Aberdeen's quiet-loud trio sold seventy-five million
Nirvana formed in Aberdeen, Washington, in 1987 around Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic, settling on Dave Grohl in 1990 after a drummer carousel. Sub Pop's Bleach (1989) preceded mainstream detonation. More than seventy-five million records sold worldwide turned three noisy years into a permanent catalog.
Cobain and Novoselic met at Aberdeen High School and bonded around the Melvins' practice space; Novoselic took three years to listen to Cobain's Fecal Matter demo before suggesting a band. Early names included Skid Row, Pen Cap Chew and Bliss, and the Nirvana name first appeared at a Tacoma show on 19 March 1988. Cobain wanted something pretty rather than a snarling punk name, and a British band called Nirvana sued, settling out of court. Drummers came and went, among them Aaron Burckhard, Dale Crover, Dave Foster and Chad Channing.
Their first single, a cover of Shocking Blue's Love Buzz, came out on Sub Pop in November 1988. Bleach, recorded with Jack Endino for a listed $606.17 paid by briefly recruited guitarist Jason Everman, arrived in June 1989, became a college-radio staple and sold 40,000 copies initially. In September 1990 the Melvins' Buzz Osborne introduced Dave Grohl, whom Novoselic said they recognised as the right drummer within two minutes.
On Kim Gordon's recommendation they signed with DGC, which hoped Nevermind might sell 250,000 copies. Smells Like Teen Spirit and heavy MTV rotation pushed sales to 400,000 a week by Christmas 1991, and in January 1992 the album knocked Michael Jackson's Dangerous off the top of the Billboard chart. It was eventually certified thirteen times platinum and is credited with ending hair metal's reign. A 1992 dispute ended with Cobain taking a 75 percent royalty share.
In Utero topped the US and UK charts in 1993; the band ended with Cobain's suicide in April 1994. Sales have passed 75 million, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted them in 2014, their first year of eligibility.
Source: Nirvana (band)
