Once Naked For Nirvana, Now A Teen Spirit

Imagine if millions of people had seen you naked before you were old enough to say "embarrassing." That's the story of Spencer Elden, whom you may know as the little baby floating towards a dollar bill on the cover of Nirvana's 1991 album, Nevermind, reprots NPR.

Nearly 17 years later, amid hating school and playing water polo, Elden is still struggling to make sense of his (very) public image.

"Quite a few people in the world have seen my penis," he says from his home in Los Angeles. "So that's kinda cool. I'm just a normal kid living it up and doing the best I can while I'm here."

Nevermind is often credited with changing the face of rock. Elden's naked participation in this important moment in music history was rather accidental; Kirk Weddle, the photographer working on the cover, was simply a friend of Spencer's dad, Rick.

"[He] calls us up and was like, 'Hey Rick, wanna make 200 bucks and throw your kid in the drink?,'" Rick recounts. "I was like, 'What's up?' And he's like, 'Well, I'm shooting kids all this week, why don't you meet me at the Rose Bowl, throw your kid in the drink?' And we just had a big party at the pool, and no one had any idea what was going on!"

Three months later, while driving down Sunset Blvd., the Elden family spotted a 9-foot-by-9-foot Spencer floating across Tower Records' wall. Two months later, Geffen Records sent 1-year-old Spencer Elden a platinum album and a teddy bear.

Over the coming years, 26 million albums were sold. As Elden learned to walk, talk and sing — his pale baby arms stretched across millions of grungy fans' walls; his private parts stood magnified across billboards and floors.

In some places, his image stuck. The other day, his friends spotted a giant Nevermind photo on the floor of a record store in Hollywood.

"My friend is all like, 'Hey I saw you today.' And I'm like, 'Dude, I was working all day.' And he's like, 'No, I went to Geffen Records, and you're on the floor and you're floating and I stepped on your face. 'Cause I guess they have like a floating thing where people can like walk on me and stuff ... so it's kinda cool," he says.

Read more at the entire article here.

Comments

[Primus12]

This kid should be so rich,
or a porn star

[AngelOfHatred]

I'm pretty sure there was an article on this not too long ago...

[Zangetsu 101]

AngelOfHatred wrote:

I'm pretty sure there was an article on this not too long ago...

Yep there was.

[Powerpro]

Yeah this is an old article totally reused.

[dontstopblevin]

lol...I wish i could be there when he tells his wife/girlfriend...."hey hun, want to see my dick?" *then wips out the album cover and yells PSYCH!!!

thats how i would do it...lol

[HoldYourColour]

that is so sick

i was always curious about the baby underwater lol

[Orion999]

dontstopblevin wrote:

lol...I wish i could be there when he tells his wife/girlfriend...."hey hun, want to see my dick?" *then wips out the album cover and yells PSYCH!!!

thats how i would do it...lol

HAHAHA Well played sir..."Hey, baby...check out my schlong." [Imitates Butthead]

[CorvetteRick]

"Quite a few people in the world have seen my penis," he says from his home in Los Angeles. "So that's kinda cool."

"Cause I guess they have like a floating thing where people can like walk on me and stuff ... so it's kinda cool,"

... So... Its kinda cool...

[Coasternerd]

That album is rock history. I would be pretty stoked to be a part of it and I'd get to show off my winky-dink. Props to him.

[LegsOnEarth]

um hasnt this actually been posted before here?

[Stoner0405]

at least we know UG recycles...

[blue_strat]

Geffen Records sent 1-year-old Spencer Elden a platinum album and a teddy bear.

How

awesome.

[Absent Mind]

I wonder how much pussy you can get by saying 'I was on the front cover of an incredibly iconic album cover'

admittedly it would only work if the girl hadnt seen it.

[DP_SF_DTX_RATM]

lol, This is fairly interesting.

[ShredGuitar9]

wat ive always wondered is if nevermind were created now... would it b taken of the market due 2 child pornography?

[lextexrex]

Wait... that baby is real???

[joshua029]

dontstopblevin wrote:

lol...I wish i could be there when he tells his wife/girlfriend...."hey hun, want to see my dick?" *then wips out the album cover and yells PSYCH!!!

thats how i would do it...lol

haha!!!

[hippyguitardude]

ShredGuitar9 wrote:

wat ive always wondered is if nevermind were created now... would it b taken of the market due 2 child pornography?

no little baby's aren't child pornography. i'm sure theres a cut off somewhere maybe at 1 yrs or something but babys like that are fine..... idk y u would really want to see that anyways theres not much of a market for baby pornogrophy.

[GodofCheesecake]

lol...I wish i could be there when he tells his wife/girlfriend...."hey hun, want to see my dick?" *then wips out the album cover and yells PSYCH!!!

