Nirvana (band)

. He is widely recognised as one of the greatest guitarists of all time.
. His daughter, Scarlet Page, is a respected photographer.
. Since 1990, Jimmy Page has been instrumental in remastering the entire Led Zeppelin back catalogue and is currently involved in various charity concerts and charity work particularly the Action for Brazil's Children Trust (ABC Trust), founded by his wife Jimena Gomez-Paratcha in 1998. A paperback version of the book, released in 2003, included a handful of writings that were not offered in the initial release. Page has been one member of Led Zeppelin that has always left open the option for a group reunion.

The writings begin in the late 1980s, around the time the band started, and end in 1994. Following a highly successful tour in 1995 to support No Quarter, Page and Plant recorded Walking Into Clarksdale, their first full CD together since 1979. The journal pages are reproduced in color, and there is a section added at the back that has explanations and transcripts of some of the less legible pages. The soundtrack to the special was released in 1995 as the CD No Quarter, and in 2004 as the DVD No Quarter Unledded. The book is 280 pages with a simple black cover; the pages are arranged somewhat chronologically (although Cobain generally did not date them). The 90 minute special, dubbed UnLedded premiered to the highest ratings in MTVs history. In November 2002, a sampling of these writings was published as Journals. In 1994, Page reunited with Plant for the penultimate performance in MTVs "Unplugged" series.

Cobain wrote in a journal often, leaving 22 notebooks filled with his writing when he died. Source: IMDB. Many also point out that Grohl and Novoselic have remained silent in the matter, and that they would certainly have spoken out had they believed that Kurt was murdered. In addition, he also collaborated with director Michael Winner to record the Death Wish 3 soundtrack, released in 1985. Most cite Cobain's persistent drug addiction, clinical depression, and handwritten suicide note as conclusive proof. Various other projects soon followed such as The Firm, with Paul Rodgers, session work for Graham Nash, Box of Frogs, and Robert Plant, a solo album Outrider, a collaboration with David Coverdale in Coverdale Page, and a live album with The Black Crowes. However, while the murder theories remain popular among a core group of hardcore Nirvana fans, the official verdict of death by self-inflicted gunshot wound is still generally accepted by the public. In 1984, Page recorded with Plant in the guise of The Honeydrippers.

Over the next couple of years, Halperin and Wallace collaborated with Grant to write a second book, 2004's Love and Death: The Murder of Kurt Cobain, where they claim to conclusively prove that Cobain was murdered. Page then linked up with Roy Harper for an album and tour. On their insistence, Grant played some the tapes for the journalists to prove his claims. Page made a successful return to stage with the ARMS Charity series of concerts in 1983 which honoured Small Faces bass player Ronnie Lane. A notable element of the book included their discussions with Tom Grant, who had taped nearly every conversation that he had undertaken while he was under Courtney Love's employ. After Led Zeppelin disbanded in 1980, Page attempted to form a supergroup with ex-Yes members to be called XYZ however it came to naught. Their inital work, the 1999 book Who Killed Kurt Cobain? drew a similar conclusion to Broomfield's film: while there wasn't enough evidence to prove a conspiracy, there was more than enough to demand that the case be reopened. As a result their final studio album (In Through the Out Door) was more heavily influenced by bassist John Paul Jones and singer Robert Plant.

Journalists Ian Halperin and Max Wallace took a similar path and attempted to investigate the conspiracy for themselves. Page and drummer John Bonham would frequently be absent from the recording studio in the band's later years, showing up after songs were already written. In the end, however, Broomfield felt he hadn't uncovered enough evidence to conclude the existence of a conspiracy. This habit would severely affect his later performances with Led Zeppelin, which were often hit-and-miss. Broomfield titled the finished documentary Kurt & Courtney, and it was released in 1998. In 1976 Page started using heroin. Broomfield inadvertantly captured El Duce's last interview, as he died under mysterious circumstances days later. His guitar solo in the famous rock song "Stairway to Heaven" was voted by readers of Guitar World Magazine as the greatest guitar solo of all time.

