100 Fun Facts About Nirvana

In which Washington town was Nirvana formed in 1987?

Cobain and Novoselic met at Aberdeen High School and hung around the Melvins' practice space; the town's welcome sign now reads 'Come As You Are'.

Which of these was NOT one of the band's early names before they settled on Nirvana?

Bliss was another; Cobain said he wanted a name 'kind of beautiful or nice and pretty instead of a mean, raunchy punk name'. Mudhoney was a real Seattle contemporary.

The demo tape Cobain gave Novoselic that eventually got the band started was from which earlier project?

Novoselic took three years to listen to it before suggesting they form a group.

Nirvana's first single, released on Sub Pop in November 1988, was a cover of which Shocking Blue song?

The band went on to become the first act to sign an extended contract with the Seattle label.

According to the album sleeve, how much did it cost to record Nirvana's 1989 debut Bleach?

Producer Jack Endino billed 30 hours at $606.17; the money came from Jason Everman, who was credited as guitarist despite not playing on it.

Cobain said he wrote 'About a Girl', from Bleach, after spending three hours listening to which album?

He called John Lennon his idol in his journals; his aunts had given him Beatles records as a child.

Which Melvins member introduced Cobain and Novoselic to drummer Dave Grohl in September 1990?

Grohl's Washington, D.C. band Scream had just broken up; Novoselic said 'We knew in two minutes that he was the right drummer.'

Who was Nirvana's drummer on Bleach, before Dave Grohl joined?

Channing left in 1990 as bootlegs of the Butch Vig demos circulated; Grohl thanked him and the other early drummers at the Hall of Fame induction.

Whose repeated recommendations led Nirvana to sign with DGC Records in 1990?

The band also took advice from Susan Silver, manager of Soundgarden and Alice in Chains, whom Novoselic thanked at the Hall of Fame.

Who produced Nevermind?

It was recorded at Sound City in Van Nuys for about $65,000; Slayer mixer Andy Wallace was brought in for the final, polished mix the band later grumbled about.

What was Nevermind's tentative title while the band was still on Sub Pop?

Cobain wrote a fake ad in his journal: 'Because you want to not; because everyone else is.' The final title echoes the Sex Pistols' Never Mind the Bollocks.

The Nevermind cover shows a baby swimming toward what?

The baby was four-month-old Spencer Elden, photographed by Kirk Weddle after underwater-birth footage was judged too graphic.

Whose album did Nevermind knock off the top of the Billboard 200 in January 1992?

DGC had hoped to sell 250,000 copies; by Christmas 1991 it was selling 400,000 a week and it has passed 30 million worldwide.

The title 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' came from graffiti by Kathleen Hanna of which band?

She meant the deodorant brand Teen Spirit; Cobain took it as a revolutionary slogan.

Cobain called 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' an 'ultimate pop song' attempt inspired by which band's loud-quiet dynamics?

After hearing the Pixies' Surfer Rosa he said it had the sound he had wanted for Bleach but had been too intimidated to try.

The 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' video is set at what kind of event?

It was Samuel Bayer's first video; he reckoned he got the job because his reel looked so cheap the band assumed the result would be 'punk'.

What was the peak position of 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' on the Billboard Hot 100?

It reached that spot the same week Nevermind hit number one on the album chart, and it topped the singles charts in Belgium, France, New Zealand and Spain.

The riff of 'Come as You Are' drew lawsuit rumours over its resemblance to 'Eighties' by which band?

The similarity made Cobain hesitate over releasing it as a single; the suit never materialised and Dave Grohl later drummed on a Killing Joke album.

Weird Al Yankovic got Cobain's permission for 'Smells Like Nirvana' by phoning him where?

Nirvana played SNL on January 11, 1992; Yankovic reached them through his UHF co-star Victoria Jackson, a cast member.

Nirvana headlined the closing night of which English festival in 1992?

Rumours said the band was splitting over Cobain's health; the show was released on CD and DVD as Live at Reading in 2009.

The December 1992 release Incesticide was what kind of album?

A joint DGC/Sub Pop release meant to undercut bootlegs, it went gold despite the label barely promoting it.

Who recorded In Utero, chosen for his 'natural' style without studio trickery?

The former Big Black frontman did it in two weeks at Pachyderm Studio in Minnesota for a flat $100,000, refusing royalties as 'an insult to the artist'.

What was Cobain's first choice of title for In Utero, a phrase from his 1992 journals?

