如果说，整个摇滚史是一部令人感叹的传奇故事，那么这当中最精彩的部分往往是由那些英年早逝的悲剧人物创造的。他们的乐坛生涯虽然短暂，却轰轰烈烈，服药过量而身亡的“;吉他之神”;吉米·亨德里克斯、心脏病突发猝死在浴缸内的“;大门”;乐队主唱吉姆·莫里森、上吊自尽的后朋克乐队“;快乐分裂”;的灵魂人物伊安·柯蒂斯，以及饮弹身亡的“;涅磐”;乐队主唱柯特·科本。
他们的离去在他们各自的音乐成就上又增添了一份感人的悲剧色彩，甚至是一道神化的光环，而其中的柯特·科本，更被认为是上世纪九十年代摇滚乐唯一的神话式人物。
1967年2月20日，柯特·科本出生于美国西北部小城阿伯丁，父母的离异给他的童年蒙上了阴影，悲惨的生活埋下了他性格中反叛的根芽。1985年，柯特和好友奎斯组建了自己的乐队，鼓手几经更换选定了戴夫·格罗尔，两年后乐队正式命名为“;涅磐”;，开始在公共剧场和大学校园里举行演出，签约“;地下流行”;公司之后，“;涅磐”;先后发行了第一张单曲唱片《情话/大人物》和首张专辑《漂白》，他们的音乐吸引了一大批主流硬摇滚歌迷，以至于许多评论将“;涅磐”;误认为金属乐队，但主唱柯特·科本并没有改变初衷，他仍然试图走出一条非主流的道路。
1990年以前，“;涅磐”;分别在全美、全欧及北美西海岸成功的做了数次巡演，亿万的摇滚乐迷又多了一个为之疯狂的偶像。
1991年4月30日，“;涅磐”;乐队与大唱片公司“;格芬”;签约，（小标题：跻身主流）同年录制了革命性的专辑《别介意》，《少年心气》等旋律经典、情绪激昂疯狂的佳作，在美国甚至把迈克尔·杰克逊挤下了台，坐上了公告牌排行榜的第一把交椅。巨大的商业成功改变了另类音乐不能带来利润的现象，带动了大批非主流乐队纷纷转入地上。
在成为超级偶像的同时，柯特·科本遇上了一生中的挚爱——朋克乐队“;洞穴”;的女主唱科特妮·洛芙，1992年秋天他们的女儿弗朗西丝降生，夫妇二人因为吸毒一度失去了对女儿的监护权，本来就处于成功的巨大压力之下的柯特·科本，受到丑闻和严重胃病的困扰，已经很难在音乐创作中享受到乐趣，甚至尝试过自杀。专辑《在母体中》和《乱伦》就是在这样的状态下诞生的。
1993年12月16日，“;涅磐”;和MTV频道录制了一场经典的“;不插电”;演唱会，原汁原味的木吉他和轻松温柔的演唱，展现出柯特·科本的另一种魅力，也改变了许多人对摇滚乐的偏见。
尽管事业还在蒸蒸日上，柯特·科本还是变的越来越极端，越来越愤世嫉俗，台下疯狂叫喊的歌迷，甚至他深爱的妻子和女儿，都无法挽回他内心的绝望，1994年4月5日，柯特用一颗子弹结束了生命…;…;
4月8日，他的尸体被人发现，他自杀的死讯传向全世界。柯特·科本在遗书中写道，我已经没有任何激情了，所以要记住“;与其苟延残喘，不如从容燃烧！”;他终于像乐队名字“;涅磐”;一样，超越了生死的境界，十三年后的今天，他27岁的生命，依然是摇滚乐神坛上英雄的化身。
As the lead singer and guitarist of Nirvana, Kurt Cobain's musical success began in his twenties and was heightened when he formed the band Nirvana. Hits such as "Smells Like Teen Spirit," "Come as You Are," and "Heart Shaped Box" helped the group achieve international success.
Cobain was born in Aberdeen, WA. Hyperactive as a youngster, he was given Ritalin to help him concentrate in school and sedatives to help him sleep at night. At the age of seven, his parents got divorced. He became so difficult to live with that his parents sent him to live with relatives. This period in his life is reflected in songs such as "Sliver." With a dislike for school, Cobain spent his time painting and singing. He listened to the Beatles and the Monkees, but changed to bands such as Kiss, Black Sabbath, the Sex Pistols, and the Clash in 1979. On his 14th birthday, Cobain bought his first guitar and started experimenting with different musical styles. He also was a roadie for a Seattle group called the Melvins. He dropped out of high school a few weeks before graduation to get a job, but his efforts were unsuccessful because he couldn't hold a job for very long.
In 1986 the group Nirvana was formed with Cobain on vocals and guitar, Krist Novaselic on bass guitar, and various drummers. Their first album, Bleach, was released in 1989. They toured the U.S. and had their first international concert in Newcastle, England. Their second single was unsuccessful, so they changed record companies. After signing with Geffen Records in 1991, and adding permanent drummer Dave Grohl, they produced their second album, Nevermind, which received rave reviews with the hits "Smells Like Teen Spirit," "Come as You Are," and "Lithium." Their popularity grew after the group made appearances on MTV's Headbanger's Ball and NBC's Saturday Night Live. The success of the band was intimidating to Cobain, who liked the intimate setting of nightclubs; it was the money that guided them to do concerts and shows in the rock arena. It was in the early '90s that Cobain began doing heavy drugs such as morphine and heroin, but in 1992 his personal life brightened as he married Courtney Love in Hawaii, and their union brought a daughter, Frances Bean. With a wife and daughter, Cobain calmed a bit, and the group released Incesticide.
Things took a turn for the worse in 1993 when Cobain overdosed on heroin. After seeking rehabilitation for a time in a center, he left without completing the program. During this time the band played on. In 1993 they released In Utero, their last studio-recorded album. Nirvana played an MTV unplugged concert and a concert in Munich in 1994. One week after the concert in Munich, Kurt Cobain was hospitalized in a coma. After waking up and leaving voluntarily, he was reported missing and was found three days later in his house, dead of a gunshot wound. As a rock legend, Cobain reached a demise similar to that of Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Jim Morrison. The songs and albums of Cobain and Nirvana continue to influence and encourage many young musicians.