Most notably, Broomfield spoke to a man named El Duce, who claimed that Courtney had offered him $50,000 to kill Cobain, and passed a polygraph. Page also put to use his bowed playing technique he developed during his session days, and experimented with feedback devices and a theremin. Filmmaker Nick Broomfield decided to investigate the story for himself, and took a film crew to visit a number of people associated with Kurt and Courtney, including Courtney's father, Kurt's aunt, and one of the couple's former nannies. His landmark guitar solo from the song "Heartbreaker" (Led Zeppelin II) has been credited by Eddie Van Halen as the inspiration for Van Halen's trademark 2-hand tapping technique. (see website link below). His use of distorted fuzz guitar ("Whole Lotta Love"), slide guitar ("You Shook Me", "In My Time of Dying"), pedal steel guitar ("Your Time is Gonna Come", "Tangerine"), eastern scales ("Black Mountain Side", "Kashmir"), acoustic guitar ("Gallows Pole", "Bron-Yr-Aur") and recording techniques made Led Zeppelin a prototype for all future rock bands. Many, however, see Grant as an opportunist, capitalizing on Kurt's death by selling "kits" about the conspiracy via his website. As a producer, composer and guitarist for the band, he was one of the major driving forces behind the rock sound of that era, with his trademark Gibson Les Paul guitar and Marshall amplification.

Grant cites the official toxicology report, which claims that Kurt's heroin level was three times the lethal dosage at the time of his death, as the key piece of evidence of murder, arguing that Kurt could not have injected himself with such a dose and still be able to pull the trigger. Page's past experiences both in the studio and with The Yardbirds was critical in the success of Led Zeppelin in the 1970s. Grant was hired by Courtney to find Kurt after his disappearance from rehab, and was still under her employ when Kurt's body was found. After a handful of shows on their first tour, The New Yardbirds renamed themselves Led Zeppelin. In addition, Tom Grant, a private investigator once employed by Love, adamantly believes that Cobain's death was homicide. Despite the departure of Keith Relf and Jim McCarty in 1968, Page wished to continue the group with a new line-up. His ongoing documentary has been running since the week after Cobain's demise. The musical potential of the line-up however was scuttled by interpersonal conflicts caused by constant touring and a lack of commercial success.

According to some, notably public access host Richard Lee of Seattle, Kurt Cobain was murdered. Within weeks Page was again offered to join The Yardbirds and at first played bass guitar with the group after the departure of Paul Samwell-Smith, before finally switching to twin lead guitar with Beck when Chris Dreja moved to bass. It showed that even in the turmoil of his final days, Kurt still had the gift for melody that he had demonstrated so many years earlier in songs like "About a Girl". On May 16, 1966, drummer Keith Moon, bass player John Paul Jones, keyboardist Nicky Hopkins, Jeff Beck and Page recorded "Beck's Bolero" in London's IBC Studios. The experience gave Page an idea to form a band with John Entwistle on bass (instead of Jones), however the lack of a quality vocalist and contractual problems sent the project down like a "lead zeppelin". But, for many, the most exciting track on the entire box was a solo demo of a song called "Do Re Mi", recorded by Cobain just a few short weeks before his death. After being invited to replace Eric Clapton in The Yardbirds on March 20, 1965, Page turned down the offer and instead suggested his friend Jeff Beck. Of note to serious Nirvana fans were unfinished studio recordings of "Old Age" and "Verse Chorus Verse" (different from "Sappy") recorded during the Nevermind sessions. It is estimated that Jimmy Page appeared on 60% of rock music recorded in England between 1963 and 1966.

The box set contained a vast array of early Cobain demos, rough rehearsal recordings, and live tracks recorded throughout the band's history. Page also formed a brief songwriting partnership with then girlfriend, Jackie DeShannon. November of 2004 finally saw the release of the Nirvana box set, titled With the Lights Out. In 1965 Page was hired by Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham to act as house producer for the newly formed Immediate Records label, which also allowed him to play on tracks by John Mayall, Nico, and Eric Clapton. Some have used Cobain's feeling of being "written-out" as one possible explanation for his suicide. Under the auspices of producer Shel Talmy, Page recorded The Kinks "You Really Got Me" (1964) (although there is a dispute on whether Page or Dave Davies played lead), the guitar part on Them's "Baby Please Don’t Go" (1965), and recorded a lead guitar part on The Who's first single "I Can't Explain", although there is disagreement over whether or not it was used. For example, a 1989 performance of the song "Breed" (then titled "Immodium") was included on Wishkah, recorded a full two years before the song's release on Nevermind. His studio output in 1963 included Brian Poole & The Tremeloes' "Twist and Shout", Heinz's "Just Like Eddie" and in 1964, The Rolling Stones "Heart of Stone", Marianne Faithfull's "As Tears Go By", The Nashville Teens' "Tobacco Road", Dave Berry's "The Crying Game", and Lulu's hit "Shout".

