A San Francisco Levi’s Exhibit Celebrates Musicians’ Jeans

Levi’s 501 jeans worn by Kurt Cobain, including in the video for ‘Heart-Shaped Box.’ (Loaned by Tom Coyne/David Fenton for Levi’s/Levi Strauss & Co.)

Pop music is full of references to denim. From the opening lyrics of Elton John ’s “Tiny Dancer” — “Blue jean baby” — to Flo Rida’s ode to an Apple Bottoms pair in “Low.”

But musicians don’t just sing about jeans. They also live in them. And those garments sometimes reveal intriguing details about the people who wear them, as the new Amped: Music Icons in Levi’s Denim exhibition at Levi’s headquarters in San Francisco shows.

One of the exhibition’s marquee items is a pair of Levi’s 501s once owned by Kurt Cobain . The late Nirvana frontman’s jeans set a Guinness World Record in 2023 when they sold for more than $412,750 at a Nas