Nirvana (band)

Nirvana
Nirvana band members Krist Novoselic (left) and Kurt Cobain performing at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards.
Background information
Origin	Aberdeen, Washington, United States
Genres	Alternative rock, grunge
Years active	1987–1994
Labels	Sub Pop, DGC
Associated acts	Fecal Matter, Foo Fighters
Members
Kurt Cobain Krist Novoselic Dave Grohl
Past members
Aaron Burckhard Dale Crover Dave Foster Chad Channing Jason Everman Dan Peters

Nirvana was an American alternative rock band in the 1990s. They were one of the most successful and influential bands of that time. Since they formed, they have sold over 75 million records all over the world. They played a style of rock music known as grunge, which was highly influenced by 1980s alternative rock, 1970s punk, and heavy metal. Grunge became more commercially successful than the previous punk rock, as promoted to the world by Sub Pop Records. Nirvana greatly affected the style of other grunge bands such as Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and Alice in Chains. They split up after their lead singer Kurt Cobain died in 1994 after he shot himself in the face with a shotgun. On April 10 2014 Nirvana will be given a star in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

History

Nirvana started in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987 when singer Kurt Cobain and the bassist Krist Novoselic met and decided to form a band. The band had 5 different drummers until they found Dave Grohl. They released their first studio album, Bleach, in 1989, with Chad Channing playing drums.

Their second album, Nevermind, released in 1991, was a massive success. Many people bought it, and it had the top spot on many music charts. It featured the song "Smells Like Teen Spirit" which was also a very big hit. In February 1992 Kurt married rock singer Courtney Love. The band caused controversy in 1992 when they played a song called "Rape Me" on MTV. Many people found this offensive. Around this time, Kurt also started taking many illegal drugs, including heroin.

Nirvana released another album called In Utero, in 1993 and went on tour in Europe. Many of the dates were cancelled because Cobain was drinking too much alcohol and taking too many drugs. He was taken into a rehab center to end his addiction to drugs but he ran away. He was found dead in his home on Friday, April 8, 1994 by an electrician.The police decided that he committed suicide with a shotgun. The other band members were shocked by this, Kurt was given the name "Shotgun Cobain," and Nirvana officially split up.

Nirvana has released more compilation albums than regular, or studio, albums. See Nirvana's discography.

After the band

After Nirvana broke up, Dave Grohl started a new band called Foo Fighters. Krist Novoselic became interested in politics and also kept making music. He was the bassist for Flipper, which Kurt Cobain was a fan of, but recently left the band.

Albums

Studio albums

• Bleach (1989)
• Nevermind (1991)
• In Utero (1993)

Other albums

• Incesticide (1992)
• MTV Unplugged in New York (1994)
• From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah (1996)
• Nirvana (2002)
• With the Lights Out (2004)
• Sliver: The Best of the Box (2005)
• Live At Reading (2009)

Other websites

• Live Nirvana website
• Kurt Cobain's original suicide letter