The instrument is now the centrepiece of a new exhibition at the Royal College of Music in London. This historic guitar was at one time the property of the late, great Nirvana frontman and songwriting genius Kurt Cobain. The exhibition, named “Kurt Cobain Unplugged,” opens June 3 and will be on view through November 18. It’s the academy’s first real purpose of presenting rock music, a striking contrast from its classic-heavy roots.
This particular guitar holds immense significance as it was used by Cobain during Nirvana’s iconic MTV Unplugged performance in November 1993, just months before his untimely death. Only 302 of these instruments were ever made. Cobain acquired his second-hand from the Guitar Centre in LA. It was recently sold at auction for an incredible $6.1 million. This sale holds the record as the most expensive guitar ever auctioned, firmly establishing it as one of the icons of rock history.
The exhibit provides a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the guitar, of course, and explore Cobain’s complicated legacy as an artist. Curator Gabriele Rossi Rognoni is in an attempt to tell the best story possible. He will seek to bring out the impact of the instrument and the challenges public figures, such as Cobain, encounter.
“We saw space to develop a story that was not only about an instrument but about a person with a complex background and with something that is quite significant today, which is as musicians and as public figures, you are under a lot of pressure,” Rognoni explained.
Cobain famously played the guitar during a haunting rendition of “Where Did You Sleep Last Night,” a song popularized by Lead Belly. Backstage before his performance, he joked about needing to save up $500,000 to buy Lead Belly’s guitar at auction, touching on his connection to those musical greats.
There’s little question that the guitar’s auction value comes primarily through its limited availability. Alan di Perna, a rock historian, emphasized the deep connection fans have with Cobain, stating, “It’s the most expensive guitar ever sold at auction: $6.1 million. It’s significant because Kurt owned it. Kurt played it. It’s the last guitar he ever played.”
Cobain’s legacy continues to resonate with many, particularly due to his tragic early death at age 27, which places him among the so-called “27 Club” of iconic rock stars who passed away at that age. This part of Cobain’s story, Di Perna observed, is what makes him so timeless and popular.
“The big part of Kurt Cobain’s enduring popularity is of course his tragic early death… There’s something about that age and it tends to make people immortal in the memory of the public,” Di Perna said.
In addition to the guitar, the exhibition features other memorabilia, including the green mohair cardigan Cobain wore during the 1993 performance. The exhibition is a deeply moving testament to Cobain’s staggering genius. Further, it exposes the societal pressures that impacted his life and career as an artist.
