donald Cobain. Wendy
was a homemaker.
She had a very tight bond with Kurt. He was her first born. She
had another
child three years after she had Kurt. Her name was Kim. Donald
was a mechanic.
He was very into sports. He often tried to push Kurt into sports
but Kurt just
didn't like them. Even though the Cobain's didn't have much they
seemed to do
all right. Wendy dressed her children in the best clothes she
could afford.
They always looked like the best dressed kids in Aberdeen.
Kurt was an extremely happy child. He would wake up everyday so
happy. He was
always filled with joy and always had a smile on his face. Kurt
once said his
upbringing could be decribed as "white trash posing as middle
class". His
mother told him to stay away from the poor kids. She said they
were dirty. So
Kurt did and he also would beat the up. Then in 4th grade he
realized he liked
them better. Around that time people started to notice that Kurt
was very good
in art. Most of Kurt's friends didn't really like things like
art and music.
He loved these things so much he stopped making friends because
he was different.
Kurt was not such a health kid. His whole life he suffered
chronic bronchitis.
At age of seven he was diagnosed hyperactive. He was put on
Ritalin. This
seemed to make him stay up until four in the morning. They soon
put him on
sedatives. This did not work either. They made him fall asleep
in school.
Doctors told Wendy to try subtracting sugar and Red Dye #2 from
his food. This
was the right prescription for Kurt. Sometime during the 8th
grade Kurt was
diagnosed with scloiosis. In his later years the weight of his
guitar made it
worse. Suicide also ran in his family. In 1979 a great uncle
committed suicide
and in 1984 an uncle also committed suicide.
Kurt was in love with music since the age of two. He was brought
up in a
musical family. One of Wendy's uncle had some records out in the
40's and 50's.
Her brother was in a Rock and Roll Band. Her sister was in a
country band and
played the guitar. Almost everyone had some sort of musical
talent.
Kurt had always wanted to be a drummer in a rock and roll band.
His first drum
set was a Mickey Mouse drum set. He played with it everyday
until it was broken.
At the age of seven he got a bass drum along with some Beatles
and Monkees
records. In 3rd grade Kurt started taking drum lessons. He also
played the
drums in his grade school band. When Kurt was fourteen he got a
guitar for his
birthday and decided not to play the drums anymore. He wrote his
own songs and
wanted to start a punk rock band.
At the age of 8, Kurt's parents got a divorce. Kurt was
destroyed. He no
longer was happy and smiling. He became very inward and was
always frowning.
About a year after the divorce Kurt went to live with his dad.
He had many new
changes to cope with. Donald had remarried. His new wife had a
son and a
daughter. Kurt did not get along with any of them. As a result
he was moved
out of their home. Between 1975 and 1984 Kurt moved two times a
year. He was
shuffled between three sets of aunts and uncles, grandparents and
sometimes back
to his dad. To have somewhere to fit in Kurt started hanging
around some older
kids. This is also when he started to become a little stoner
kid. From 1984
to1985 Kurt lived with his mom. She soon kicked him out because
he dropped out
of high school. He was a senior in high school and just weeks
short of
graduation. For one year he lived in friend's houses, cars and
even under a
bridge.
In the winter of 1985 Kurt formed his first band with Krist
Novoselic and Aaron
Burkhard. They went through a series of names before finally
deciding on
Nirvana. Some of them were Fecal Matter, Skid Row, Ted Ed Fred,
Pen Cap Chew,
and Windowpane. Their first live performance took place in
Olympia in the
summer of 1985. This same summer Kurt tries heroin for the first
time. He loves
Olympia so much that he decides to move there in the fall of
1987. Also in 1987
Kurt feels a burning pain in his stomach for the first time.
This pain haunts
him for the rest of his life.
In January of 1989 Sub Pop Records hears a 10 song demo of
Nirvana. They offer
to put out a single. That summer Aaron Burkhard is replaced by
Chad Channing.
Nirvana's Sub Pop single is "Love Buzz" and "Big Cheese". In
October of 1988
1000 copies are distributed. Also that same month Kurt smashes
his first guitar
which later becomes his trademark.
Sub Pop asks Nirvana to record an album. They add a 2nd
guitarist around this
time. His name is Jason Everman. In June of 1989 Bleach is
released. Nirvana
goes on a month long tour. At the end of the tour Everman is
kicked out of the
band. In October of 1989 Nirvana goes on another tour. This one
is in Europe
and is six weeks long. They are accompanied by the group Tad.
They rest a few
months when they get back from this tour. Their next tour
started in May of
1990 and lasted until April. At the end of this tour Channing is
kicked out of
the group. Soon they meet a man named Dave Grohl. He replaces
Channing. Once
again Nirvana goes on a tour. This time with Sonic Youth.
In April of 1991, Nirvana is asked to sign with Greffen DGC
Records. After long
battles between Sub pop and DGC Nirvana finally signs. That May
and June
Nirvana goes into the recording studio with producer Butch Vig.