One would hope that if he's got a wife, she's seen it by now...

[lexaah]

Stoner0405 wrote:

at least we know UG recycles...

indeed

[getaddicted]

yeah i remember ug did this article a while back

[JakdOnCrack]

That'd be pretty neat to be that guy. Does he get royalties off of that album?

[Renfordoggz]

slashisgod2006 wrote:

so gay
some1 could jus say prove its you n hed be like i cant its jus a pic of a baby unless on the cover sleep his name is stated in which case she should have royalties otherwise hes been stitched up.
i know i study law

Ahh, that explains the spelling heh

[sebbsmith]

Primus12 wrote:

This kid should be so rich,
or a porn star

I lol'd

[tamargoguitar]

this article is so recycled man...

[tyler_coleman]

slashisgod2006 wrote:

so gay
some1 could jus say prove its you n hed be like i cant its jus a pic of a baby unless on the cover sleep his name is stated in which case she should have royalties otherwise hes been stitched up.
i know i study law

You study law? In prison? Because only that would explain your horrible grammar and spelling.

[AcidPenguiN]

slashisgod2006 :
so gay
some1 could jus say prove its you n hed be like i cant its jus a pic of a baby unless on the cover sleep his name is stated in which case she should have royalties otherwise hes been stitched up.
i know i study law

maybe you should study English too!

[tv14sld]

This wasn't news the first time it was posted.

[mosh_rocker2006]

Ummm cool? i guess...

[tom-the-lawn]

The_lizard_king wrote:

dontstopblevin wrote:

lol...I wish i could be there when he tells his wife/girlfriend...."hey hun, want to see my dick?" *then wips out the album cover and yells PSYCH!!!
thats how i would do it...lol

i would of yelled NEVERMIND!!! lol...fail.

Hahaha that's awesome.

[Shaharz]

tv14sld wrote:

This wasn't news the first time it was posted.

+1

[kanon_89]

yeah cool

Checked!

[radioplay]

'Well, I'm shooting kids all this week..."

anyone else misintrepret this at first?

[jaksongitr]

hung like a moose! dude should be in porn

[theone0103]

I figured they'd have to find him eventually. haha

[true_bacon22]

It changed rock in a bad way IMO now theres to much alternative bullshit and real rock is struggling hardcore.

[meta1militia]

WHAT? i always thought that was the bottom of the baby's foot on the cover, not his penis XD

[Jondy]

they've posted this info before, but...

it's still funny.

[Milaneus]

Lol, dudes I don't care if they've posted it before because if they haven't posted it again now, then people like me wouldn't even know about this! lol.

Although that is kinda funny.

[mon_the_fraser]

He's Spencer Elden, not just on the cover of an iconic album he is the posterboy for middle america.

[Pat_s1t]

lol I edited out his weasel on my album cover in iTunes.

[GuitarSymphony]

Oh how the ladies will judge him so :p

I like his attitude lol
"It's kinda cool"

[Frededk]

3 letters, 1 word, lol

[mercurymay]

CorvetteRick wrote:

"Quite a few people in the world have seen my penis," he says from his home in Los Angeles. "So that's kinda cool."

"Cause I guess they have like a floating thing where people can like walk on me and stuff ... so it's kinda cool,"

... So... Its kinda cool...

well said. put very eloquently.

[guitarplayer-k6]

thats pretty cool in a way hahah

[travlnmn41]

true_bacon22 wrote:

It changed rock in a bad way IMO now theres to much alternative bullshit and real rock is struggling hardcore.

EXACTLY. It's no coincidence that rock has been in the crapper since grunge became popular.

[venomouskiss320]

radioplay wrote:

'Well, I'm shooting kids all this week..."

anyone else misintrepret this at first?

i did lol

[ComexAsxYouxAre]

I wonder if "it" is still the same size.. Haha!

[ComexAsxYouxAre]

Because that would suck...

[dieloony2]

that must be weird having everyone in the world see your dick even if you were an infant. I wonder if it gets him laid more or less.

also lol@shooting kids all week

[areese82]

true_bacon22 wrote:

It changed rock in a bad way IMO now theres to much alternative bullshit and real rock is struggling hardcore.

I think you're dumb

[Fireballz 1077]

Wow I feel bad for that kid!

[The_Seventh_Sin]

Nirvana sucks.
And why is this an article?

[metal@hart11]

im suprised the kids not losing his **** on that cover after just being tossed in the water like that. most kids hate baths let alone being tossed in pools haha

[Punkismygod]

I can only imagine how hard is it to be him

[SLD.Potato]

JakdOnCrack wrote:

That'd be pretty neat to be that guy. Does he get royalties off of that album?

