On This Day in 1991, Nirvana Played “Smells Like Teen Spirit” for the First Time Ever—and Grunge Music Was Never the Same

Some say Nirvana single-handedly ended hair metal with their flagship album Nevermind. The album’s lead single, “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” grew so popular that the band hated playing it live. While it’s a cultural mainstay now, there was a time when it was brand-new. Thirty-four years ago today, on April 17, 1991, the audience at Seattle’s OK Hotel didn’t know what hit them when they witnessed Nirvana’s first-ever live performance of “Smells Like Teen Spirit.”

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The Night Nirvana Birthed a Movement

In 1987, high school classmates Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic formed what would eventually become Nirvana. The band finalized their most recognizable lineup when drummer Dave Grohl joined in 1990.

A year later, in 1991, the Seattle grunge pioneers were still searching for an audience. While critics loved their 1989 debut, Bleach, the album failed to make a splash on the charts. The band needed gas money to drive from Seattle to Los Angeles to record their sophomore effort, Nevermind. Consequently, they agreed to play a last-minute show at Seattle’s OK Hotel to scrap together the cash.

“The band walked away with a few hundred bucks, drove down to L.A., and the rest is history,” Steve Moriarty, drummer for Seattle punk band the Gits, recounted in the book Everybody Loves Our Town: An Oral History of Grunge.

Kurt Bloch, a Seattle-area musician, recalled standing in the crowd beside Sub Pop A&R representative Nils Bernstein when Nirvana fired up “Smells Like Teen Spirit” for the first time. “Nils and I looked at each other like, ‘Holy f—! This song is unbelievable,’” Bloch said in Everybody Loves Our Town.

He added, “There were a few genre-defining shows, and that was certainly one of them.”

How Kurt Cobain Really Felt About Their First Hit

By the time Kurt Cobain tragically died by suicide in 1994, Nirvana was already firmly planted in the ’90s zeitgeist. Since first performing “Smells Like Teen Spirit on April 17, 1991, the band has sold more than 75 million records and entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

[RELATED: Celebrating Late Grunge Legend Kurt Cobain’s Birthday with 4 Timeless Nirvana Songs That Aren’t “Smells Like Teen Spirit”]

While many might say the band owes their career to “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” Cobain openly didn’t care much for the song. “I was basically trying to rip off the Pixies; I have to admit it,” he told Rolling Stone several months before his death.

Featured image by Michel Linssen/Redferns