(Excerpt) The life and death of Kurt Cobain have yet to fade from memory. The grunge pioneer, found dead at 27 of a self-inflicted gunshot wound a year ago, remains a powerful, if haunting presence in rock. The discovery of his body on April 8, 1994, staggered millions of fans and ended the rise of Seattle trio Nirvana, which still holds three spots on Billboard's album chart.

During the past year, several of pop's biggest stars talked to USA Today about their reactions to the tragic suicide of rock's troubled revolutionary.

Liz Phair. "Maybe he always felt (suicidal), but I suspect his success exacerbated it," said the fast-rising alternative rocker. "He lost his connection with his real life. I wondered why the hell they were still working him, how you could get to the point of suicide and still be fuctioning. Anybody that near death should not have been working. Fame is weird. It's you, but it's not you."