Rare Pictures of Kurt Cobain’s Family and His Childhood From the Late 1960s and 1970s

Kurt Donald Cobain was born on February 20, 1967, in Hoquiam, Washington, and grew up in the working-class logging town of Aberdeen. His father, Donald, was an auto mechanic and his mother, Wendy, a housewife.

He came from a musical family: an uncle played in a band and a great uncle was an Irish tenor who appeared in the 1930 film King of Jazz. At four, Cobain began singing and playing piano, and gravitated to the music of bands ranging from the Beatles to the Ramones. When he was eight, his parents divorced and Cobain was shuttled among various family members, developing a rebellious attitude he would later express in his music.

At fourteen he got his first guitar and learned to play rudimentary rock & roll songs like "Louie Louie" and the Cars' "My Best Friend's Girl." But he was bullied at school for choosing art and music over sports, and by his senior year of high school decided to drop out. Around that time he began hanging out at rehearsals of local band the Melvins, where he met and befriended bass player Krist Novoselic. The two formed Nirvana and by 1987 the band was playing shows at Evergreen State College in nearby Olympia.

Here, below is a collection of rare pictures of Kurt Cobain's family and his childhood from the late 1960s and 1970s.

Kurt Cobain as infant

Kurt Cobain as teenager

Kurt Cobain’s year book

Kurt Cobain In Junior High Wrestling Team

Don Cobain with his son, Kurt

Baby Kurt with his father

Don and Kurt Cobain

Kurt Cobain’s Family Portrait

Don Cobain’s New Family