Long before Nirvana’s 1991 single “Smells Like Teen Spirit” became the defining anthem for the grunge revolution, it was just a phrase scribbled on Kurt Cobain’s wall. In August 1990 ...

This story is part of American Anthem, a yearlong series on songs that rouse, unite, celebrate and call to action. Find more at NPR.org/Anthem. There's a grainy video ...

Nirvana performed “Smells Like Teen Spirit” for the first time on April 17, 1991 at a dark Seattle club in the shadow of a highway overpass. The show was hastily organized, a last minute ...

One of those bands, Nirvana, achieved massive success with its first major-label single, "Smells Like Teen Spirit," which today stands as the genre's most towering classic. Nirvana's singer ...

Cobain founded Nirvana with Novoselic and Aaron Burckhard in 1987 in Aberdeen, Washington. Cobain has been hailed one of the greatest rock musicians and guitarists of all time. But it’s not just ...

Tori Amos decided to put her own spin on Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” She said fans told her to sing the song after Kurt Cobain died. She discussed what it was like to have fans sing ...

Science hath declared that Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” is the most iconic song of all time. The seminal grunge track — a cut from SPIN’s Best Album of the Past 30 Years, ...

“Post Nirvana,” — Malone, Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic and Pat Smear — roared through a rendition of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” during the show. Malone himself is no stranger to ...

Deemed the most "iconic song of all time," scientifically-speaking, by researchers at the University of London, Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" made its live debut on April 17, 1991 ...

That’s right. The song that rocketed Nirvana to fame and helped cement Seattle’s place in music history is a quarter-century old. “Smells Like Teen Spirit” is one of those rare songs that ...