The phrase came from his 1992 journals; Verse Chorus Verse was the second choice before the band settled on the Latin title.

Which R.E.M. producer remixed 'Heart-Shaped Box' and 'All Apologies' after Nirvana found Albini's mixes lacking?

The band thought the bass was too low; press stories that DGC considered the album 'unreleasable' were untrue.

Which former Germs guitarist joined Nirvana as second guitarist for the In Utero tour?

He later joined Grohl in Foo Fighters and has performed with the surviving members at every reunion since.

The 'Heart-Shaped Box' video, which won two MTV awards in 1994, was directed by which Dutch photographer?

The single was not released in the US to protect album sales, but still hit number one on the Modern Rock chart.

Asked by producer Alex Coletti if his Unplugged stage should resemble a burial service, what did Kurt Cobain reply?

The taping took place at Sony Music Studios in Manhattan on November 18, 1993.

Nirvana's Unplugged closer 'Where Did You Sleep Last Night' was modelled on whose 1944 recording?

Cobain called him his favourite performer; the whole 14-song set was filmed in a single take and Cobain refused an encore.

Which David Bowie song did Nirvana cover on MTV Unplugged?

Grohl and Novoselic reunited to play it at Clive Davis's pre-Grammy party in 2016.

Which band's Kirkwood brothers joined Nirvana on stage at the Unplugged taping?

The network had wanted 'the right names' like Eddie Vedder or Tori Amos; cellist Lori Goldston also played.

MTV Unplugged in New York earned Nirvana its only Grammy, in which category?

The album debuted at number one in November 1994 after plans for a live album called Verse Chorus Verse were shelved.

Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love married in February 1992 in which location?

Their daughter Frances Bean Cobain was born that August; Love now shares oversight of Nirvana releases with Grohl and Novoselic.

Cobain played guitar which way, despite being made to write with the other hand?

He said 'junk is always best' partly because decent left-handed guitars were hard to find, and favoured Japanese Fenders for that reason.

Which Fender model, in Lake Placid Blue, did Cobain play in the 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' video?

The guitar is now displayed at Seattle's Museum of Pop Culture; Fender later built him the hybrid Jag-Stang.

Kurt Cobain was born at Grays Harbor Hospital in which year?

His parents divorced when he was nine, an event he said changed his personality; he was 27 when he died in April 1994.

The last song Nirvana recorded, released in 2002 on a best-of compilation, is called what?

It was cut at Robert Lang Studios in Seattle in January 1994; Courtney Love blocked its release on a box set, arguing it belonged on a cheaper single disc.

Dave Grohl was born in Warren, Ohio, but grew up in which state?

He joined the D.C. punk band Scream at 17 and, after Nirvana, played nearly everything himself on the first Foo Fighters album in 1995.

Krist Novoselic went on to form which band in 1995, releasing one album?

Eyes Adrift followed in 2002; he later played bass and accordion on Foo Fighters' Wasting Light and turned to political activism.

In which year was Nirvana inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, its first year of eligibility?

Joan Jett, Kim Gordon, St. Vincent and Lorde sang with Grohl, Novoselic and Smear at the ceremony.

Roughly how many records has Nirvana sold worldwide?

That includes 60 million certified in the US; Nevermind alone accounts for more than 30 million.

Nevermind is often credited with ending the popularity of which genre?

The album was certified 13-times platinum in the US and Billboard called Nirvana 'that rare band that has everything'.

A hidden track was accidentally left off early pressings of Nevermind. What was it called?

It was meant to erupt after minutes of silence following 'Something in the Way'.

Nirvana were sued over their name by a band from which country and settled out of court?

The British Nirvana were a 1960s psychedelic pop group; the Americans first played under the name in Tacoma in March 1988.

Where did Grohl, Novoselic and Smear play 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' with Post Malone in 2025?

Weeks earlier they had played the Fire Aid benefit in Los Angeles, their first reunion in five years.

In which city did Nirvana play their final concert, on March 1, 1994?

Three days later Courtney Love found Cobain unconscious in a Rome hotel room and the rest of the European tour was cancelled.

Which local Seattle producer recorded Nirvana's debut album Bleach?

The album drew on the dirge-rock of the Melvins, the punk of Mudhoney and the heavy metal of Black Sabbath.

Who paid for the Bleach sessions and got a credit on the album despite not playing on it?

He was brought in as second guitarist; Novoselic said the credit was to make him 'feel more at home in the band'.

