WATCH: First Ever Live Performance Of 'Smells Like Teen Spirit in 1991
By @caseyonair Sep 28, 2020
Nirvana's 'Nevermind' changed rock n' roll. And 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' was the song that made Nirvana bonafide rock stars. Here's an early version of the song performed at the OK Hotel in Seattle on April 17, 1991. The lyrics seem to be slightly different but good luck trying to decipher them. 'Teen Spirit' was a brand of deodorant marketed to teen girls. Kurt Cobain's girlfriend at the time, Tobi Vail, was the lead singer of the band Bikini Kill. Vail used the product and one of her bandmates wrote this message on the wall of Kurt's apartment, 'Kurt Smells Like Teen Spirit'.
The rest is rock n roll history.