He had always made a point of working on new material during the tour and playing it differently every night so that by the time the tour ended they would have the songs worked out, ready to be recorded. After brief stints with the band Micky Finn, and Carter Lewis and The Southerners, Page committed himself to full-time session work. It was revealed in the liner notes of the Nirvana album that Cobain was concerned that he had not been able to write anything substantial during their last tour and had little material with which to go into the studio. His first session for the label was the recording "Diamonds" by Jet Harris & Tony Meehan which went to Number 1 on the singles chart in 1963. Following its release, many long-time fans complained about the song selection, noting that the alternate version of "Been a Son" (from the Blew EP) was not the band's preferred version, and that the disc lacked songs such as "Sappy" (released as "Verse Chorus Verse") that had received significant radio airplay following Kurt's death. It wasn't until an offer from Mike Leander from Decca Records that Page was to receive regular studio work. On top of "You Know You're Right", the album contained hit singles from their three studio albums as well as several alternate mixes and recordings of familiar Nirvana songs. He was spotted one night by John Gibb of The Silhouettes, who asked him to help record a number of singles for EMI, "The Worrying Kind" and "Bald Headed Woman".

Nirvana was released on October 29, 2002. While still a student, Page would often jam on stage at the Marquee with bands such as the Cyril Davis All Stars, Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated and with guitarists Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton. Even though the studio version turned out itself to be a rough draft with unfinished lyrics, fans and non-fans alike adored the song, leading it to become one of the most-played songs on Alternative radio in both 2002 and 2003. Living from out of the back of a van and intermittent wages however, led Page to take up a totally different focus in painting at Sutton Art College in Surrey. As the court case neared completion in September of 2002, the entire song unexpectedly leaked, days before the announcement of the release of Nirvana. Page was then asked by Neil Christian to join his band, The Crusaders, which gave him his first taste of touring life and an appearance on a November 1962 single, "The Road to Love". For fans, the first real confirmation of its existence came in 2001 when fragments of the studio recording leaked on the Internet, sending anticipation into a fever pitch. After graduating from school with an initial aim to work as a lab assistant, Page’s love of the guitar saw him switch to playing for Beat poet Royston Ellis before joining his first band, Red E Lewis and The Red Caps.

In the years that followed, rumors of the existence of a studio version of the song perpetuated through Nirvana's fanbase, and it grew to almost mythic proportions. At the age of 14, Page appeared on ITV's Search For Stars talent quest programme. A live rough draft version of the song performed by Nirvana at their October 23, 1993 concert at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago surfaced in Nirvana tape-trading circles a few months later. King. Nirvana fans' first taste of "You Know You're Right" came in early 1995 when Courtney Love played a version of the song with her band Hole on MTV Unplugged under the title "You've Got No Right". Page's musical tastes however also encompassed acoustic folk playing particularly that of Bert Jansch and John Renbourn, and the blues sounds of Elmore James and B.B. In turn, Love agreed to donate cassette demos recorded by Cobain for use on the box set. The Presley song "Baby Let's Play House" was an early favourite on his first electric guitar, a second hand 1949 Gibson.

After more than a year of often public and sometimes bizarre legal maneuvering, the parties settled, agreeing on the immediate release of the greatest hits package including "You Know You're Right", titled simply Nirvana. His early influences were rockabilly guitarists Scotty Moore and James Burton, who both played on recordings made by Elvis Presley, and Johnny Day who played guitar for The Everly Brothers. Love, however, argued that the song was more important than just a generic "rarity", and should be included on a single-disc greatest hits compilation. Jimmy Page began learning guitar when he was 12. Grohl and Novoselic wanted to include the song on the box set, essentially releasing all of the rarities at one time. His father was an industrial personnel manager and his mother a doctor's secretary. Much of the legal wrangling centered on a single unreleased song, "You Know You're Right", the band's final studio recording. Page was born in the north London suburb of Heston in Middlesex.

What followed was a protracted legal battle over the ownership of Nirvana's music that lasted for more than a year.
. However, shortly before the release date, Courtney Love filed an injunction to stop the box set's release and sued Grohl and Novoselic, claiming that Cobain's former bandmates were hijacking Nirvana's legacy for their own personal interests. He was the founding member for the band Led Zeppelin and, prior to that, a member of The Yardbirds from late 1966 through 1968. Four years later, it was announced that the box set was complete, and would see release in September to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the release of Nevermind. James Patrick Page, known as Jimmy Page, (born January 9, 1944) is widely considered one of the greatest and most influential guitarists in rock and roll. In 1997, word spread that Grohl and Novoselic were organizing a box set of Nirvana rarities.

