Spencer Elden Shares His Experience as the Baby On Nirvana’s ‘Nevermind’ Cover

At only four months old, Spencer Elden was given the chance to be a part of music history – or at least his parents were. When asked if they would let their child be photographed by Kirk Weddle, his parents said yes and made an easy $200. The photo would go on to become the iconic album cover for Nirvana’s ‘Nevermind.’ Now, an L.A.-based artist, Elden recounts what it’s like to be “that baby on the Nirvana album” in the Guardian.

“It is a weird thing to get my head around, being part of such a culturally iconic image,” he wrote. “But it’s always been a positive thing and opened doors for me.”

And according to Elden, Nirvana originally had a slightly different concept in mind for the album cover.

“I’ve heard that originally the band wanted the image to be of a woman giving birth under water, but the record company thought that would be too graphic,” he explained. “So they compromised with this idea of a baby swimming after a dollar.”

Of course, at 23 years old, Elden views the experience with an evolved perspective, writing, “It helps with girls, too. Sometimes girls chat me up about it more than the other way around. I don’t tell them it’s me, and my friends boast about it more than I do. I would never go up to anyone wearing a Nirvana t-shirt and say, ‘Hey, that’s me.”

Read Elden's full account here.

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