Kurt Cobain

Born Kurt Donald Cobain on February 20, 1967, in Aberdeen, Washington, he would go on to be the lead singer of the grunge group Nirvana during the 1990s. Growing up in a small logging town, from a young age Cobain showed an interest in art and music. He excelled at drawing, so much so that his talent was apparent starting in Kindergarten. He learned how to play the piano by ear and enjoyed using a kiddie drum set that his parents had given him. He spent time with his little sister Kim, but both children had to had to deal with their parents fighting as their marriage began to fall apart.

After his parents divorced when he was nine, Cobain became increasingly withdrawn. He lived with his father following the divorce, but would still visit his mother and sister on weekends. When his father got remarried, Cobain felt ignored and unloved as his father gave attention to his new wife and stepchildren. It was during this time that he received a gift from his uncle that would change everything - a guitar. It inspired Cobain to learn how to play and it offered a refuge from his unhappiness at home. Alienated and angry, he believed that his father always took his stepmother's side and favored her children and his half-brother. He began to experiment with drugs in his teens as he began to distance himself from his father.

In 1982, Cobain left his father's home and bounced from relative to relative for several months. He then went and lived with his mother who was living with her boyfriend, later husband, Pat O'Connor. Attending high school in Aberdeen, he impressed his teachers and peers alike with his artistic talents. Though he chose odd subject matter, drawing a sperm turning into an embryo for one project.

Cobain's life changed after he began listening to punk rock. Discovering a local punk band, the Melvins, he befriended Buzz Osbourne, a member of the group. It was Osbourne who truly showed Cobain the genre, introducing him to bands such as the Raincoats and the Sex Pistols. As high school progressed for Cobain he fell deeper into drugs and alcohol. He also would often get into fights with his mother who would drink a lot and disliked his step-father.

Cobain spent the majority of 1984 and 1985 living in various places. He spent time living with friends when he could, sleeping in apartment building hallways, or hospital waiting rooms if he had nowhere else to go. In 1985, he was arrested for vandalism when he was the only one who couldn't get away from the police fast enough. This was also the time in which he started his first band, "Fecal Matter", they recorded a few songs together but never played any gigs.

The next year, Cobain began playing music with bassist Krist Novoselic who was two years older than him, knowing each other from hanging around the Melvins. A local drummer named Aaron Burckhard later joined. Their first gig was a house party in 1987, that same year Cobain started going out with Tracy Marander, his first serious girlfriend. The two eventually lived together in Olympia, although they struggled financially they enjoyed the rock and roll lifestyle to live any other way.

In 1988 Cobain was able to make some of his dreams come true. After finally settling on the name Nirvana for the group, they made their first single, "Love Buzz", which was released by a small independent record label named Sub Pop Records. By this time the original drummer, Burckhard, had been replaced with Chad Channing. Nirvana's popularity in Seattle began to grow, and they released their debut album, Bleach, in 1989. Though it failed to make a huge impact, it showed signs of Cobain's emerging talent as a songwriter especially the ballad, About A Girl. But Cobain felt mistreated by Sub Pop as he felt that they spent more time and money promoting their other acts.

While his band struggled to make it, Cobain made a fateful connection in his personal life. In 1990, Cobain met his match in an edgy rocker named Courtney Love. The two met at a show in Portland, while they were clearly interested in one another their relationship did not start until much later. That same year, he also got the opportunity to meet some of his musical heroes while touring with Sonic Youth. Nirvana was going through some internal changes at the time as their friend Dale Crover filled in on the drums after Channing had been kicked out by Cobain and Novoselic. After the tour, they finally found a replacement in Dave Grohl who had played with hardcore band Scream in Washington D.C.

Despite their anti-establishment and punk tendencies, Nirvana made the leap to a major label in 1991 when they signed with Geffen Records. That year, they released Nevermind, which spearheaded a music revolution. With the raw edges of punk and the blistering guitars of metal, their sound was labeled "grunge" for its murky and rough qualities.

The single "Smells Like Teen Spirit", like many Nirvana songs, modulated between soft and thrashing. Cobain was equally as convincing as he sang the song's mellow chorus and screamed the final lines. It proved to be the group's biggest single and helped take the entire album to the top of the charts. Soon, Cobain was called one of the best songwriters of his generation. This along with the rapid rise of the group put pressure on the talented and sensitive Cobain, then only 24. He began to worry about how his music was being received and how to regain control of a seemingly uncontrollable future. He had begun using heroin in the early 1990s, the drug provided an escape as well as some relief for his chronic stomach problems.

Before the release of Nevermind, Cobain reconnected with Courtney Love at a concert in Los Angeles. Later that year, Cobain and Love started a whirlwind romance that included letters, faxes, and numerous phone calls as the two were traveling with their respective bands. In February 1992, they got married and welcomed their daughter Francis Bean Cobain in August of that year. They found themselves being investigated by social services after Love told Vanity Fair that she had taken heroin while pregnant. After a costly legal battle, Cobain and Love were able to keep custody of their daughter. His relationship with Love was becoming more strained, the Seattle Police came to their house after the two had a physical altercation over Cobain having guns in the house in 1993. As a result, he was arrested for assault and the police to the guns from the home.

While his personal life was in turmoil, Cobain had continued success professionally. Nirvana's highly acclaimed album In Utero was released in September 1993 and went to the top of the charts. Full of highly personal lyrics by Cobain about his many life struggles, the recording featured a fair amount of hostility toward people and situations that Cobain reviled. While the band earned rave reviews for the new album, Cobain had become more distant from the other members.

On a break during the tour, Cobain spent some time in Europe with his family. On March 4, 1994, while in his hotel room in Rome, he attempted suicide by taking an overdose of drugs. Love woke up and discovered that Cobain was in trouble. He was rushed to the hospital in a coma. While official reports said that it was an accidental overdose, Cobain had clearly intended to kill himself, having left a suicide note. Upon returning to the US he became even more reclusive, spending much of his time alone and high. Love called the police on March 18 to report that Cobain was suicidal after he locked himself in a closet with some guns and medication, according to the police report. After interviewing Love and Cobain, it was determined that he had not threatened to kill himself, but Love called the authorities because he had locked himself in and would not open the door. She knew that he had access to guns and for their safety, the police took them and any medication.

A few days later, Love had an intervention for Cobain, trying to convince him to give up drugs. She had already gone clean after their experience in Rome, Cobain eventually checked into a rehab center in Los Angeles, but he left after a few days.

On April 4, 1994, in the guest house behind his Seattle home, a then 27-year-old Cobain committed suicide. He placed a shotgun in his mouth and fired, killing himself instantly. He left a lengthy suicide note in which he addressed his fans as well as his wife and daughter. Despite the official ruling of his death as a suicide, many conspiracy theorists believe that Love had him killed.

Sources
http://www.biography.com/people/kurt-cobain-9542179