Nope, just $200 for the photo shoot.

[masterohumans]

travlnmn41 wrote:

true_bacon22 wrote:

It changed rock in a bad way IMO now theres to much alternative bullshit and real rock is struggling hardcore.

EXACTLY. It's no coincidence that rock has been in the crapper since grunge became popular.

popular rock maybe

[dan1985smith]

I wish I was that kid so I could be cool and say "its kinda cool" all day

[Sp00nman94]

Punkismygod wrote:

I can only imagine how hard is it to be him

I hope i'm taking this comment the right way given the theme of the article

[whitestrat279]

at least we know UG recycles...

Yes, UG is going green.

[Trisonic77]

Too bad there's no search bar for news articles....

[Gargantuan]

Hey guys, search Nirvana in News on the searchbar and you'll find that they already have an article about this!
=D

[Brain245]

Yeah, I remember the old article.

And this one's title makes no sense.

[XxPunkMafiaxX]

radioplay wrote:

'Well, I'm shooting kids all this week..."

anyone else misintrepret this at first?

haha...cant say i did. but now you mention it...LMAO

Sp00nman94 wrote:
Punkismygod wrote:

I can only imagine how hard is it to be him


I hope i'm taking this comment the right way given the theme of the article

lol..thats quite sick. but still laughable

Checked.

[guitarkid583]

http://ultimate-guitar.com/news/general_music_news/iconic_al bum-cover_kids_where_is_the_nirvana_baby.html

there it is/was

[Eddy Hitler]

who gives a **** about this?

[ginjaninja]

how is this news?

why do UG post articles like this in news?

[J Dub]

I wonder if it's grown any bigger than it was on the cover.

[GoWithTheFlow]

thanks for reminding us again UG. in this case recycling is bad.

[Seidenschnur]

Hey dude, can I take pictures of your naked baby? Sure! What time?

[bazman13]

pun-gasm

[thereverendsoup]

Quite a few people? More like EVERYONE IN AMERICA has seen this guy's dick. Except maybe a few yahoos in kitten sweatshirts who live on the bible belt or something.

[vannaXcurses]

radioplay wrote:

'Well, I'm shooting kids all this week..."

anyone else misintrepret this at first?

indeed i did lolz

[SharpObject]

lulz

[Cobalt Blue]

didn't they do a story about this guy a few months ago?

[prsrulz91]

yea this seems like the most rehashed article in the last year. I seem 2 see it in a lot of places

[Anvil pants]

i'm tired of hearing about how he's still "dealing" with being the nevermind baby
give us a break, it was cool as hell and this kid will live forever because the album will live forever.

[Chris_Parker]

This was lame the first time I saw it, like last year.

Come on guys, really?

[tallicafan91]

Like I said on the abbey road article I repeat... wtf happened with real news?? why haven't UG said anything about the new metallica album... you people realize there's going to be an unforgiven III right?? UNFORGIVEEN III!!!!

[Sp00nman94]

i know i already commented this one, but at first after reading the title i thought this was about courtney love lol

checked.

[Blindblackfoot]

what if it was like a girll baby?
she'd have to explain to her bf/husband why almost everyone in america has seen her naked, and shes not a pornstar.
XD

[RFer]

I would like to be that walrus on that beatles album

[GHOSTS]

Seidenschnur wrote:

Hey dude, can I take pictures of your naked baby? Sure! What time?

Hahaha, I was wondering about that.

[[travis]]

AngelOfHatred wrote:

I'm pretty sure there was an article on this not too long ago...

Yeah, there was an article a while back.

[[travis]]

GHOSTS wrote:

Seidenschnur wrote:

Hey dude, can I take pictures of your naked baby? Sure! What time?

Hahaha, I was wondering about that.

What if the guy was a child predator or pedophile? lol. Who brings there naked kid to a pool, without knowing why?

[koalabacon]

i wish i was him...

[murraysmithgers]

J Dub wrote:

I wonder if it's grown any bigger than it was on the cover.

Haha...he's getting laid and the chick sees his dick..."oh now i recognize you"

[Mad-Season]

He should do another album cover as he is now. Same shot, same sized pee pee.

[sneyob]

LOL

Kinda sucks that the whole world has seen your dong

But hey,
it's a good ice breaker

Walk to a bar,
whip out a Nevermind cover
"Hey, I have a naked pic of me right here"

[burntfacedog]

areese82 wrote:
I think you're dumb

Maybe just happy?

[ptr362]

tallicafan91 wrote:

Like I said on the abbey road article I repeat... wtf happened with real news?? why haven't UG said anything about the new metallica album... you people realize there's going to be an unforgiven III right?? UNFORGIVEEN III!!!!

yeah, this article is pointless. If you can talk about this, then why not have an article on the girl on the swings on Korn's debut album? i mean if this article said the guy was in a Nirvana cover band then that would be interesting, but nope... nothing interesting here.

