Nirvana (band)

Nirvana was an American rock band that started in Aberdeen, Washington, in 1987. Kurt Cobain (lead singer and guitarist) and Krist Novoselic (bassist) founded the group. Before Dave Grohl joined as drummer in 1990, several other drummers played with them, most notably Chad Channing. The band’s success helped bring alternative rock into the mainstream, and they were frequently called the defining band of Generation X. Their music still has a large fan base and continues to shape rock culture. In the late 1980s, Nirvana became part of Seattle’s grunge scene. Their first album, Bleach, came out in 1989 on the independent label Sub Pop. Their sound was built on sharp contrasts, often moving between quiet verses and loud, heavy choruses. After signing with the major label DGC Records in 1990, the band achieved unexpected fame with “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” the first single from their landmark second album, Nevermind (1991). That album became a cultural phenomenon of the 1990s, was certified thirteen-times platinum in the United States, and is widely credited with ending the popularity of hair metal. Nirvana’s music had a punk aesthetic, mixing pop melodies with noise, and their lyrics often dealt with feelings of abjection and social alienation. This combination brought them worldwide popularity. After extensive touring, the compilation Incesticide and the EP Hormoaning came out in 1992. The band then released their highly anticipated third studio album, In Utero (1993), which reached number one on both the US and UK album charts and received critical acclaim. However, in April 1994, Nirvana broke up after Cobain’s suicide. Later releases were overseen by Novoselic, Grohl, and Cobain’s widow, Courtney Love. The live album MTV Unplugged in New York (1994) won the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Performance in 1996. Nirvana is one of the best-selling music artists ever, with more than 75 million records sold worldwide, including 60 million certified sales in the US. During their three years as a mainstream act, they won an American Music Award, a Brit Award, a Grammy Award, seven MTV Video Music Awards, and two NME Awards. They had five number-one hits on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart and four number-one albums on the Billboard 200. In 2010, Rolling Stone ranked Nirvana 30th on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014, their first year of eligibility. In 2023, they received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic met while attending Aberdeen High School in Washington. They became friends by hanging out at the practice space of the band Melvins. Cobain wanted to start a band with Novoselic, but Novoselic didn’t respond for a long time. Cobain gave him a demo tape of his project Fecal Matter. Three years after they first met, Novoselic told Cobain he had finally listened to the demo and suggested they form a group. Their first band, the Sellouts, was a Creedence Clearwater Revival tribute act, with Novoselic on guitar and vocals, Cobain on drums, and Steve Newman on bass, but it didn’t last long. Another project featuring original songs was attempted in late 1986 with drummer Bob McFadden, but that also fell apart after a month. In early 1987, Cobain and Novoselic recruited drummer Aaron Burckhard. They practiced material from Cobain’s Fecal Matter tape but soon began writing new songs. In its first months, the band used several names, including Skid Row, Pen Cap Chew, Bliss, and Ted Ed Fred. They first played under the name Nirvana on March 19, 1988, at Community World Theater in Tacoma, Washington, alongside the bands Lush and Vampire Lezbos. The concert flyer, designed by Cobain, listed all the previous names: “Nirvana (also known as... Skid Row, Ted Ed Fred, Pen Cap Chew, Bliss).” They settled on Nirvana because, Cobain said, “I wanted a name that was kind of beautiful or nice and pretty instead of a mean, raunchy punk name like the Angry Samoans.” A British band also called Nirvana sued them over the name, but the case was settled out of court. Novoselic moved to Tacoma and Cobain to Olympia, Washington. They lost touch with Burckhard for a while and instead practiced with Dale Crover of the Melvins, with whom Nirvana recorded its first demos in January 1988. In early 1988, Crover moved to San Francisco but recommended Dave Foster as his replacement on drums. Foster’s time with Nirvana was rocky; while he was in jail, Burckhard returned, but left again after telling Cobain he was too hungover to practice. Foster came back, but after Cobain and Novoselic met drummer Chad Channing, they permanently dismissed Foster (though not before Foster saw the band play live without him). Channing kept jamming with Cobain and Novoselic, but by Channing’s account, “They never actually said ‘okay, you’re in.’” Channing played his first show with Nirvana in late May 1988. Nirvana released its first single, a cover of Shocking Blue’s “Love Buzz,” in November 1988 on the Seattle independent label Sub Pop. They gave their first interview to John Robb at Sounds, which made the single its single of the week. The next month, the band started recording its debut album, Bleach, with local producer Jack Endino. The album was influenced by the heavy dirge-rock of the Melvins, the 1980s punk of Mudhoney, and the 1970s heavy metal of Black Sabbath. The money for the recording sessions—listed as $606.17 on the album sleeve—was provided by Jason Everman, who then joined the band as a second guitarist.