Nirvana is an American rock band formed by vocalist and guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987.
After signing with major label DGC Records, Nirvana gained unexpected success with the song “Smells Like Teen Spirit” from their second album Nevermind, released in 1991. Nirvana subsequently entered the music mainstream, popularizing a subgenre of alternative rock called grunge.
The band's brief history was cut short by the death of Kurt Cobain on April 5, 1994, but in the following years the band's fame only grew.
Since the release of the debut album, Nirvana's recordings have sold 75 million copies worldwide, and 25 million copies in the United States.