Nirvana Songs Grohl Thought Would Be Bigger Than 'Teen Spirit'

It's hard to imagine now, but there was a time when Dave Grohl thought that "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was not going to be the "smash hit" that broke Nirvana, even considering two other songs from Nevermind as the likely favorites to do so.

What Songs Did Dave Grohl Think Would Be Nirvana's 'Smash Hits' From 'Nevermind'?

Though "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was a true game-changing moment in the history of rock, Grohl wasn't too far off base in predicting radio success for two of Nirvana's other songs.

"With Nevermind, I thought 'In Bloom' was going to be the ‘smash hit’ off the record, or 'Lithium.' I thought 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' was just another album cut," confessed Grohl to Mojo in a special issue dedicated to Nirvana's '90s emergence. "We recorded it pretty quickly and I think it was one of [producer] Butch Vig’s favorites and it soon became pretty clear that it would be the special song on the record. But, of course, at that point we didn’t think anything was going to happen with the record."

nirvana nevermind album art — Nevermind"/>DGC

As it turned out, "Lithium" and "In Bloom" were the third and fourth singles from Nevermind, with each song charting well at Alternative and Mainstream Rock radio following the breakout of "Smells Like Teen Spirit."

Nirvana's debut, Bleach, while receiving mostly critical praise, hadn't been a commercial breakout. And the band's style of music wasn't getting mainstream radio play quite yet as the album was set to arrive.

But that would all change once "Smells Like Teen Spirit" arrived.

"I thought 'Teen Spirit' might get on [MTV’s] 120 Minutes and allow us to tour with Sonic Youth, but no one thought it was a hit single because [that] was just unimaginable," recalled Grohl. "I mean, the funniest part was seeing the video on MTV. We were touring America just as the album came out in September of ’91, playing places that held maybe 200-300 people, and we’d go back to the hotel and turn on the TV and see our video and go, 'That’s so funny, we’re on TV' and we’ve just played the 9:30 Club, or whatever! Then with the video came more people and the clubs got bigger and bigger."

What Did Dave Grohl Initially Think of 'Smells Like Teen Spirit'?

As stated, Dave Grohl didn't see the "smash hit" capability of "Smells Like Teen Spirit," but what did he initially think of the song?

"I didn’t really think much of 'Teen Spirit' at first. I thought it was just another one of the jams that we were doing: we had so many jams like that, that we’d record onto a boombox tape and then lose the cassette and lose the song forever. But 'Teen Spirit' was one we kept coming back to because the simple guitar lines were so memorable," recalled the drummer.

But as the band were focused in their own world of touring, it took a bit before it set in how great the response had been to the song.

"We played a show in Seattle [at the OK Hotel, on April 17, 1991] to get gas money to go down to Los Angeles to record the record. We set it up at the last minute, it was an afternoon gig and we played that song for the first time and the audience went nuts. I don’t know if it was the rhythm or the melody but people got caught on it pretty quick" recalled Grohl.

Nirvana, "Smells Like Teen Spirit" Music Video

"When the video hit MTV it made a big difference," he added, recalling how the band would play venues with a 500-person capacity and another 500 fans showed up hoping to get in. At the same time, they began cultivating a more mainstream audience as well.

Grohl further recollected, "And we started to notice there were normal people here, what are they doing here? That guy looks like a jock, what the fuck is he doing here? And it was like, Oh, maybe that video thing is attracting some… riff-raff! The only indication that our world was turning upside down would be when you’d get to the venue. Then it would be, Holy shit, these people are nuts!"

Even now, Grohl shares his surprise over the song's success. "Do I think it’s the greatest single of all time? Of course not," he confessed. "I don’t even think it’s the greatest Nirvana single. And compared to 'Revolution' by The Beatles or 'God Only Knows' by The Beach Boys?! Give me a break! 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' was a great moment in time… but there’s better.”

How Did Nirvana's 'Nevermind' Singles Do?

We just passed the anniversary of the release of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit," which was issued as a single on Sept. 10, 1991. The song topped the Billboard Alternative Airplay chart, peaked at No. 7 for Mainstream Rock and plateaued at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100. It would go on to be a diamond certified single in the U.S.

"Come As You Are" was the second Nevermind single, issued in February 1992. It peaked at No. 3 for both Alternative Airplay and Mainstream Rock radio, while leveling out at No. 32 on the Billboard Hot 100.

"Lithium" fell off a bit at radio, peaking at No. 16 for Mainstream Rock and No. 25 for Alternative Airplay and never reaching higher than No. 64 on the Billboard Hot 100. Then "In Bloom" would finish out the album's initial singles in November 1992. It peaked at No. on the Mainstream Rock chart.

Yet another track, "Something in the Way," would see a chart revival some nearly 30 years later when it cracked the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 46 due in large part to its usage in a trailer for The Batman movie in 2020.

Below, see our picks for the best and worst songs off each Nirvana album.