Serving the Servant: Remembering Kurt Cobain
Written by Danny Goldberg
Narrated by Danny Goldberg
4.5/5
()
About this audiobook
On the twenty-fifth anniversary of Kurt Cobain’s death comes a new perspective on one of the most compelling icons of our time—and the only book written by someone who knew him.
In early 1991, top music manager Danny Goldberg agreed to take on Nirvana, a critically acclaimed new band from the underground music scene in Seattle. He had no idea that the band’s leader, Kurt Cobain, would become a pop-culture icon with a legacy arguably at the level of that of John Lennon, Michael Jackson, or Elvis Presley. Danny worked with Kurt from 1990 to 1994, the most impactful period of Kurt’s life. This key time saw the stratospheric success of Nevermind, which turned Nirvana into the most successful rock band in the world and made punk and grunge household terms; Kurt’s meeting and marriage to the brilliant but mercurial Courtney Love and their relationship that became a lightning rod for critics; the birth of their daughter, Frances Bean; and, finally, Kurt’s public struggles with addiction, which ended in a devastating suicide that would alter the course of rock history. Throughout, Danny stood by Kurt’s side as manager, and close friend.
Drawing on Goldberg’s own memories of Kurt, files that previously have not been made public, and interviews with, among others, Kurt’s close family, friends, and former bandmates, Serving the Servants sheds an entirely new light on these critical years. Casting aside the common obsession with the angst and depression that seemingly drove Kurt, Serving the Servants is an exploration of his brilliance in every aspect of rock and roll, his compassion, his ambition, and the legacy he wrought—one that has lasted decades longer than his career did. Danny Goldberg explores what it is about Kurt Cobain that still resonates today, even with a generation who wasn’t alive until after Kurt’s death. In the process, he provides a portrait of an icon unlike any that has come before.
Danny Goldberg
Danny Goldberg is president and owner of Gold Village Entertainment, an artist management company; former CEO and founder of Gold Mountain Entertainment; former chairman and CEO of both Mercury Records and Artemis Records; former CEO of Air America; and frequent contributor to the Los Angeles Times, The Nation, Huffington Post, Dissent, Billboard, and many other outlets. He is the author of In Search of the Lost Chord, Bumping into Geniuses, and How the Left Lost Teen Spirit, and coeditor of It’s a Free Country. He lives in Pound Ridge, New York.
More audiobooks from Danny Goldberg
Making the Ordinary Extraordinary: My Seven Years in Occult Los Angeles with Manly Palmer Hall Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5In Search of the Lost Chord: 1967 and the Hippie Idea Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bloody Crossroads 2020: Art, Entertainment, and Resistance to Trump Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to Serving the Servant
Related audiobooks
Total F*cking Godhead: The Biography of Chris Cornell Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Girl in a Band: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Here We Are Now: The Lasting Impact of Kurt Cobain Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Raising Hell: Backstage Tales From the Lives of Metal Legends Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5My Appetite for Destruction: Sex, and Drugs, and Guns N' Roses Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Son of a Milkman: My Crazy Life with Tesla Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Change of Seasons: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Twilight of the Gods: A Journey to the End of Classic Rock Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5To Hell and Back: My Life in Johnny Thunders' Heartbreakers, in the Words of the Last Man Standing Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe MAN Called CASH: The Life, Love and Faith of an American Legend Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Anger Is an Energy: My Life Uncensored Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5All These Things That I've Done: My Insane, Improbable Rock Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Alright, Alright, Alright: The Oral History of Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Robert Plant: A Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Home Before Daylight: My Life on the Road with the Grateful Dead Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Texas Flood: The Inside Story of Stevie Ray Vaughan Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Sex, Drums, Rock 'n' Roll!: The Hardest Hitting Man in Show Business Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Most Dope: The Extraordinary Life of Mac Miller Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Luck or Something Like It: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mysteries in the Music: Case Closed Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mutations: The Many Strange Faces of Hardcore Punk Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Elton John: The Biography Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhen They Were Boys: The True Story of the Beatles' Rise to the Top Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5So Many Roads: The Life and Times of the Grateful Dead Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Permanent Damage: Memoirs of an Outrageous Girl Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Dancing with Myself Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Face It: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Janis: Her Life and Music Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/518 and Life on Skid Row Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Artists and Musicians For You
IT'S ALL IN YOUR HEAD Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5More Myself: A Journey Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Woman in Me Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5My Effin' Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Adversity for Sale: Ya Gotta Believe Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Me: Elton John Official Autobiography Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Dolly Parton: The Life of a Legendary American Singer, Actor, and Businesswoman Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Rememberings Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Not That Fancy: Simple Lessons on Living, Loving, Eating, and Dusting Off Your Boots Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Storyteller: Expanded: ...Because There's More to the Story Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Sounds Like Me: My Life (So Far) in Song Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Dirt: Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Leonardo da Vinci Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Robin Williams: When the Laughter Stops 1951 - 2014 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Like a River: Finding the Faith and Strength to Move Forward after Loss and Heartache Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5My Love Story: A Memoir Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mercury and Me Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Scar Tissue Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Gold Dust Woman: The Biography of Stevie Nicks Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Chita: A Memoir Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Summary: Greenlights: by Matthew McConaughey: Key Takeaways, Summary & Analysis Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die: Musings from the Road Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Where Are Your Boys Tonight?: The Oral History of Emo's Mainstream Explosion 1999-2008 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Share My Life: A Journey of Love, Faith and Redemption Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin): A Memoir Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Heart: Frida Kahlo in Paris Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Autobiography of Gucci Mane Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Marathon Don't Stop: The Life and Times of Nipsey Hussle Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Killing the Legends: The Lethal Danger of Celebrity Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Reviews for Serving the Servant
81 ratings6 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This was absolutely not a money grab. It was an honest and intelligent view of Kurt from someone who knew him and has had years to decide what to say. The book reminds us that Kurt’s major talent was that he was born with the ability to write melodies that never failed at being catchy. Perhaps no one is better at that. He was aware of his gift. He was super kind to people. His struggle is well documented and the rumors are put to rest with this book. Side note that a couple of gripping highlights are Danny’s play by play of Ledbelly’s song at Unplugged and the limo driver’s story. Book is worth the listen for any Kurt fan and anyone who says Danny is doing this for money is disrespecting Kurt and Danny. Thank you Danny for sharing something so personal to you and realizing how personal it is to everyone touched or aware of Kurt when he had it all and succumbed. - Dan Failla, Santa Barbara
2 people found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Loved this brilliant book, recommend it to any Kurt Cobain, Nirvana, or music lovers who want a deeper insight into the genius that was Cobain.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Danny’s here to clean up shop. Piece of shit “Milking It.” He’s a liar, and so is his wife. Shame to them and may they live miserable live’s.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I am beyond impressed by this author. As I was listening about Kurt's insecurities with regard to his own talent and future, his struggle with heroin addiction along with the complicated relationship with Courtney as if I was directly witnessing it! Also, the details around Kurt's attitude towards Axl Rose and Eddie Veder were not known to me. Compelling! Brilliant! Absorbing!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5One of the best artist to ever live and so we miss the most
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Danny’s insight and story telling was excellent. I loved seeing inside the band and Kurt’s perspectives.