Kurt Cobain

As lead singer, guitarist, and songwriter of Nirvana, Kurt Cobain became the defacto figurehead of the largest underground music explosion since punk rock, when the so-called "grunge" movement erupted in the early 1990s. Cobain, however, possesed a sensitivity and a songwriting acumen that placed his band in a category slightly removed from many of its piers. The twin weights of superstardom and being dubbed "the voice of a generation," however, pushed Cobain into heavy drug use. His relationship with fellow rocker Courtney Love also came under intense public scrutiny. Sadly, all of these factors led to Cobain's suicide in 1994 at the age of 27. He remains an iconic cultural figure to this day.