Which Slayer mixer was brought in to create the final mix of Nevermind?

The band's own mixes with Vig were judged unsatisfactory, and members later grumbled about the polished result.

At which Van Nuys studio was Nevermind recorded?

Songs such as 'In Bloom' and 'Breed' were years old, while 'On a Plain' and 'Stay Away' lacked finished lyrics until midway through the sessions.

Which ex-Beatle joined Grohl, Novoselic and Smear at the 2012 Concert for Sandy Relief?

They premiered a new song written by the four of them, 'Cut Me Some Slack', and played together again in Seattle in 2013.

Which band did Dave Grohl start after Nirvana ended, playing nearly every instrument on its 1995 debut?

Foo Fighters began as a solo effort, with the former drummer now singing and playing guitar. Only after the first album was finished did Grohl recruit a full line-up to tour it.

Courtney Love, who married Kurt Cobain in 1992, fronted which band behind the album Live Through This?

Hole released Live Through This just one week after Cobain was found dead. The record, the group's second, was certified platinum in the US the following year.

The Teen Spirit in the title of Nirvana's 1991 breakthrough single was a brand of which product?

Deodorant was the last thing on Kurt Cobain's mind when a friend scrawled the phrase on his wall. He took it for a revolutionary slogan and only learned of the product months after the single came out.

Which rock frontman threatened Kurt Cobain backstage at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards?

Axl Rose lost his temper after Courtney Love jokingly asked him to be godfather to the couple's baby. The two groups' bassists then almost came to blows just before showtime.

How did Kurt Cobain take the stage at an English festival in 1992 to mock rumours about his health?

In a wheelchair, dressed in a hospital gown and wig, Cobain was pushed out by a music journalist. He sang one line, collapsed, lay motionless for a moment, then got up and started the set.

What did Kurt Cobain wear to marry Courtney Love in February 1992, calling a tuxedo too much effort?

Green pajamas were the groom's choice because, he said, he had been too lazy to put on a tux. The bride wore a satin and lace dress that had once belonged to a Hollywood actress.

On which British TV show did Kurt Cobain sing 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' an octave low rather than mime?

Top of the Pops wanted the group to mime to a backing track, so Cobain crooned the whole vocal in a deep voice instead. He later said he had been trying to sound like Morrissey.

Which fashion designer did Nirvana sue in 2018 over clothing that copied the band's smiley-face logo?

Marc Jacobs had put a near-identical face on a collection called Bootleg Redux Grunge. The case ran for years before the designer and the surviving members settled.

What came crashing down on Krist Novoselic at the end of Nirvana's 1992 MTV Video Music Awards set?

His own bass guitar hit him after he tossed it skyward and misjudged the catch. Queen's Brian May ran over to help, though Novoselic later admitted he had faked being knocked out.

What name did Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love give their daughter, born in Los Angeles in August 1992?

Frances Bean owes her middle name to a sonogram on which her father thought she looked like a kidney bean. That scan was later printed on the sleeve of one of the trio's singles.

Which Baz Luhrmann film musical works Nirvana's 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' into a nightclub medley?

Moulin Rouge! needed the blessing of Courtney Love, who approved the use of her late husband's anthem. She had auditioned to play its heroine Satine, a part that went to Nicole Kidman.

Which 2019 superhero film, set in the mid-1990s, features Nirvana's 'Come as You Are' on its soundtrack?

Captain Marvel sent the 1992 single back up the rock charts almost three decades on. Its American downloads jumped 267 percent in the week after the film opened.

Dying at 27 put Kurt Cobain in an unofficial 'club' with Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and which member of the Doors?

Jim Morrison, Hendrix, Joplin and Brian Jones all died at that age between 1969 and 1971. The idea of a 27 Club only took hold in popular culture after Cobain's death in 1994.

Which 17-year-old pop star sang 'All Apologies' with Nirvana's surviving members at their Hall of Fame induction?

Lorde, the New Zealander behind Royals, sang the closing song of the set. The evening's three other guest singers, all women, joined her on stage for it.

Which Red Hot Chili Peppers album came out on September 24, 1991, the very day Nirvana released Nevermind?

Blood Sugar Sex Magik, home of Under the Bridge and Give It Away, shared its release date with the Seattle trio's breakthrough. It peaked at number three on the Billboard 200.

Which retail giant joined Kmart in refusing to stock Nirvana's In Utero until its artwork was toned down?