The live disc, a compilation of Nirvana concert recordings, finally saw release in October of 1996, titled From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah. However, for the two surviving band members, Grohl (now a member of the band Foo Fighters) and Novoselic (who went on to form Sweet 75 and later Eyes Adrift), sorting through the treasure trove of Nirvana recordings so soon after Kurt's passing became too emotionally overwhelming. The original intention was to release the MTV Unplugged set in a double-disc package, with a second disc of live electric material to balance the acoustic set. Memorable footage from the video included an infamous incident with a bouncer at a Texas club in October of 1991, as well as the band's performance of "Aneurysm" donned in dresses at Rock in Rio in Brazil in January of 1993.

Cobain himself had compiled a good portion of the video, which documented much of the Nevermind tour. Two weeks after the release of Unplugged in New York, a video compilation of Nirvana performances, titled Live! Tonight! Sold Out!!, was released. This album included guest appearances by members of the Meat Puppets and cover versions of Meat Puppets, Leadbelly, and David Bowie material. The first came in November of 1994 with the release of the band's subdued and eerily morbid performance for MTV Unplugged, Unplugged in New York.

Several Nirvana albums have been released since Cobain's death. A week later, on Friday, April 8, 1994, Cobain's body was discovered at his Seattle home, dead of an apparent suicide, effectively dissolving Nirvana. (Some have disputed the suicide verdict; see below.). After less than a week in rehab, Cobain climbed over the wall of the facility and flew back to Seattle. An intervention was organized, and Cobain was convinced to check into rehab.

In the ensuing weeks, Cobain's heroin addiction resurfaced. The rest of the tour was canceled, including a planned leg in the UK. The doctor told a press conference that the singer had reacted to a combination of prescription Rohypnol and alcohol. On the morning of March 4th, Cobain was found unconscious by Courtney Love and rushed to the hospital.

The next night's show at the same venue was canceled. Following a tour stop at Terminal Einz in Munich, Germany, on March 1st, Cobain was diagnosed with bronchitis and severe laryngitis. While the tour started off well, the performances gradually declined, with Kurt looking bored and distracted during the shows. In early 1994, the band embarked on a European tour.

It became a hallmark moment of Nirvana's history, if not amplified by the tragedy soon to follow. The song selection also demonstrated Cobain's broad musical interests through his choice of cover songs. The sessions revealed the depth of Cobain's songwriting, which had often been buried under the sonic fury of the band's sound. In November of 1993, the band decided to change direction, and sat down for an appearance on MTV Unplugged.

When the band embarked on the US In Utero tour (with Pat Smear of the punk rock band The Germs as second guitarist), its first major tour of the States since the success of "Smells Like Teen Spirit", it regularly played to half-filled arenas, stymied by the lack of tour support for Nevermind and the challenging new release. While "Heart-Shaped Box" was received warmly by alternative radio, and In Utero debuted at number one on the Billboard Album chart, the album didn't enjoy the same success as Nevermind. When asked about the edited version, Kurt noted that he could relate to the small-town residents that had no other local music stores and were forced to buy their music at Wal-Mart. Other than the inclusion of Litt's mix of "Pennyroyal Tea", however, the music on the album was identical to the wider release.

The band decided to abide by the request, and compiled a version of the album with "clean" artwork and "Rape Me" retitled "Waif Me". Giant store chain Wal-Mart refused to carry the album, citing song titles like "Rape Me" and Kurt's plastic-fetus collage on the album's artwork as too controversial for the "family-oriented" chain. With In Utero, the band also faced corporate censorship. Litt also remixed "Pennyroyal Tea", but Albini's version was used on the album.

producer Scott Litt was called in to help remix those two songs, with Cobain adding additional instrumentation and backing vocals. Longtime R.E.M. Specifically, they thought the bass levels were too low, and Cobain felt that "Heart-Shaped Box" and "All Apologies" didn't sound "perfect". While popular perception after the fact was that the band wanted this distorted masterpiece, they were actually unhappy with certain aspects of Albini's mixes.

One song on In Utero featuring long periods of shrill feedback noise was titled, ironically, "Radio Friendly Unit Shifter". (In the industry, a "radio-friendly unit shifter" describes an "ideal" album: one capable of heavy radio play and ultimately selling many copies, or "units".) However, Cobain insisted that Albini's sound was simply the one he'd always wanted Nirvana to have: a "natural" recording without layers and layers of studio trickery. Some saw bringing in Albini as a deliberate move on Nirvana's part to give the album a rawer, more unpolished sound: that the band wanted to alienate or distance some of their new "mainstream" audience who'd paid little or no attention to the alternative, obscure, or experimental bands Nirvana saw as their forebearers. The sessions with Albini were productive and notably quick: the initial version of the album was recorded and mixed in two weeks, a far cry from the months spent recording and mixing Nevermind. For 1993's In Utero, the band brought in producer Steve Albini, perhaps best known for his work on the highly influential Pixies album Surfer Rosa.

