KURT COBAIN

Kurt Donald Cobain (February 20, 1967 – April 5, 1994), was an American musician, best known for his roles as lead singer, guitarist,
and songwriter for the Seattle-based rock band Nirvana.Cobain formed Nirvana in 1987 with Krist Novoselic. Within two years, the band became
a fixture of the burgeoning Seattle grunge scene. In 1991, the arrival of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” marked the beginning of a
dramatic shift of popular rock music away from the dominant genres of the 1980s (glam metal, arena rock, and dance-pop)
and toward grunge and alternative rock. The music media eventually awarded the song “anthem-of-a-generation” status, and, with it,
Cobain was labeled a “spokesman” for Generation X. During the last years of his life, Cobain struggled with drug addiction
and the media pressures surrounding him and his wife, Courtney Love. On April 8, 1994, Cobain was found dead in his home in Seattle,
the victim of what was officially ruled a self-inflicted shotgun wound to the head. In ensuing years, the circumstances
of his death became a topic of fascination and debate.

Kurt Cobain was born to Donald and Wendy Cobain on February 20, 1967 in Aberdeen, Washington and spent his first six months
living in the village of Hoquiam, Washington before the family moved to Aberdeen. He began developing an interest in music early in his life.
According to his Aunt Mari, “He was singing from the time he was two. He would sing Beatles songs like ‘Hey Jude’. He had a lot of charisma
from a very young age.

In high school, Cobain rarely found anyone to jam with. While hanging out at the Melvins practice space, he met Krist Novoselic,
a fellow devotee of punk rock. Novoselic’s mother owned a hair salon and Cobain and Novoselic would occasionally practice in the upstairs room.
A few years later, Cobain tried to convince Novoselic to form a band with him by lending him a copy of a home demo recorded by Cobain’s earlier band, Fecal Matter.
After months of asking, Novoselic finally agreed to join Cobain, forming the beginnings of Nirvana.

Throughout most of his life, Cobain battled chronic bronchitis and intense physical pain due to an undiagnosed chronic stomach condition.
This last condition was especially debilitating to his emotional welfare, and he spent years trying to find its source. However, none of the doctors
he consulted were able to pinpoint the specific cause, guessing that it was either a result of Cobain’s childhood scoliosis or related to the stresses of performing.

Courtney Love (his wife) arranged an intervention concerning Cobain’s drug use that took place on March 25. The ten people involved
included musician friends, record company executives, and one of Cobain’s closest friends, Dylan Carlson. Former Nirvana manager
Danny Goldberg described Cobain as being “extremely reluctant” and that he “denied that he was doing anything self-destructive.”
However, by the end of the day, Cobain had agreed to undergo a detox program. Cobain arrived at the Exodus Recovery Center
in Los Angeles, California, on March 30. The following night, Cobain walked outside to have a cigarette, then climbed over a six-foot-high
fence to leave the facility. He took a taxi to Los Angeles Airport and flew back to Seattle. Over the course of April 2 and April 3, Cobain was spotted
in various locations around Seattle, but most of his friends and family were unaware of his whereabouts. On April 3, Love contacted a private investigator,
Tom Grant, and hired him to find Cobain. The next day, a person claiming to be Cobain’s mother filed a missing person report.
The report stated that Cobain “may be suicidal” and had purchased a shotgun.

On April 8, 1994, Cobain was discovered in the spare room above the garage at his Lake Washington home by Veca Electric employee Gary Smith.
Smith arrived at the house that morning to install security lighting and saw him lying inside. Apart from a minor amount of blood coming out of Cobain’s ear,
Smith reported seeing no visible signs of trauma, and initially believed that Cobain was asleep. Smith found what he thought might be a suicide note with a pen stuck
through it beneath an overturned flowerpot. A shotgun, purchased for Cobain by Dylan Carlson, was found at Cobain’s side. Cobain’s death certificate
concluded Cobain’s death was a result of a “self-inflicted shotgun wound to the head.” The report estimates Cobain to have died on April 5, 1994.

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