Kurt Donald Cobain was one of the
most important names in the nineties. Born on February 20, 1967 in Aberdeen,
Washington at Grays Harbor hospital. His parents got married on July 31, 1965.
His father, Donald Leland Cobain was an automotive mechanic and his mother
Wendy Elizabeth Fradenburg was a waitress and a housewife. His father was 21
and mother was 19 years old when Kurt born.
He has a sister Kimberly three years younger to him. The Cobain family
is of German ancestry, English, Scottish, and Irish. According to Kurt’s aunt
Mari, Kurt began to sing Beatles songs at the age of just three and his only
interest as a child was music, Kurt started playing piano by the age of four.
Although it’s a genes affect, Aunt Mari was a guitarist and performed at
several events with various bands in the harbor county and even his maternal
uncle Chuck Fradenburg starred in a band called The Beachcombers, so kust’s
family had a music background.
In 1975 Kurt’s parents divorced, Kurt
was deeply affected by this as he elaborated this event in an interview in 1993
and said “I was ashamed, ashamed of my parents, I wanted a traditional family,
I wanted security”. According to his mother Kurt’s personality changed as a
whole from being a happy, fun loving child to a withdrawn and disobedient
child. Kurt was only seven when this event happened in his life. After the
divorce Kurt lived with his mother for one year, then kurt moved with his
father to Montesano, near Aberdeen. His father remarried to jenny westeby in
1978, although he had promised not to remarry, however he did to the chagrin of
Kurt. Jenny westeby had two children, Mindy and James before marrying Donald
Leland Cobain. Kurt very often used to visit his mother and sister. Kurt, his
father, jenny westeby and his two half siblings moved into a new house.
Initially Kurt liked jenny westeby as she gave him all the motherly attention
he wanted, later in 1979 jenny westeby gave birth to a baby boy who was named
Chad Cobain. According to Kurt his new family wasn’t a real one, he received
divided attention and later he developed bitterness for his step-mother jenny westeby.
Wendy Elizabeth (the real mother of Kurt
Cobain) began dating Pat O’Conner who was very violent and rude. She later
married him, although she imposed domestic violence on her from her then
boyfriend Pat O’Conner which resulted her with a broken arm and several other
minor injuries, she was still loyal to him and was committed to the
relationship. Both Kurt and Kimberly had to face difficult childhood without
having anyone to support them. During this tough time Kurt was gifted a guitar
by his maternal uncle Chuck Fradenburg. At just the age of nine Kurt developed an interest in
learning guitar and after a few days he began impressing his teachers and
fellow mates at school. Kurt Cobain even tried wrestling in high school, but
due to lack of interest he took the exit from his wrestling team. Donald Leland
Cobain got the full custody of Kurt Cobain granted by Wendy Elizabeth in 1979.
Both families tried to reunite Kurt Cobain’s real parents, but all the efforts
were futile.Kurt Cobain had an imaginary friend called ‘Boddah’ and frequently
used to talk to him about his problems.
Kurt Cobain began to take the drugs
in his mid-teens and made himself very
withdrawn and reserved as the major
reason was his father favoring his stepmother and half siblings, later
in 1982 Kurt Cobain moved to his own mother’s house, he befriended a homosexual
friend at high school and was abused and
faced criticism by his heterosexual mates. Once in an interview he said ‘ I liked
being quoted as a gay, although I was
not a gay’. He didn't like the people in his school. Once his homosexual friend
tried to kiss him, but Kurt stopped him and told the truth that he was not a
gay. His friends at high school even teased him for being very thin and just to
avoid the teasing Kurt Cobain used to wear multiple clothes to hide his
thinness.
Kurt Cobain got arrested for spray
painting ‘God is gay’ on a truck in Aberdeen. In the final year of his school
(Weatherwax high school) few weeks before graduating, he dropped out of the
school due to lack of credits to qualify or graduate. After a few days his mom
kept two options in front of him ‘Get employed or take an exit from the house’.
After a week Kurt left his house and became homeless. He slept in a library and
near roadsides; he even spent few nights under the bridge ‘Wiskah River’. He
often used to sleep in a hospital waiting room. He washed clothes, dishes; vacuum
cleaned and did some more odd jobs when he got kicked out of his own house. He
had no other option but to fight the situations and rise above them. During
this time Kurt became homesick and often lurked at his house to see his mother
and sister. Later he went to his friend’s (Jesse Reed) house and started living
with his family. Dave Reed (father of Jesse Reed) supported and helped Kurt
Cobain and was like a father figure to him. Kurt started going to a church and
developed an interest in Christianity.
In 1986 Kurt moved into his first house,
which was very small and paid the rent by working at a school as a custodian
which was 18 miles away from his place. In the mid 1986 Kurt Cobain got
arrested and this time it was for encroaching on an empty building. After this
incident Kurt started travelling to various places in his town to attend the
musical concerts. During this time kurt had suffered a severe stomach pain
which led him to get addicted to percodan (painkiller).
