Artist Profile: Nirvana

Today's Artist Profile is on one of the first bands I ever listened to growing up, Nirvana. Nirvana was formed in 1987 in Aberdeen, Washington just outside of Seattle. The band consisted of Kurt Cobain on lead vocals and guitar, Dave Grohl on drums, and Krist Novoselic on bass. The band was one of the early pioneers of Seattle's grunge scene, which also included future legendary acts such as Pearl Jam and Soundgarden. The band released their debut album Bleach in 1989 on Sub Pop Records. The band's raw and abrasive sound immediately struck a chord with listeners and the band started to attract a small but loyal fanbase in the Seattle area. The band signed a record deal with DGC Records in 1990 and immediately began work on their major label debut release, Nevermind. The album eventually saw the light of the day the next year and quickly became a worldwide phenomenon, selling 26 million copies worldwide to date. The groundbreaking album contained such genre defining tracks as "Smells Like Teen Spirit", "In Bloom", "Come As You Are", "Lithium", and "Polly".  It's considered the exact moment when grunge took over the music scene when Nevermind displaced Michael Jackson's "Dangerous" from the top spot of the Billboard 200 in January 1992, cementing Nirvana's legendary grunge status.

The band embarked on a lengthy touring schedule, then quickly began work on their follow up album In Utero, released in 1993. The album debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart, on the strength of such classic tracks like my favorite Nirvana track, "Heart Shaped Box", "All Apologies", "Rape Me" and "Pennyroyal Tea".  The album wound up selling 4 million copies in the U.S. and the band went on a worldwide tour in support of the album. Sadly, on April 8, 1994, Kurt Cobain was found dead inside in his Seattle home of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, he was 27 years old. I remember watching news reports of when he first died and was in complete shock that one of my favorite musicians was gone forever. Nirvana will always have a special place in my heart as the very first band that I listened to, which then ultimately led me to broaden my musical horizons.