Nirvana’s Road to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Drummer Dave Grohl (left) joined the group shortly before they recorded Nevermind. It took Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic three years and many failed attempts to land the perfect third member. Here they are in 1992. Cobain is wearing a jacket given to him be Evan Dando of the Lemonheads. 

The band performs "Heart-Shaped Box" on Saturday Night Live on September 25th, 1993. Their final LP, In Utero, hit shelves earlier that month. 

The band (with touring guitarist Pat Smear on far left) met RuPaul backstage at the 1993 MTV Video Music Awards. 

Nirvana circa 1991. The grunge group famously threw Michael Jackson off the top of the charts that year. The impact of that moment has been slightly exaggerated, it was still a sign that old guard was on it's way out. 

Cobain with infant daughter Frances Bean and wife Courtney Love at the 1993 Video Music Awards. Nirvana won Best Alternative Video for "In Bloom" that night. 

Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic at a taping of  MTV Live and Loud. The show was filmed at Pier 28 in Seattle on December 13th, 1993. It was one of their final Seattle shows. 

Cobain crowd surfs during a Nirvana show in Frankfurt, Germany on November 11th, 1991. "They were reaching into my pockets," he said when he got back onto the stage. "Trying to grab money and shit."

After winning an MTV Video Music Award for "In Bloom," Cobain carried his daughter Frances Bean into the press room with the rest of the band. 

Cobain at onstage at Nirvana's legendary set at the Reading Festival on August 23rd, 1991. The show has since been released on CD and DVD/Blu Ray. 

Cobain at Hilversum Studios in the Netherlands on November 25th, 1991. The show was broadcast on Dutch radio. Only portions of the set circulate amongst fans. 

Two years before they taped their legendary MTV Unplugged concert, Nirvana went all-acoustic for a radio show in the Netherlands. Their set was three-hours later and featured a cover of Lead Belly's "In the Pines (Where Did You Sleep Last Night)." 

Kurt Cobain onstage with Nirvana circa 1993. The group toured with the Breeders, Mudhoney, Meat Puppets and even comedian Bobcat Goldthwait that year. 

Kurt Cobain at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards. He nearly got into a fistfight with Axl Rose backstage and then horrified network executives when he began the set with a tease from "Rape Me" before launching into "Lithium." Novoselic threw his bass into the air at the finale and it landed on his head, nearly knocking him out cold. 

Five months before Kurt Cobain passed away, Nirvana taped their MTV Unplugged concert at Sony Studios in New York City. It remains the most beloved episode in the history of the series.