A new interview with Nirvana’s manager has shown how intuitive Kurt Cobain was, and how he realised the talent of his iconic bandmate Dave Grohl.
It’s hard to believe it, but this Friday marks the 25th anniversary of Kurt Cobain’s death.
In addition to losing of one of music’s most talented and troubled artists. Cobain’s passing ultimately opened the door for Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl to embrace the project that would become the Foo Fighters.
While many fans of the band wouldn’t have heard Grohl sing before the Foo Fighters, some dedicated followers would’ve heard him taking the lead on Nirvana’s ‘Marigold’, released as the B-side to ‘Heart-Shaped Box’, and originally appearing on Grohl’s Pocketwatch album from 1992.
However, it appears that years before the Foo Fighters were the global rock juggernauts that they are now, Kurt Cobain was already aware of Dave Grohl’s potential as a vocalist.
Check out Dave Grohl singing lead on Nirvana’s ‘Marigold’:
Speaking to The Washington Post about his new book, Serving The Servant: Remembering Kurt Cobain, Nirvana manager Danny Goldberg recalled the time that Cobain alerted him to Dave Grohl’s obvious talent.
“Kurt just said to me, ‘I don’t think you realise how good a singer Dave is, but I hear him singing harmonies every night’,” Goldberg recalled, noting that Cobain may have been viewing Grohl as a friendly musical rival of sorts.
“It was like he was really doing it so I would know this because there was this very fraternal side of him and a sweet side of him, but also it had a touch of envy in it. I mean he was competitive.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Danny Goldberg goes on to describe Kurt Cobain’s raw talent, even describing him as one of the greatest guitarists of all time.
“Just how brilliant he was and the good side of him,” Goldberg explained. “Look, I’m a [Jimi] Hendrix fan, and when I think of Hendrix, I don’t think of his death. I think of his guitar solos.”
“I would hope that Kurt gets more into that category with the way people think about him and then his death.”
“You’re never going to not know that he killed himself. But I just hope to shine a light on some parts of him that were a bit underexposed, and that’s what I hope the book does. If people could see his smile in their mind the way I could see it in my mind.”
Check out Nirvana’s ‘Serve The Servants’:
