Kurt Cobain

Kurt Donald Cobain (February 20, 1967 – c. April 5, 1994) was an American musician. He was the lead vocalist, guitarist, primary songwriter, and a founding member of the grunge band Nirvana. Through his angsty songwriting and anti-establishment persona, he widened the thematic conventions of mainstream rock music. He was heralded as a spokesman of Generation X, and is widely recognized as one of the most influential rock musicians.

Cobain was a founding member of Nirvana, which established themselves as part of the Seattle-area music scene that later became known as grunge. The band went through several changes of members before recruiting Dave Grohl. With this final lineup of Cobain, Grohl and Krist Novoselic, the band signed with DGC and found commercial success with the single "Smells Like Teen Spirit" from their critically acclaimed second album Nevermind (1991). Cobain wrote many other hit Nirvana songs, notably "Come as You Are", "Lithium", "In Bloom", "Heart-Shaped Box", "All Apologies" and "Something in the Way". Although Cobain was often hailed as the voice of his generation following Nirvana's sudden success, he was uncomfortable with this role.