A rare piece of musical history has been discovered, with a Seattle record store uncovering a royalty cheque sent to Kurt Cobain, months before Nirvana hit the big time.
Have you ever found something really cool tucked into an old album at a record store? Maybe you were like me and found Mr. Bungle concert tickets in a secondhand copy of California, or maybe you’ve found all manner of kooky items tucked away inside an album sleeve.
Whatever the case, it appears as though the humble record store can boast a wide variety of lost and/or forgotten items, with many expected to never again be seen by its original owners.
However, one record store in Seattle recently found themselves with a rather interesting item, discovering a royalty cheque addressed to Nirvana, mere months before they hit the big time.
Taking to Instagram recently, Seattle’s Easy Street Records shared an image of a royalty cheque found at their store, addressed to none other than Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain.
Dated March 6th, 1991, the cheque was posted barely six months before the release of ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’, the lead single from Nirvana’s breakthrough album, Nevermind.
“6 months before #nevermind would change the face of the planet,” Easy Street wrote. “We’re guessing the next royalty checks were a bit larger than only…. $26.57.”
At the time that the cheque was issued, Nirvana only had one album and a handful of singles to their name, with 1989’s Bleach receiving positive acclaim, but not exactly shifting too many units until the band hit the big time in 1991.
While this is indeed a pretty amazing find, it makes you wonder what other pieces of musical history are left out there, just waiting for someone in the know to uncover and finally realise their worth and importance?
Check out ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ by Nirvana:
