(L) The 1969 left-handed Fender Mustang guitar is pictured in a provided image. (R) Kurt Cobain performs with Nirvana at the Paradiso on Nov.
25, 1991, in Amsterdam, Netherlands. (Photos: Julien’s Auctions / Frans Schellekens/Redferns via Getty Image LOS ANGELES - Kurt Cobain’s Fender Mustang, the blue guitar that he played in Nirvana’s iconic 1991 "Smells Like Teen Spirit" music video, is going up for auction and is anticipated to sell for up to $800,000.The 1969 left-handed electric guitar will be sold during Julien's Auctions' "Music Icons" event, taking place both online and live in New York City on May 20, 21 and 22, the company said.
The guitar is expected to fetch between $600,000 and $800,000. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was Nirvana’s breakout single from its second album "Nevermind." The success of the song and music video on MTV catapulted the album to the top of several music charts and is often credited as the moment when grunge music entered the mainstream.Julien’s Auctions noted how the Generation X anthem "turned the underground Seattle based trio, Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl, overnight into the biggest band in the world, bursting on the music scene and pop culture zeitgeist with an explosion of energy unlike anything felt or seen before in rock history."The "Smells Like Teen Spirit" music video depicted Nirvana performing the song at a high school pep rally, which turns into a mosh pit frenzy.