Heavier Than Heaven

Infobox Book
name = Heavier Than Heaven
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption = Coverpage of "Heavier than heaven"
author = Charles R. Cross
illustrator =
cover_artist =
country = USA
language = English
series =
subject =
genre = Biography
publisher = Hyperion
pub_date = August 15, 2001
english_pub_date =
media_type =
pages = 400
isbn = ISBN 0-7868-6505-9
oclc =
preceded_by =
followed_by =

"Heavier Than Heaven" is the name of a 2001 biography of musician Kurt Cobain, the lead singer of the grunge rock band Nirvana. It was written by Charles R. Cross.

For the book, Cross desired to create the definitive Cobain biography, and over four years conducted 400+ interviews; in particular, he was granted exclusive interviews and access to Cobain's private journals, lyrics and photos, by his widow Courtney Love. [cite web| url=http://www.hyperionbooks.com/titlepage.asp?ISBN=0786884029| title=Heavier than Heaven: A Biography of Kurt Cobain| publisher=HyperionBooks.com] Notably, neither Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl nor Cobain's mother contributed to the book. [vanHorn, Terri. [http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1448769/20010910/nirvana.jhtml "Cobain Book Shows Singer's Life 'Heavier' Than Most Imagined"] . MTVNews.com. September 10, 2001.]

While arguably the most complete Cobain biography, Cross opted to include his own impression of what Cobain's final days were like. Several people questioned the inclusion of fiction in what was claimed to be a non-fiction book. [Furth, Charles. [http://www.livenirvana.com/official/hthrev.html "A Review: Heavier Than Heaven - The Biography of Kurt Cobain"] . LiveNirvana.com. January 14, 2003.] At the same time, Cross' desire for the book to be as complete as possible meant that he occasionally accepted secondhand (and incorrect) information as fact. ["Nirvana: the True Story" by Everett True] The book was criticized as being a collaboration between Love and Cross by such friends as Everett True, who derided the book as being inaccurate, omissive, and highly biased, calling it "the Courtney-sanctioned version of history" [ [http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=184892 Smells Like Everett True - Books - The Stranger, Seattle's Only Newspaper ] ] and Cross' “Oh, I think I need to find the new Bruce Springsteen now” Kurt Cobain book. [ [http://www.magnetmagazine.com/interviews/true.html MAGNET Interview: Everett True ] ] However, beyond the criticism, the book contained many details about Cobain and Nirvana's career that had otherwise gone unnoted.

Cross took the name "Heavier Than Heaven" from a tour Nirvana did with the band Tad in the UK. The lead singer, Tad Doyle, was very obese; the name which was thought up by the tour promoters, was meant in part to poke fun at the inaccurate fact that Tad alone weighed more than all of the members of Nirvana put together. It also summed both Nirvana's heavy sound and Tad Doyle's heavy weight.

Access Hollywood reports that Love has acquired the rights to "Heavier Than Heaven", with several studios engaged in discussions with Love to create a film adaptation of Cobain's biography. On January 12th, 2008, it was announced on NME.COM that Courtney Love made an official announcement saying Ryan Gosling would portray her former husband, Kurt Cobain, in his upcoming bio film. It has also be confirmed that a contract has been sent to Scarlett Johansson regarding the role of Courtney.Before Love made her announcement, the favorite among fans to play Cobain is up-and-coming actor Joe Anderson due to his striking physical similarity to Cobain and singing ability as evidenced in the 2007 movie Across the Universe. [cite web
url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16585050
title=Love gives permission for Cobain film?
publisher=MSNBC.MSN.com
date=January 12, 2007]

Reviews

* [http://www.lettersonpages.com/2008/07/heavier-than-heaven-by-charles-r-cross/ Review at Letters On Pages]

References