Walmart only took the album once a cleaned-up edition arrived in March 1994. That version had edited artwork and gave one song a tamer title on the back cover.

In which European capital was Kurt Cobain hospitalised in March 1994 after overdosing on champagne and Rohypnol?

Rome was where Cobain had flown to be treated for bronchitis and severe laryngitis in the middle of a tour. Courtney Love joined him there and found him unconscious the next morning.

Which touring American festival did Nirvana withdraw from headlining in April 1994, citing Kurt Cobain's health?

Lollapalooza had reportedly offered the trio nearly $10 million to headline that summer. The withdrawal came amid reports that the group had split, days before Cobain was found dead.

Which flowers did Kurt Cobain request, alongside black candles, for the stage at Nirvana's MTV Unplugged taping?

Stargazer lilies, black candles and a crystal chandelier were all Cobain's idea for the set. Unusually for the series, the group then filmed all 14 songs in a single take.

Which 2015 documentary about Kurt Cobain takes its title from a tape he made on a four-track recorder?

Montage of Heck was the first documentary about Cobain made with his family's cooperation. His daughter served as a co-executive producer, and his own artwork and home tapes run through it.

Which director's 2005 film Last Days follows a reclusive rock star loosely modelled on Kurt Cobain?

Gus Van Sant wrote, directed, produced and edited the drama himself. He renamed his musician Blake and cast Michael Pitt in the part.

What is the title of Dave Grohl's 2021 memoir, which grew out of posts he shared online during the pandemic?

The Storyteller began as anecdotes Grohl shared on Instagram, including one about being hit with a golf club as a child. Reviewers found it upbeat but sparing on his Nirvana years.

Nirvana's Krist Novoselic, born in Compton, California, is the son of immigrants from which European country?

Croatia shaped his childhood: Croatian was his first language, and in 1980 he was sent to stay with relatives in Zadar. He discovered the Sex Pistols and the Ramones while living there.

Dave Grohl joined Nirvana in 1990 after the break-up of which Washington, D.C. hardcore punk group?

Scream had taken Grohl on as a 17-year-old, after he lied about his age so that he could tour with them. When the group fell apart he moved to Seattle to drum for Cobain.

Which Canadian-born rocker, quoted in Kurt Cobain's final note, wrote a 1994 title track in response to his death?

Neil Young, dubbed the Godfather of Grunge by one critic, added the song to an album he had otherwise finished. He has been reluctant to discuss its inspiration in interviews.

Which Beat Generation writer narrated a short story over Kurt Cobain's noisy guitar on a 1993 collaboration?

William Burroughs recited his tale in a deadpan voice while Cobain, who idolised the novelist, played discordant variations on Silent Night. The pair met at the older man's Kansas home that October.

Kurt Cobain called which Scottish duo, writers of 'Molly's Lips' and 'Son of a Gun', his favourite songwriters?

The Vaselines were barely known outside Scotland during their short career. Nirvana's covers changed that, and one of the pair even joined the trio on stage in 1991.

Nirvana named their debut album Bleach after an AIDS-prevention poster Kurt Cobain spotted in which city?

San Francisco was displaying posters that urged heroin users to disinfect their needles before use. Until the group drove through and Cobain saw one, the working title had been Too Many Humans.

What did Krist Novoselic play in place of his usual instrument on one song at Nirvana's MTV Unplugged taping?

Accordion was his choice for the trio's cover of a Scottish indie song about a sunbeam. He returned to the squeezebox decades later in his own group, Giants in the Trees.

Which rapper's 2013 hit 'Holy Grail', featuring Justin Timberlake, borrows from Nirvana's 'Smells Like Teen Spirit'?

Jay-Z needed permission from Courtney Love before reworking part of the grunge anthem. The borrowing put all three members of the trio on the track's list of writers.

What did designers superimpose on the transparent anatomical figure on the cover of Nirvana's In Utero?

Angel wings turned a medical teaching model into the album's emblem. Winged mannequins of the same figure then stood on stage as props throughout the tour that followed.

Which 2011 family film features a barbershop quartet version of Nirvana's 'Smells Like Teen Spirit'?

The Muppets give the grunge anthem to Rowlf, Beaker, Sam Eagle and Link Hogthrob during a telethon. Their unwilling guest, Jack Black, objects loudly to what they are doing to it.

Which Lil Nas X single gave Kurt Cobain a songwriting credit because its chorus echoes Nirvana's 'In Bloom'?

