If you are among the teenagers around the world that decided to pick up the guitar in the 90's, chances are you've been inspired by one band that made a huge impact at the time called 'Nirvana'. Formed in the late 1980's, Nirvana only lasted for 7 years when tragedy snapped in April 1994. The band's frontman Kurt Cobain was found dead in what is reported as suicide. It was the end for the band that brought back rock into the mainstream at times when 'Boy Bands' rules.
Fitted with 3 band members; Kurt Cobain on guitar and vocals, Krist Novoselic on bass and Dave Grohl who later joined as permanent drummer in 1990, Nirvana's impact to the music world is unmistakably huge. The band was mainly responsible for boosting the popularity of 'Grunge' music, which is a sub-genre of alternative rock in the 90's. They storm the music scene with their fresh sound that relied on dynamic contrasts, often alternating between quiet versions and loud, and heavy on the chorus. Producing genius texts thanks to the song writing of frontman Kurt Cobain, the band releases its first album 'Bleach' in 1989 but the released of their second album 'Nevermind' under a major label in September 1991, has taken the mainstream music scene by surprise . The album's first single "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was a phenomenal success, replacing the king of pop Michael Jackson's 'Dangerous' at the top of the Billboard 200 in January 1992. Just a month before, the album was reported to be selling at 400,000 copies a week!
A few months before the demise of Kurt Cobain, Nirvana recorded 'MTV Unplugged in New York', a rare live acoustic performance. The show was for the television series 'MTV Unplugged', and taped at Sony Music Studios in New York on November 18, 1993. Many fans see the performance as proof that the band was pure genius and able to perform their music without the aid of the heavily distorted grunge sound they were famous for. 14 songs were performed with a few cover songs included in the list. The live album was released in November 1, 1994 and won the Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album in 1996. By 1997, five million copies were sold in America and a DVD version of the performance was later available in 2007.
Even after the tragic end of Nirvana, the impact that they bring to the music world continues to inspired aspiring musicians. Not surprisingly as Kurt Cobain was once referred to by the media as the "spokesman of a generation". The two remaining members of the group decided to go their separate ways with drummer Dave Grohl turning to guitar and vocals and enjoyed success with his new band The Foo Fighters.