Kurt Cobain death: Remembering grunge legend 30 years later

Nirvana, Hear among Lifetime Achievement Awards

The Grammy Awards are right around the corner, and two local bands have already secured awards. Nirvana, and Seattle-area natives Ann and Nancy Wilson of the band Heart.

SEATTLE - Friday marks the 30th anniversary of the death of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain.

He was found dead in his Seattle home on April 8, 1994, but Seattle Police and the King County Medical Examiner's Office determined that he took his own life on April 5, 1994 at the age of 27.

Cobain was the lead singer, guitarist and primary songwriter for the grunge band Nirvana, which he founded with Krist Novoselic in Cobain's hometown Aberdeen, Washington.

Thirty years have passed and the influence of Nirvana's influence on rock music has only grown. Novoselic, the band's bassist, has become an outspoken political activist and drummer Dave Grohl has gained further success with his band Foo Fighters.

FILE - Dave Grohl, Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic of Nirvana. (Kevin Mazur Archive/WireImage)

Photos of scene where Kurt Cobain died

The Washington State Court of Appeals ruled in 2018 that photographs from the scene of Cobain's death would not be released publicly.

The photographs were exempt from Washington state's Public Records Act and releasing the photos would "violate the Cobain family's due process rights under the 14th Amendment."

The ruling came after Seattle journalist Richard Lee appealed against the case’s dismissal. Lee pursued the release of 55 photos in an attempt to prove Cobain did not die from suicide in 1994, but was killed.

In March 2014, near the 20th anniversary of Cobain's death, the Seattle Police Department (SPD) released unseen, less explicit photos of the scene and cold case Det. Mike Ciesynski reviewed the case file in anticipation of media inquiries about his death, and the many conspiracy theories surrounding the case.

Cobain's family and the city of Seattle sought to block a lawsuit, filed against SPD earlier in the year, aimed at forcing the release of graphic scene photos. The case remains closed.

Kurt Cobain Day in Aberdeen

Cobain was born on February 20, 1967, in Aberdeen, Wash., and to honor him, the city forever made the date February 20 as Kurt Cobain Day.

His childhood home, a four-bedroom one-bath Bungalow near the intersection of Chicago Avenue and East 1st Street, was up for sale in 2013. But in 2021, the property has been deemed a historic landmark by the Washington Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation.

Nirvana inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

On April 10, 2014. Nirvana was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in a ceremony held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

It was the band's first year of eligibility, and they became the first grunge-era Seattle band to be inducted. For that year's class, The E Street Band, Brian Epstein, Peter Gabriel, Hall and Oates, KISS, Andrew Loog Oldham, Linda Ronstadt and Cat Stevens were also inducted.