Seattle Record Store Discovers Kurt Cobain Royalty Check From 1991
Twenty-eight years after the release of Nirvana’s Nevermind, fans are still discovering new secrets left behind in the album’s wake. A Seattle record store owner recently uncovered an uncashed royalty check written to Kurt Cobain six months before Nirvana’s landmark album ever hit record store shelves nationwide, CNN reports.
Easy Street Records owner Matt Vaughan says he came across the $26.57 check while cleaning his basement, where it was tucked away amongst a collection of records and travel documents he accumulated in the 1990s.
“Last week, I was moving some stuff around and guess found a moment of reflection, sat there in the basement and flipped through every page,” he told CNN. “That’s when these thin pieces of paper dropped out.”
If that weren’t enough, Vaughan also discovered a $177 money order receipt documenting rent payment Cobain made in 1990 tucked away near the check. The latter receipt was found amongst other Cobain records from 1992, which left the record clerk wondering why Cobain would hang onto an old receipt like this to begin with.
“It’s almost like these were reminders to him—or good luck charms—of harder times of what he had gone through,” Vaughn said. “It also puts things into perspective that he was no different than any of us. We all understand what it’s like to be past due on a doctor bill. We know what it’s like for your landlord to only accept cash. We know what it’s like to have so small of a check that you don’t even want to go into the bank and cash it.”
Nirvana’s sophomore album Nevermind would eventually secure the band’s status as grunge’s most influential band, as songs like “Smells Like Teen Spirit” would climb to #1 on the Billboard charts, changing the face of rock music forever in the process. Check out a few photos of the newly-uncovered Cobain artifacts below.
This article originally appeared on Spin.