Panini resembled the 1991 melody by accident, Lil Nas X said, since he had not heard the trio's music before recording it. He later thanked Cobain's daughter for letting it stand.

Which 2009 video game upset Nirvana's surviving members by letting a Kurt Cobain avatar sing other artists' songs?

Guitar Hero 5 let players unlock Cobain and use him on any track in the game. Grohl and Novoselic asked for the character to be restricted to the trio's own material.

Nirvana's video for 'In Bloom' sends up which kind of early-1960s television programme, complete with a studio host?

A variety show in the mould of Ed Sullivan's was Cobain's idea after a more ambitious concept fell through. One cut put the trio in suits, another in dresses, and the familiar edit mixes both.

In which Midwestern state did Nirvana record In Utero in two weeks at the rural Pachyderm Studio?

Minnesota's small town of Cannon Falls hosted the sessions in February 1993. The trio paid for them out of their own pocket to keep the record label at arm's length.

Which guitar maker built the 1959 acoustic Kurt Cobain played on MTV Unplugged, auctioned for $6 million in 2020?

Martin's D-18E became, at that sale, the most expensive guitar ever auctioned up to then. The buyer was the founder of Røde Microphones.

Three covers on Nirvana's Incesticide come from a 1990 BBC session recorded for which influential radio DJ?

John Peel's session at the Maida Vale studios in London captured four cover versions in one day. The trio's new drummer had joined only weeks earlier.

In which Wisconsin city did Nirvana record their April 1990 Smart Studios demos, the first sessions for Nevermind?

Madison's Smart Studios sessions were meant to produce the group's next album. Instead, bootleg copies of the tapes went round the music industry and attracted major-label interest.

Nirvana's 1996 live album is named after the muddy banks of which river in Kurt Cobain's hometown?

Wishkah is the river Cobain claimed to have slept beside as a teenager, sheltering under a road bridge. The record gathers concert recordings made between 1989 and 1994.

Which Melvins drummer sat in on Nirvana's ten-song demo of January 1988, before the band had a permanent drummer?

Dale Crover's playing survives on the debut album: three songs from that demo were remixed for it after attempts to re-record them fell short. He also filled in on a 1990 West Coast tour.

Which veteran Californian punk band did Nirvana's Krist Novoselic join in 2006, staying for three years?

Flipper's slowed-down, heavily distorted punk is considered an inspiration for both the Melvins and Nirvana. Novoselic signed on for a European tour and stayed until 2009.

Which 1993 Nirvana B-side was written and sung by Dave Grohl, who had first released it on a solo cassette?

Marigold was re-recorded with a fuller arrangement near the end of the In Utero sessions. It missed the album but came out on the flip side of the first single.

Which outsider musician's cult following grew after Kurt Cobain kept wearing a T-shirt of his album art?

Daniel Johnston created the frog-like figure on the shirt for his 1983 cassette Hi, How Are You. Cobain had been given it by a music journalist and was photographed in it again and again.

Which Olympia independent label's logo did Kurt Cobain have tattooed on his forearm?

K Records has been putting out independent music since 1982. Cobain reportedly got the tattoo to impress his girlfriend at the time, and a track on Nevermind alludes to it.

Which Seattle open space beside Kurt Cobain's final home has benches covered in fans' graffiti tributes?

Viretta Park draws fans every April 5, the anniversary of his death, and again on his birthday in February. Its benches serve as Seattle's unofficial memorial to him.

Who took the cover photograph for Nirvana's Bleach, having also inspired the song 'About a Girl'?

Tracy Marander was Cobain's girlfriend in Olympia and supported them both by working in a Boeing plant cafeteria. Their arguments over his refusal to get a job fed the song.

Nirvana's 1992 tour EP Hormoaning was released only in Japan and which other country?

Australia got the EP first, on January 27, 1992, timed to the trio's tour there, and Japan followed nine days later. Four of its six songs were cover versions taped for British radio.

Which Ohio new wave band wrote 'Turnaround', covered by Nirvana for a 1990 BBC radio session?

Devo, from Akron, were a teenage favourite of Krist Novoselic, alongside Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath. Nirvana's version first came out on a 1992 tour EP.

Which single did Nirvana play at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards after teasing a song the network had vetoed?

Lithium followed a few defiant bars of the vetoed song, which Cobain strummed to give the network a scare. The trio went on to collect two awards that evening, including Best New Artist.