By Brian Ives
Kurt Cobain wasn’t the reluctant superstar he wanted everyone he believed he was, according to his widow Courtney Love. In an interview with National Geographic, she said that the Nirvana frontman “wanted it bad. He wrote to every major, minor label: ‘We’ll pay. Let us be on your label.’ He was desperate to be the biggest rock star in the world. But he made it look like it was thrust upon him.”
Watch the video segment here.
It’s worth noting that earlier in the clip, Cobain says lucidly, “I’m too stubborn to allow myself to ever compromise our music or turn us into big rock stars. I just don’t feel like that.”
Related: Nirvana Rock Hall Induction Featured Joan Jett, Kim Gordon, St. Vincent & Lorde
The interview was for Nat Geo Channel’s upcoming three night series The ’90s: The Last Great Decade? which kicks off on July 6. Other topics discussed on the first episode — narrated by Rob Lowe — include the Gulf War, the drama around Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign, Roseanne Barr’s battles with her network; the unlikely rise of Vanilla Ice as well as Cobain, the LA Riots, the Anita Hill hearings and the trial of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. The series included new interviews with Ice Cube, Vanilla Ice, Matthew Perry, Roseanne Barr, Courtney Love, Brian Williams, Susan Sarandon and Nevermind producer Butch Vig.
Related: Courtney Love Admits She Wrote Note Found in Kurt Cobain’s Wallet
The second episode, airing on July 7, veers from David Koresh’s religious cult in Waco, Texas to the Tonya Harding/Nancy Kerrigan drama to Jerry Springer’s TV trash-fest. The final episode, on July 8, looks at President Clinton’s sex scandal, the dot com boom and Viagra.
