The grunge rock icon died in Seattle on April 5, 1994.
It's been 25 years since the world lost Kurt Cobain too soon.
The Nirvana frontman was just 27 when he was found dead in his Seattle, Washington, home on April 5, 1994, of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Cobain joined what has now infamously become known as the "27 Club," which includes other famous musicians who died at the same age, such as Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison and Jimi Hendrix.
Shortly before his death, the "Smells Like Teen Spirit" singer had recently checked out of a rehabilitation facility. His wife, Courtney Love, with whom he shared a daughter, Frances Bean Cobain, had said he had been suicidal.
Cobain and Nirvana helped usher in a new era in rock music, introducing the MTV generation to grunge and cementing Seattle's status as a home to alt-rock, especially in the '90s. The group put out three studio albums, 1989's Bleach, 1991's Nevermind and 1993's In Utero, as well as two EPs. Four live albums have been released since Cobain's death, including Live at the Paramount, which was released on vinyl today, and MTV Unplugged in New York, which won a GRAMMY for Best Alternative Music Album in 1996.
One of the best-selling bands of all time, Nirvana was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014 and was ranked No. 30 on Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Artists of All Time list (as of 2011). A documentary about his life and death, Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck, was released in 2015, and a new memoir on his life, music manager Danny Goldberg's Serving the Servant: Remembering Kurt Cobain, hit shelves earlier this week.
Last October, Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic and Pat Smear, the surviving members of Nirvana, reunited to close out the Foo Fighters' Cal Jam Fest. Shortly after, Grohl opened up to PBS about what it was like losing Cobain.
“When Kurt died, I remember the next day and thinking, ‘I still get to live,' so I'm going to live every day like it's my last one," the Foo Fighters frontman said. “So, I’m going to live every day like it’s my last one. Even if it’s the worst day, I’m gonna try to appreciate it. I still feel that way. I never want to die. I honestly feel like if I get to do this and I have these beautiful kids and as long as I can [drum], I'm all good."
Grohl had previously told CBS This Morning that he felt "just lost" after his bandmate died, and he has also said that he still can't listen to Nirvana's songs. “I went through a really dark period where I couldn’t really even listen to the radio because it broke my heart just to hear music,” he admitted in July 2018.
Cobain is far from the only bright star we've lost too young, especially as of late. GRAMMY-nominated artist Nipsey Hussle, rapper Mac Miller and producer-DJ Avicii have all died in the past year, and we just celebrated the 20-year anniversary of 10 Things I Hate About You, which starred the late Heath Ledger.
For more on these beloved artists, click through the gallery below.
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