Died On This Date (April 5, 1994) Kurt Cobain / Nirvana

Kurt Cobain
February 27, 1967 – April 5, 1994

Member of the 27 Club

Kurt Cobain and his band Nirvana were unleashed in 1989 and many say they, along with Pearl Jam, almost single-handedly changed what the world then knew as rock music. They created a dirty, flannel and jean-wearing beautiful mess that combined equal parts punk, metal, alternative rock, disillusionment and apathy. It would become know as “grunge” and dealt a fatal blow to “hair metal,” the likes of which hadn’t been seen since the last days of disco. Cobain formed Nirvana with Krist Novoselic in 1987. They were signed to Sub Pop Records who released their debut,  Bleach in 1989. Their drummer at the time was Chad Channing but he was soon replaced by Dave Grohl whose pounding assault was exactly what the band needed to take their message beyond the dimly lit clubs of Seattle. Two years later, the band released their amazing Nevermind album which included the radio and video hit, “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” a song so revered that it even earned a parody from Weird Al Yankovic.  While all this was going on, Cobain met and fell in love with Courtney Love of the band, Hole. They were wed on February 24, 1992 and had their first and only child later that year. Cobain appeared to be in a very happy place even though many Nirvana fans resented his relationship with Love, some comparing her to Yoko Ono and her perceived role in breaking up the Beatles. Needless to say, Cobain continued to struggle with his own internal demons (both mental and physical) in spite of, or perhaps because of all the “positive” changes in his life. His drug problems are already well documented, so need to go into them here.   On March 1, 1994 while on tour in Munich, Love woke up one morning to find Cobain had overdosed on champagne and Rohypnol. Love later declared that this was Cobain’s first attempt at suicide. After apparent struggles (he claimed he was fine) back home in Seattle, Cobain agreed to go to to rehab in Los Angeles. He checked in on March 30th, but just one day later, he hopped the fence and took a plane back home to Seattle. Over the next couple of days there were various Cobain sitings in Seattle clubs, but his family had no idea where he was. Love reached out to a private detective to help find him. On April 8th, Cobain was found dead.  The police ruled his death a suicide by shotgun wound. The date of death was declared to be April 5, 1994