They record the
album that makes them stars. It is Nevermind. This album is
released in
September of 1991. The first day it is out it is #144 on the
Billboard Charts.
On October 20,1991 Nevermind goes gold. Nirvana is sweeping the
nation. MTV
plays the "Smells Like Teen Spirit" video constantly. By
November of 1991
Nevermind goes platinum. On January 11, 1992 Nevermind hits #1
on the Billboard
Charts. Then again it hits #1 on February 1, 1992
During this whole time that Nevermind is being listened to
Nirvana is touring.
They have three U.S. tours and four European tours. They also
have a tour
taking them to Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and Hawaii. On one
of the U.S
tours they get to play Saturday Night Live. They also play at
the Reading
Festival on one of the European tours. During the tours they
play with
different bands. Some of them were Dinosaur Jr., Sonic Youth,
Pearl Jam, and
Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Along the way of life, Kurt falls in love. He marries Courtney
Love in Hawaii
on February 24,1992. He first met Courtney in 1989. They kept
meeting up with
each other through the years on tours and other rock shows. So
it seems they
were meant to be together. In November of 1991 Courtney Love
becomes pregnant
with Kurt's child. Sometime in August of 1992 Courtney does an
interview for
Vanity Fair magazine. It is all about her life, Kurt Cobain, her
music, and of
course the pregnancy. Vanity Fair prints that Courtney did
heroin during her
pregnancy. Their child is born healthy on August 18, .1992.
They name her
Frances Bean Cobain She becomes everything that Kurt lives for.
She is the
light of Kurt's life.
There were many rumors floating around that Frances Bean was born
addicted to
heroin. None of those rumors were true. That same day that
Frances was born
the Los Angeles County revokes custody of her. This was all a
result of the
Vanity Fair article. They later give custody back and the
Cobains then have to
be supervised while taking care of their daughter. Almost seven
months later
the Cobains can finally take care of Frances Bean by themselves
without
supervision.
Life between Kurt and Courtney was hard. They always had rumors
fling about
them. Things about drugs and arguments and how they were raising
their daughter.
One story that was not just a rumor happened in June of 1993.
Courtney called
the police after a huge argument with Kurt. The police came into
their home and
took three guns. They then took Kurt to jail where he stayed for
three hours.
In December of 1992 Nirvana put out a new album. It was entitled
Incesticide.
This album was a collection of b-sides and rarities. Their next
real album was
recorded in February of 1993. This time Nirvana goes into the
recording studio
with Steve Albini in Cannon Falls, Minnesota. The art work on
the covers of
Incesticide and In Utero are done by Kurt. The In Utero album is
released in
September of 1993. Also in September of 1993 Nirvana wins an MTV
Music Video
Award for Best Alternative Video.
One of the songs cut from In Utero was titled "I Hate Myself and
I Want to Die".
Kurt says that this was not to be taken literally. He says he
wrote it to make
all the people in the world hear what they wanted to hear.
Everyone was saying
that he was a moody, depressed man and that he always wanted to
kill himself.
He was sick of people saying that about him and wanted to make
fun of himself.
He decided to cut it from In Utero because everyone would take it
the wrong way.
In Utero takes Nirvana on more tours. The first one is a U.S
tour. They begin
their tour in October of 1993. This tour is their first U.S.
tour in almost two
years. While on this tour the play MTV Unplugged. In February
on 1994 they
start a European tour. On March 6, 1994 Nirvana is in Rome for a
show. This
same day Kurt is rushed to the hospital. He had gone into a coma
from
overdosing on Rohypnol and champagne. He had taken 50 doses of
Rohypnol, which
is like the drug valium. The press goes wild and says it is all
a suicide
attempt. Kurt wakes twenty hours later and denies it was an
attempt. At this
time Nirvana decides to cancel the rest of the tour and take a
rest. Through
all of the tours their are rumors that tensions are high between
the group
members. The press says there is constant fighting. There is
even a rumor that
the group is going to break up. To add to the cancellation of
their tour they
also cancel all their involvement in Lollapalooza.
Then on March 18,1994 a startling thing happens. Kurt locks
himself in a room
of his house. He will not come out and he has a 38 caliber
revolver with him.
He threaten to kill himself. Courtney Love once again calls the
police. The
police come and take control of the situation. They take the gun
away.
Some time around March 30,1994 Courtney calls for an intervention
to get Kurt
off of drugs. She realizes he really does need help. On March
31,1994 Kurt
checks in to the Exodus Recovery Center. It seems as though Kurt
wants help.
This doesn't last long. The day after he checks in he jumps a
wall and it is
the last anyone sees of him. He is missing
On April 8th an electrician finds Kurt dead in home, from an
apparent self-
-inflicted gun shot wound to the head.
. Kurt Cobain
Kurt Donald Cobain was born on February 20,1967 in the town of
Aberdeen,
Washington feet of
rain a year. Kurt
was born to Mrs. Wendy Cobain and to Mr. Donald Cobain. Wendy
was a homemaker.
She had a very tight bond with Kurt. He was her first