On the road to self-destruction

The suicide in Apr. 1994 of Kurt Cobain, leader of rock group Nirvana, has parallels with the untimely death of Jimi Hendrix in 1970. Both were 27, came from Seattle, and had produced few albums; equally both had changed the direction of rock music. Cobain made insular 'grunge' rock music into music of worldwide popularity. Nirvana brought together hardcore and rock music to create a significant advance in rock. Nirvana's second album 'Nevermind' has now sold over 9 million copies. Cobain also wrote powerful lyrics, but close to his creative streak lay a depressive and destructive one.