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Happy birthday, Kurt Cobain

Posted on by Candy Rock

Kurt Cobain, songwriter and guitarist of the band Nirvana.

Kurt Cobain, songwriter and guitarist of the band Nirvana.

Happy birthday, Kurt Cobain...
Born Kurt Donald Cobain on February 20 1967 (died circa April 5 1994) in Aberdeen, Washington, U.S., Kurt Cobain was a musician, singer and songwriter mostly known as the singer, songwriter and guitarist of the band Nirvana.
Kurt was influenced by a lot of 70s hard rock and heavy metal bands (Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Aerosmith, Queen, Kiss...), punk rock bands (The Clash, the Sex Pistols...), protopunk bands (The Velvet Underground, the Stooges...), alternative rock bands and many other from The Beatles to R.E.M..
He began learning guitar in 1981, at the age of 14 when an uncle offered him an used guitar, with covers as Louie Louie (Richard Berry , The Kingsmen) and My Best Friend's Girl (The Cars). Quickly, he started working on his own songs.
He formed the beginnings of Nirvana (early named Skid Row, then Pen Cap Chew, Bliss, and Ted Ed Fredwith) with Krist Novoselic and later Aaron Burckhard in Aberdeen, Washington, in 1985.
Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic went through a succession of drummers (Dale Crover, Dave Foster, Chad Channing, Dan Peters) before Dave Grohl joined the band in 1990 (final lineup (1990-1994): Kurt Cobain (lead vocals, guitar), Krist Novoselic (bass guitar), Dave Grohl (drums, backing vocals)).
In the late 80s Nirvana began to be successful on the Seattle grunge scene and recorded their first album Bleach (released with Chad Channing on Drums) on Sub Pop Records in 1989.
But the band found their greatest success with Nevermind (1991) and In Utero (1993).
During this time, Kurt struggled to manage the succes of Nirvana, too far from his underground roots and fell into a full-fledged heroin addiction (his first drug experience was with marijuana in 1980, at age 13 and he regularly used drugs (LSD, acid, heroin) during adulthood and the early years of Nirvana).
He met Courtney Love in 1990 in Portland and got married on Waikiki Beach in Hawaii in 1992 (their daughter Frances Bean Cobain was born the same year).
In a state of depression for a long time, susceptible to suicide, he was found dead of a possible self-inflicted shotgun wound to the head at his Lake Washington Blvd home (Seattle) on Friday, April 8, 1994 (the coroner's report estimated Cobain to have died on April 5, 1994).
Kurt has been remembered as one of the most iconic musicians in the history of alternative rock and specifically the hrunge (a subgenre emerged during the mid-1980s in Seattle) ranked in the greatest guitarists or the greatest voices of all time (Rolling Stone, MTV, Hit Parader...)
On April 10, 2014 Nirvana was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic and Courtney Love were present).
Rock in peace, Kurt Cobain!

Kurt Cobain AND Nirvana performing in Modena, Italy, on 21 February 1994

Kurt Cobain AND Nirvana performing in Modena, Italy, on 21 February 1994

Kurt Cobain, Nirvana (1994) - © Raffaella Cavalieri/Redferns Ltd - Getty Images

Kurt Cobain, Nirvana (1994) - © Raffaella Cavalieri/Redferns Ltd - Getty Images

[french version :
Né Kurt Donald Cobain le 20 février 1967 (mort le 5 avril 1994) à Aberdeen, Washington, U.S., Kurt Cobain était un musicien mieux connu en tant que chanteur, guitariste et principal parolier de Nirvana.
Kurt Cobain a été influencé par de nombreux groupes de hard rock et de heavy metal des années 1970 (Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Aerosmith, Queen, Kiss...), de punk rock  (The Clash, the Sex Pistols...), de protopunk (The Velvet Underground, the Stooges...), de rock alternatif et plus encore des Beatles à R.E.M..
Il commence à jouer de la guitare à 14 ans, après qu'un de ses oncles lui ait offert une guitare d'occasion, en reprenant des tubes comme Louie Louie (Richard Berry, The Kingsmen) et My Best Friend's Girl (The Cars). Très vite, il commence à travailler sur ses propres textes.
Il forme les prémices de Nirvana (préalablement nommé Skid Row puis Pen Cap Chew, Bliss, et enfin Ted Ed Fredwith) avec Krist Novoselic et plus tard Aaron Burckhard à Aberdeen, Etat de Washington, en 1985.
Kurt Cobain et Krist Novoselic ont travaillé avec de nombreux batteurs (Dale Crover, Dave Foster, Chad Channing, Dan Peters) avant que Dave Grohl ne rejoigne le groupe en 1990 (lineup définitif (1990-1994) : Kurt Cobain (chanteur, guitariste), Krist Novoselic (basse), Dave Grohl (batterie, choeurs)).
A la fin des années 80, Nirvana commence à être célèbre sur la scène grunge de Seattle et enregistre son premier album Bleach (avec Chad Channing à la batterie) sur le label Sub Pop Records en 1989.
Mais le groupe atteint les sommets avec les albums Nevermind (1991) et In Utero (1993).
A cette période, Kurt rencontre de grosses difficultés à gérer le succès de Nirvana, trop éloigné de ses racines underground et sombre totalement dans son addiction à l'héroine (il consomme pour la première fois du canabis en 1980, à l'age de 13 ans et depuis, s'adonne régulièrement à toutes sortes de drogues (LSD, acide, héroine) durant ses premières années d'adulte et les débuts de Nirvana).
Il rencontre Courtney Love à Portland en 1990 et se marie sur la plage de Waikiki à Hawaii en 1992 (leur fille, Frances Bean Cobain nait la même année).
Dépressif et suicidaire depuis un long moment, Kurt est retrouvé mort, atteint d'une balle dans la tête qu'il s'est probablement lui même tirée, dans sa maison de Lake Washington Blvd à Seattle le vendredi 8 avril 1994 (le rapport d'autopsie estimera que sa mort remonte au 5 avril 1994).
Kurt est reconnu comme l'un des musiciens les plus emblématiques de l'histoire du rock alternatif et plus spécialement du grunge (un genre apparu au milieu des année 1980 à Seattle), compté parmi les plus grands guitaristes et les plus belles voix de tous les temps (Rolling Stone, MTV, Hit Parader...)
Le 10 avril 1994, Nirvana est introduit au Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic and Courtney Love étaient présents).
Repose en Paix, Kurt Cobain !]

Kurt Cobain, Nirvana - "The last shooting" (1994), credit: Youri Lenquette

Kurt Cobain, Nirvana - "The last shooting" (1994), credit: Youri Lenquette

Nirvana in 1993 (from left) Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic, Dave Grohl. Credit: Anton Corbijn

Nirvana in 1993 (from left) Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic, Dave Grohl. Credit: Anton Corbijn

Kurt Cobain, Nirvana - MTV Unplugged in New York, 18 novembre 1993

Kurt Cobain, Nirvana - MTV Unplugged in New York, 18 novembre 1993

Kurt Cobain, Nirvana - MTV Unplugged in New York, 18 novembre 1993

Kurt Cobain, Nirvana - MTV Unplugged in New York, 18 novembre 1993

Kurt Cobain, Nirvana - MTV Unplugged in New York, 18 novembre 1993

Kurt Cobain, Nirvana - MTV Unplugged in New York, 18 novembre 1993

Kurt Cobain, Nirvana - MTV Unplugged in New York, 18 novembre 1993

Kurt Cobain, Nirvana - MTV Unplugged in New York, 18 novembre 1993

Kurt Cobain, Nirvana, Reading Festival in England (1992) - credit: Frank Micelotta - Getty Images

Kurt Cobain, Nirvana, Reading Festival in England (1992) - credit: Frank Micelotta - Getty Images

Kurt Cobain and Courney Love in Japan (1992) - credit: ®KenjiKubo

Kurt Cobain and Courney Love in Japan (1992) - credit: ®KenjiKubo

Kurt Cobain, Nirvana, Reading Festival in England (1992) - credit: Frank Micelotta - Getty Images

Kurt Cobain, Nirvana, Reading Festival in England (1992) - credit: Frank Micelotta - Getty Images

Kurt Cobain crowd surfs during a Nirvana show in Frankfurt, Germany in 1991

Kurt Cobain crowd surfs during a Nirvana show in Frankfurt, Germany in 1991

Nirvana in 1991 (from left) Krist Novoselic, Dave Grohl and Kurt Cobain

Nirvana in 1991 (from left) Krist Novoselic, Dave Grohl and Kurt Cobain

Kurt Cobain, Nirvana - credit: Michel Linssen/Redferns

Kurt Cobain, Nirvana - credit: Michel Linssen/Redferns

Kurt Cobain, Nirvana, Los Angeles (1990)

Kurt Cobain, Nirvana, Los Angeles (1990)

Kurt Cobain, Nirvana (1989)

Kurt Cobain, Nirvana (1989)

Kurt Cobain, Nirvana

Kurt Cobain, Nirvana

Kurt Cobain, mugshot (1986)

Kurt Cobain, mugshot (1986)

Kurt Cobain, Nirvana

Kurt Cobain, Nirvana

Kurt Cobain, Childhood

Kurt Cobain, Childhood

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