If it's true that Metallica's new album has a song called Unforgiven III then that will be the best piece of info on this page so far! (although i won't believe it until i find out from a more reliable source)

[sk8kid49]

its right on the front page of the metallica website so yah check it out if you need too. haha im so glad they only went with 9 or 10 (cant remember this second) songs cuz that just means theyl all be really long

[SRX700]

Because hating school is SO badass.

[Do Re Mi]

dan1985smith wrote:

I wish I was that kid so I could be cool and say "its kinda cool" all day

lmfao.

+1

[JymmyMacklaeble]

burntfacedog wrote:

areese82 wrote:
I think you're dumb

Maybe just happy?

LOL

[HotDogs1]

who cares about this OR METALLICA, metallica sucks soo bad

[skate_guitar]

Frededk wrote:

3 letters, 1 word, lol

'Cause "lol" is totally a word.
that'd be sweet to be him... somewhat.

[shoka1234]

What a beast. Hes on a famous rock cd and can brag about people seeing him naked

[HostileFTW]

HotDogs1 wrote:

who cares about this OR METALLICA, metallica sucks soo bad

wow, have you lived under a rock and been brainwashed to think good music sucks?


ok, i saw this article last year, around the time the pumpkins were looking for the twins on siamese dream.

btw: unforgiven ii sucked, not looking forward to a trilogy.

[EllttEll]

old news

[Chunky_Lover]

Ive seen something like this

[samerika]

Zangetsu 101 wrote:

AngelOfHatred wrote:

I'm pretty sure there was an article on this not too long ago...

Yep there was.

yeah but the article was about kids that appeared on covers of records, this one is more of an interview with the kid that appeared naked on the nirvana one.

[silent caution]

yeah, this is kinda old news.....is it me or does he look like john cena's 'mini me'

[ScreaminSavior]

dontstopblevin wrote:

lol...I wish i could be there when he tells his wife/girlfriend...."hey hun, want to see my dick?" *then wips out the album cover and yells PSYCH!!!

thats how i would do it...lol

lol, that is sheer brilliance, id do that haha.

[ibanez666]

that is sick

[kcin1313]

Being on any album cover is rather hard to do ,and cool to me... i mean come on how many covers have you seen with someone thats not the band on the cover..? But being on the cover of one of the ,in my eye, best albums ever for one of the best bands ever, Nirvana. That is insane. if that was me id be happy for the rest of my life. damn

[darkfire_storm]

tallicafan91 wrote:

Like I said on the abbey road article I repeat... wtf happened with real news?? why haven't UG said anything about the new metallica album... you people realize there's going to be an unforgiven III right?? UNFORGIVEEN III!!!!

why's that cool? the unforgiven 2 wasn't any good, what will make 3 any better?

as for this kid... well, i guess there really isn't anything to say about it that hasn't been said. it's not news, no one cares, it's been reused, the kid's not that smart... did i get everything?

[Bentheemo]

This is sooooo old

[Set-Abominae]

whitestrat279 wrote:

at least we know UG recycles...


Yes, UG is going green.

This.

[FuZzY(aus)]

hahahahahha thats awesome
what a great convo starter

[lonesome mike]

blue_strat wrote:

Geffen Records sent 1-year-old Spencer Elden a platinum album and a teddy bear.
How

awesome.

indeed

[Jk3y]

Seriously, UG has enough visitors and members, you'd think they'd get someone to put decent news and stuff, but even the news on the home page and main articles are mostly garbage.

[freshtunes]

I'd kill for my dick to be on that album cover.

[paddypadman]

"Two months later, Geffen Records sent 1-year-old Spencer Elden a platinum album and a teddy bear."

That was pretty nice! :P Good ol' geffen!

[100%guitarmad]

Nevermind, reprots NPR.

Ah. That makes sense

[Ichimaru]

"I've been shooting kids all week.."
Is it just me or does that sound wrong in so many ways?

[Oddsbodkins]

yep :P

[AthenasGhost]

HotDogs1 wrote:

who cares about this OR METALLICA, metallica sucks soo bad

No they don't, they are more successful and more accomplished as musicians than you will ever be. No one said you had to like it, but millions of fans outweigh your oppinion, and that's my proof.

[Shredder Guitar]

uhh hasnt this article been posted before?

[Shredder Guitar]

oh and i forgot to say... how exactly did that get the photo?? like... the kids fully submerged isnt he??

[MetalheadMark]

That would stink, to have your genitals exposed to millions upon millions without your knowledge or consent.