Nirvana was a grunge rock band from the Seattle, Washington area. Many consider Nirvana as the first grunge band, although that isn’t entirely true. The band was led by the eclectic and troubled Kurt Cobain. Cobain struggled with addiction and other demons and committed suicide in 1994. After the dissolution of Nirvana, drummer Dave Grohl started Foo Fighters and has released several albums since.
Although the band helped launch the grunge movement into national attention in the early 1990’s, a handful of bands from the Pacific Northwest region are responsible for starting the musical revolution. The “Godfathers of Grunge” as they are sometimes called include Nirvana, Alice In Chains, Soundgarden, and Pearl Jam.
Cobain started Nirvana in 1987 with bassist Krist Novoselic and drummer Aaron Burckhard (Dave Grohl replaced Burckhard in 1990). When naming Nirvana, Kurt wanted the band’s name to reflect “something nice and beautiful” since the trend at the time was to name one’s band something raunchy or graphic.
Kurt Cobain was born in Aberdeen, Washington and started playing guitar at the age of 14. He met Krist Novoselic in high school where they formed the early version of Nirvana with then drummer Aaron Burckhard. The very first show the band played was a house party in Raymond, Washington.
Studio Albums
- Bleach (Released in 1989)
- Nevermind (Released in 1991)
- In Utero (Released in 1993)
- MTV Unplugged In New York (Released in 1994)
Nirvana Artwork
Band Members
- Kurt Cobain
- Krist Novoselic
- Dave Grohl
- Aaron Burckhard