Remembering Kurt Cobain: Watch Nirvana Debut ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’

Kurt Cobain died tragically on this date in 1994. He was just 27 years old. A mere three years before his death, Cobain and Nirvana unveiled the song that would propel them to reluctant superstardom, “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” on April 17, 1991 at the O.K Hotel in their native Seattle. To remember Kurt, JamBase takes a look at the iconic song’s evolution as well as video of the first performance.

“Smells Like Teen Spirit” is the lead single and opening track on Nirvana’s landmark 1991 album Nevermind. The song began making radio rotation in late summer 1991 and became available as a single on September 10 ahead of the LP’s release on September 24. The journey to Nevermind, however, began in early 1990 as the band began prepping the follow up to their 1989 debut, Bleach.

It was a liminal time for Nirvana. The band, which at this point did not include Dave Grohl, were set to make their second album, with the working title Sheep, on Seattle’s Sub Pop on which they released Bleach. Hearing that the independent Sup Pop was having financial troubles and that they may become a subsidiary of a major label, Nirvana decided to cut out the middleman and look for a major label on their terms, eventually signing with Geffen imprint DGC Records at the suggestion of Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon.

It had been Sub Pop label head Bruce Pavitt, however, who suggested producer Butch Vig as they began to map out Nevermind. The band headed to Vig’s Madison, Wisconsin studio in April 1990 to begin recording. While “Teen Spirit” was not among them, the band sketched out a number of songs that would appear on the record before embarking on an eastern tour where they would meet Grohl who was playing in the Washington D.C. band Scream. Bassist Krist Novoselic later said that everything “fell into place” when Grohl joined the band.

Also falling into place around this time was a new song Kurt began working on which would become “Smells Like Teen Spirit,’ the title for which came from Bikini Kills’s Kathleen Hanna who wrote “Kurt Smells Like Teen Spirit” on his wall. Hanna and Cobain’s then-girfriend Tobi Vail had seen the deodorant Teen Spirit in the grocery store recently. Kurt, however, was oblivious to the deodorant until later and thought it was a revolutionary slogan as they had been rapping about anarchism and punk rock. It’s the stuff of legend. But the song would still become an anti-establishment anthem while ironically putting Nirvana right in the commercial sights of the establishment.

A year after they begin initial tracking for Nevermind, Nirvana needed gas money to get to Los Angeles to finish recording the LP with Vig and did what any band would do: They played a show. The debut of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” came as the set closer, after some setlist swapping, for Nirvana’s April 17, 1991 concert at the O.K. Hotel.

While Nirvana certainly refined the song when they did make it down to Los Angeles in the late spring of 1991, “Teen Spirit” was fairly fleshed out for its debut albeit Cobain sang different lyrics, which he would often do later as well. Also interesting is Kurt’s handling of the guitar solo, which on the record is basically the melody. It almost sounds as if Kurt is finding the melody as he plays but soon locks it in. Additionally, there seems to be a passion for the song from Cobain that is not present later as it perhaps became a symbol of the commercialization of the band. It’s a kick to hear Cobain introduce the song and no one reacts.

To remember Kurt Cobain, watch Nirvana debut “Smells Like Teen Spirit” from Seattle in 1991 below: