Nirvana taped its MTV Unplugged set at Sony Music Studios in Manhattan on November 18, 1993, on a stage decorated with candles and lilies. DGC Records released the album on November 1, 1994, nearly seven months after Cobain's suicide. Breaking with Unplugged tradition, the band played mainly lesser-known songs and covers, including David Bowie's 'The Man Who Sold the World' and a closing Lead Belly cover, 'Where Did You Sleep Last Night'.
Nirvana had been negotiating to appear for some time, and Cobain finally agreed while touring with the Meat Puppets. MTV had wanted the hits. Producer Alex Coletti recalled that the network was unhappy with the lack of well-known Nirvana songs and with Cobain's choice of guests, the Meat Puppets' Cris and Curt Kirkwood, rather than bigger names. The day before the taping, Cobain refused to play; he turned up at the studio the following afternoon.
The band, joined by rhythm guitarist Pat Smear and cellist Lori Goldston, used some electric amplification and effects, but the performance was quiet and intense, closing with Cobain's raw, cracking vocal on the Lead Belly song.
By the time the album reached shelves, Cobain had been dead for months, and the record took on a weight no one had intended. It won Best Alternative Music Performance at the 1996 Grammy Awards, Nirvana's only Grammy.