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The Inspiration for Nirvana's Breakthrough hit

Posted at 8:16 PM on September 27, 2011 by Jim McGuinn (1 Comments)

Was Smells Like Teen Spirit intro guitar part influenced by the guy who wrote "Seasons In the Sun"?

Maybe.

Turns out that before Terry Jacks scored that all-time AM radio piece of cheese hit in 1974, he and (then) wife Susan fronted a band called The Poppy Family. They were, ahem, popular in Canada and even had a Top 20 US hit in the early '70s. Straddling some kind of line between psychedelic rock and bubblegum, the band featured Terry's songs, Susan's blond hair, a tabla player, and excellent use of the sitar-guitar (then in vogue).

If you check out this YouTube clip of the song "Where Evil Grows," listen for the rhythm guitar part that kicks in around 1:35 (and dig the intro from Kenny Rogers!).

Cool song, haunting guitar part, right? Here's a recent quote from Susan Jacks about the connection, "Yes, Kurt Cobain was apparently a fan of the Poppy Family. Our music was initially very unique and somewhat 'dark' at times and I think that probably appealed to many 'soon to be' artists who weren't totally into what was considered the bubblegum scene. Much of our sound and memorable guitar licks were thanks to Craig McCaw, our first guitar player and Satwant Singh, our tabla player, who were an integral part of who we were as a group.

Here's another great / dark song from the Poppy Family — "Shadows on the Wall"

And finally — here's Nirvana, who actually recorded a demo version of Terry Jacks' big hit "Seasons In the Sun."

And of course... the hit version by Terry Jacks.

Tune-in for more Nirvana

Starting Friday at 2 p.m., we'll be playing classic Nirvana songs and covers all weekend. We'll also have local and legendary artists talk about what "Nevermind" means to them. You'll also have a chance to win a deluxe edition of the "Nevermind" reissue, a DVD of their performance at the Paramount and "The Year Punk Broke." We'll top it all off at 5 p.m. on Sunday with a rare Nirvana radio special.

Comments (1)

Where are the Pixies?

Posted by Ragnarsuperstar | September 28, 2011 8:59 PM

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