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Wednesday, March 14, 2012

The #58 Guitarist of the Rock Era: Kurt Cobain

And now we have the sad story of #58.
#58:  Kurt Cobain, Nirvana
13 years as an active guitarist
(some of his best solos)

Kurt Donald Cobain was born February 20, 1967 in Aberdeen, Washington, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the grunge group Nirvana.  Nirvana broke through into public consciousness with the single "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and album Nevermind.  After this album, Nirvana was labeled as the flagship band of Generation X and Cobain was hailed by Rolling Stone as "the spokesman of a generation".
 
Kurt began developing an interest in music early in life, like so many of the greats. At age four, he started playing the piano and singing and wrote his first song. He was interested in the Beatles (John Lennon was his idol), Arlo Guthrie, the Monkees and the Ramones. But he became defiant and withdrawn when his parents divorced and this event would have a profound effect on his life. He was embarrassed and ashamed of his parents.

Cobain's father remarried but Kurt's rebellion soon became overwhelming and he was placed in the care of family and friends in Montesano, Washington. Cobain became a devout Christian and religion would remain an important part of his personal life and beliefs. He was especially interested in Buddhist philosophy. The band name Nirvana is from the Buddhist concept, which Cobain defined as "freedom from pain, suffering and the external world."

Kurt became a fan of Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Queen, Aerosmith and Kiss but also began listening to the Clash, the Sex Pistols and the Melvins and alternative rock groups R.E.M. and Sonic Youth. Cobain learned to play guitar by playing covers of "Louie Louie" and "My Best Friend's Girl".
 
Cobain escaped by going to the thriving punk scene in the Pacific Northwest. During his sophomore year in high school, Cobain began living with his mother in Aberdeen. During high school, Cobain met Krist Novoselic, another fan of punk rock. Cobain and Novoselic would practice occasionally in the upstairs room of a hair salon owned by Krist's mother. Two weeks prior to graduation, after learning he did not have enough credits, Kurt simply gave up and dropped out.

In 1986, Cobain moved into an apartment, but struggled to find work. He tried to convince Novoselic to form a band and after months of coaxing, Krist finally agreed, the beginnings of Nirvana. Cobain quickly became disenchanted because the band did not draw big crowds. Originally, the pair played with a rotating list of drummers but eventually, they settled on Chad Channing and recorded the album Bleach in 1989. But Cobain became with Channing's style and the group recruited drummer Dave Grohl.
 
Nirvana signed a major recording contract and released Nevermind in 1991. With this album, the group became the primary proponent of the subgenre known as grunge. The album contained the youth anthem "Smells Like Teen Spirit", which reflected Cobain's feelings of bitterness and despair and his "woe is me" attitude. The success propelled alternative rock to the forefront of popular music in the early-to-mid-1990's. Alternative groups and grunge-rock band proliferated and acts such as Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains and Soundgarden found wider audiences with increased airplay.

Cobain and his group were hailed as "providing the voice for a generation". Cobain was annoyed and frustrated by the new attention, believing the message and artistic vision of his songwriting to have been misinterpreted by the public. Cobain resented people who claimed to be fans of the band but misinterpreted the band's social and political views. He was a vocal advocate for gay rights, pro-choice and for the equal rights of minorities and women.

Cobain began using large amounts of drugs, including LSD and heroin and was prone to alcoholism. Probably not at all coincidentally, he was sick a lot and suffered from depression.
 
After a tour stop at Terminal Eins in Munich, Germany on March 1, 1994, Cobain was diagnosed with bronchitis and severe laryngitis. He flew to Rome the next day for medical treatment, where his wife, Courtney Love, met him. The next morning when Love awoke, she found Cobain had overdosed on champagne and Rohypnol. Now why he was drinking champagne in his physical state is the question. Love later said that she believed the incident was a suicide attempt. Cobain was rushed to the hospital and was unconscious the rest of the day. After five days, Cobain was released from the hospital and flown home to Seattle.

On March 18, Love phoned Seattle police and told them that Cobain was suicidal and had locked himself in a room with a gun. Police arrived and confiscated several guns and a bottle of pills from Cobain, who insisted that he was not suicidal and had locked himself in the room to hide from Love. When questioned by police, Love changed her story and said that Cobain had never mentioned that he was suicidal and that she had not seen him with a gun.
 
Love arranged an intervention regarding Cobain's use of drugs on March 25. She invited ten people to the house, including friends, record company executives and close friend Dylan Carlson. When the group tried to help, Cobain became angry and threw insults, then locked himself in the bedroom upstairs. By the end of the day, however, he agreed to enter a detox program. Cobain arrived at the Exodus Recovery Center in Los Angeles on March 30. No one told the staff anything about Cobain's history of depression and prior attempts at suicide. Cobain spent the day talking to counselors about his personal problems and drug abuse. The following night, Cobain walked outside and climbed over a six-foot high fence to leave the facility.

Cobain then took a taxi to the Los Angeles Airport and flew back to Seattle. On the flight, he sat next to Duff McKagan of Guns N' Roses. Although he had considerable animosity towards the group, McKagan said that he "seemed happy" to see him. McKagan later said that knew from "all of my instincts that something was wrong". On April 2 and 3, Cobain was seen in various locations around Seattle, although his close friends and family were unaware of his whereabouts. On April 3, Love hired a private investigator to find Cobain. On April 7, with rumors swirling that Nirvana was breaking up, the band pulled out of the Lollapalooza music festival.
 
Kurt could not cope with his fame and public image. On April 8, 1994, Cobain was found dead at his home in Seattle by an electrician who had arrived to install a security system in the home.  Cobain's death was from suicide, a gunshot to the head.  A note was found that said, paraphrasing, "I haven't felt the excitement of listening to as well as creating music...for too many years now."  High amounts of heroin and traces of diazepam were found in his body.  Cobain had been lying in his house for days; officially his death was recorded April 5, 1994.


Seven thousand mourners attended a public vigil for Kurt on April 10 at a park at Seattle Center.  Cobain's ashes were divided, 1/3 scattered into Wishkah River near Hoquiam, Washington, 1/3 in New York and 1/3 to Courtney Love, at a final ceremony May 1.

"Yeah, he talked a lot about what direction he was heading in," friend Michael Stipe of R.E.M. told Newsweek in 1994. "I mean, I know what the next Nirvana recording was going to sound like. It was going to be very quiet and acoustic, with lots of stringed instruments. It was going to be an amazing record, and I’m a little bit angry at him for killing himself. He and I were going to record a trial run of the album, a demo tape. It was all set up. He had a plane ticket. He had a car picking him up. And at the last minute he called and said, 'I can't come.'"

Nirvana sold 50 million albums worldwide, 25 million in the United States.  Cobain is one of the most important figures of the Rock Era, despite his short time as a performer, bringing a new style of music from the small clubs of the Pacific Northwest and going global.  He has been lauded by Rolling Stone, Hit Parader and others as being one of the greatest guitarists of all-time.

A Kurt Cobain Memorial Committee was organized and a sign was erected in Aberdeen that read "Welcome to Aberdeen - Come As You Are", a tribute to Cobain.  The group announced plans to built Kurt Cobain Memorial Park and a youth center in Aberdeen.  

Many Nirvana fans visit Viretta Park, near Cobain's former Lake Washington home, to pay tribute.  
The death of Kurt Cobain was the awakening of Generation X, in much the same way as the previous generation was stunned by the deaths of Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison.  Like Cobain, they all died, whether "intentionally" or not, from drugs.  Cobain too left us too soon, but in his short time on Earth, had the talent and the technique to make him The #58 Guitarist of the Rock Era*.

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