Nirvana's music defined a generation. And the image of a naked baby grasping for a dollar bill in a swimming pool defined Nirvana.
It's hard to believe it's been nearly a quarter of a century since Nirvana's "Nevermind" album was released. And that baby? He's all grown up.
Spencer Elden is, or was, that under-dressed underwater infant gleefully chasing the almighty dollar. Spencer's parents were friends with L.A. photographer Kirk Weddle, who was assigned to shoot the cover photo for Nirvana's breakthrough album, Nevermind.
"My dad was like, 'Ah, no problem, man. We'll just go down to the pool and throw him (in) and that'll be it.' And it was no big deal. And no one knew what it was going to become."
Spencer wasn't really a swimming baby, but he happily took to the water. The family was paid 200 dollars. As for that dollar on a hook, that had to be added later.
The album sold 26 million copies worldwide, created a merchandising frenzy and spawned a parade of parodies and tributes.
Now an artist in his own right, Spencer is happy to embrace his role as a pop culture icon. It's even gained him VIP treatment from the opposite sex.
"Yeah, I've definitely got girls with it before," said Spencer. "But it's not something that I bring up often, ya know. A lot of my buddies bring it up more. They'll be like, 'Hey man, you've seen this guy's d**k?' And you're like, what?!"
During a visit to Seattle, Spencer sees his image in a museum for the first time, as part of EMP's "Nirvana: Taking Punk to the Masses" exhibit.
Spencer Elden is all grown up. But he'll always be the baby of a music revolution. "It's only opened doors for me and been a really positive, fun experience."