The album contained such fan favorites as "Sliver" and "Aneurysm" as well as covers of songs by The Vaselines, a band that became more popular as a result of Nirvana's covers. It is believed that they did so to circumvent bootleggers. Nirvana released Incesticide, a collection of B-sides and rarities, in December of 1992. Cobain entered the stage in a wheelchair as a practical joke, then proceeded to get up and join the rest of the band in tearing through an assortment of old and new material.

Just weeks later, Nirvana performed one of its most popular concerts, headlining at the Reading Festival. When the band began their performance, Kurt strummed the first few bars of "Rape Me", giving the MTV execs a solid shock before jumping into "Lithium". MTV was appalled at the idea of a song called "Rape Me", and eventually agreed that the band could play "Lithium" instead. MTV had wanted the band to play "Teen Spirit", but the band wanted to play a new song called "Rape Me".

Just days after Frances Bean's birth, Nirvana put on a memorable performance at the MTV Video Music Awards. Courtney gave birth to a daughter, Frances Bean, in August. In February of 1992, following an Australian tour, Cobain married Courtney Love in Hawaii. Citing exhaustion, the band decided not to undertake another US tour in support of Nevermind, instead opting to make a handful of performances later that year.

The popularity of "alternative" rock — as well as the sidelining of hair metal — is often credited to Nevermind. The highly infectious single "Smells Like Teen Spirit" received heavy airplay on MTV, inspiring a slew of imitators, bringing the grunge sound, as well as so-called alternative rock and alternative culture, into the mainstream. Nevermind was a massive, unexpected success, selling millions of copies. Later Cobain would complain in the press that Wallace had made Nevermind sound too slick, although Wallace had been his own choice and the bandmembers themselves had been involved in the mixing process.¹ Wallace, however, had tempered the band's indie rock leanings, and had created a mainstream-ready rock sound that others would attempt to duplicate for the next decade.

Cobain did not want to use mixers that had worked with other bands he liked because he did not want to sound like them, so he decided to call in the guy at the bottom of the list after whose name it read 'Slayer': Andy Wallace. DGC sent them a list with possible options. After recording, Vig initially started off to mix the album as well but both Vig and Nirvana were not satisfied with their results so they decided to call in someone else to mix the album. The album was produced by Butch Vig, who had previously worked with Sonic Youth and Smashing Pumpkins.

The result, Nevermind, is now regarded as a classic. Following repeated recommendation by Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon, David Geffen signed Nirvana to DGC Records in 1990 and the band began recording their first major label album. [1] (http://www.subpop.com/scripts/main/bands_page.php?id=163) Nirvana continued touring aftwards, including a stint with Sonic Youth chronicled in the documentary 1991: The Year Punk Broke. Hardcore punks Scream.

In 1990, Buzz Osbourne of The Melvins later hooked them up with Dave Grohl, who drummed with D.C. After a few weeks with Dale Crover of The Melvins filling in, they drafted Mudhoney drummer Dan Peters, with whom they recorded the song "Sliver". During the sessions, Kurt and Krist realized that Chad wasn't quite the drummer the band needed, and he was let go after the sessions were complete. In early 1990, the band began working with producer Butch Vig on recordings for the follow-up to Bleach.

After the album's completion, Everman had a brief and contentious tenure with the band as a second guitar player, but was ousted following their first US tour. Not long after, he briefly played bass with Soundgarden, and later formed the band Mind Funk. Though he did not actually play on the album, Jason Everman was credited as playing guitar on Bleach because he put up the money for the recording sessions. Bleach was highly influenced by Cobain's then-favorite band, The Melvins, as well as the heavy dirge-rock of Mudhoney. Channing played on their first album, Bleach, released by Sub Pop records.

They worked with a series of drummers (Aaron Burckhard, Dan Peters and Dale Crover of The Melvins, who played on their first demos), before settling on Chad Channing. Both were fans of The Melvins, and both were interested in forming a band. Cobain and Krist Novoselic met in 1985. Many critics and historians hail Nirvana as the "flagship band" of "Generation X".

The group disbanded in 1994 upon the death of its leader, Kurt Cobain. Their music was an offshoot of punk and alternative rock and was labeled grunge rock by the mainstream press and media of the time. Nirvana was a popular rock band founded in 1987 in Aberdeen, Washington. See Nirvana (1960s band) for the British psychedelic rock band of the 1960s of the same name, or Nirvana (disambiguation) for other meanings..

This article is about the 1980s-1990s grunge band Nirvana. Steve Newman - Bass. Mike Dillard - Drums. John Duncan - Guitar.