Kurt Cobain

Kurt Cobain was born in Aberdeen, Washington, in 1967 and grew up in a small logging town far from the centers of the music industry. Drawn early to punk rock and outsider art, he formed Nirvana with bassist Krist Novoselic in 1987. The band's raw debut, Bleach, released on the Seattle independent label Sub Pop, made them favorites of the emerging Pacific Northwest scene.

With drummer Dave Grohl on board, Nirvana released Nevermind in 1991. Against all expectations it topped the charts, and its lead single became an anthem that carried grunge and alternative rock into households worldwide. Cobain's songwriting paired pop melody with abrasive noise and lyrics of unusual vulnerability. The follow-up, In Utero, showed a band determined to stay true to its punk roots despite enormous fame.

Cobain struggled with chronic illness, depression, and addiction, and he died in Seattle in 1994 at age 27. Nirvana was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014, in the band's first year of eligibility. His honesty about pain and alienation changed what rock music was allowed to say, and his songs still speak directly to listeners discovering them for the first time.