AP Story: Kurt Cobain Suicide

From the AP archive:
April 8, 1994
Nirvana star Kurt Cobain dies; suicide note found near body
By ROBERT SAIZ HOLGUIN Associated Press Writer
SEATTLE (AP) - Kurt Cobain, the troubled lead singer of the hugely popular grunge rock band Nirvana, was found dead today in his apartment of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was 27.

"We are all devastated by the unbelieveable tragedy of Kurt Cobain's death," Ed Rosenblatt, president of Nirvana label Geffen Records, said in a statement announcing the death.

Before the announcement, a police source in Seattle confirmed the man found dead in Cobain's home today was the singer-songwriter.

For the record, officials said a man roughly Cobain's age had been found shot to death at the home, a suicide note nearby.

The body, described as that of a white male in his 20s, was discovered by an electrician who went to the home this morning to do some work, said police spokeswoman Vinette Tichi.

Nirvana pioneered grunge rock and is known for the multimillion-selling 1991 album "Nevermind," which featured the hit "Smells Like Teen Spirit." Another best-selling album, "In Utero," was issued last year. Cobain wrote the music and anguished lyrics to most of their songs.

In Aberdeen, Cobain's mother, Wendy O'Connor, said her son had been missing for six days and that she feared he would be found dead.

She said she had no official confirmation the dead man was her son, but said, "Now he's gone and joined that stupid club," referring to the early deaths of such rock stars as Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison. "I told him not to join that stupid club," she said.

In early March, Cobain spent several days in a Rome hospital after falling into a drug-and-alcohol-induced coma.

Tichi said the body, found in a cottage apartment above a detached garage, had been there about a day. The man had suffered a shotgun wound to the head. She gave no detail on the content of the suicide note.

When he fell ill last month, Cobain had reportedly gone to Rome with his wife, Courtney Love, also a singer, and their daughter to recover rom health problems that had forced the band to cancel two recent concert dates in Europe.

The grunge style features second-hand shabbiness in attire and ear-splitting iconoclasm in music. Along with rival Pearl Jam, the three-member Nirvana made Seattle a leading center of alternative pop music, and the grunge look was even picked up by fashion designers.

Michael Azerrad, author of "Come As You Are: The Story of Nirvana," said the songs are so popular because they speak to the worries of people in their 20s.

"The divorce, the violence, the drugs, the diminished opportunities for an entire generation - that is so crucial to the sound of their music and the success of their music," he said in a 1993 Associated Press interview. "The band translated that pain and anger and confusion into musical soundwaves very directly that hit a nerve among a large amount of kids," Azerrad said.