Chris Cornell Set List Milwaukee November 23 1999 Used on Stage dressing room

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Seller: memorabilia111 ✉️ (808) 100%, Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan, US, Ships to: US & many other countries, Item: 176277810445 Chris Cornell Set List Milwaukee November 23 1999 Used on Stage dressing room . Chris Cornell from the  Sweet Euphoria Tour November 23, 1999  Milwaukee, WI - Modjeska Theater 1.  Setlist 2. Schedule 3. Dressing Room Sign all folded and one with colored putty on back


Christopher John Cornell (né Boyle; July 20, 1964 – May 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician best known as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for the rock bands Soundgarden and Audioslave. He also had a solo career and contributed to soundtracks. Cornell was also the founder and frontman of Temple of the Dog, a one-off tribute band dedicated to his late friend Andrew Wood. Cornell is considered one of the key figures of the 1990s grunge movement, and is well known for his extensive catalog as a songwriter, his nearly four-octave vocal range,[2] and his powerful vocal belting technique. He released four solo studio albums, Euphoria Morning (1999), Carry On (2007), Scream (2009), and Higher Truth (2015); the live album Songbook (2011); and two compilations, The Roads We Choose (2007) and Chris Cornell (2018), the latter released posthumously. He received a Golden Globe Award nomination for his song "The Keeper", which appeared in the 2011 film Machine Gun Preacher, and co-wrote and performed "You Know My Name", the theme song to the 2006 James Bond film Casino Royale. His last solo release before his death was the charity single "The Promise", written for the ending credits for the 2016 film of the same name. Across his entire catalog, Cornell sold 14.8 million albums, 8.8 million digital songs, and 300 million on-demand audio streams in the U.S. alone,[3][4] as well as over 30 million records worldwide.[5][6][7] He was nominated for 16 Grammy Awards, winning three.[8][9] He was voted "Rock's Greatest Singer" by readers of Guitar World,[10] and ranked No. 4 on the list of "Heavy Metal's All-Time Top 100 Vocalists" by Hit Parader,[11] No. 9 on the list of "Best Lead Singers of All Time" by Rolling Stone,[12] and No. 12 on MTV's "22 Greatest Voices in Music".[13] Cornell struggled with depression for most of his life. He was found dead in his Detroit hotel room in the early hours of May 18, 2017, after performing at a Soundgarden concert an hour earlier at the Fox Theatre. His death was ruled a suicide by hanging.[3] Contents 1 Early life 2 Recording career 2.1 1984–1997 and 2010–2017: Soundgarden 2.2 1998–2000 and 2006–2017: Solo career 2.3 2001–2007: Audioslave 3 Other musical projects 3.1 Center for Disease Control Boys 3.2 Temple of the Dog 3.3 M.A.C.C. 3.4 Collaborations 3.5 Soundtrack contributions 4 Influences, musical style and vocal ability 5 Other work 6 In popular culture 7 Personal life 7.1 Friendships with Andrew Wood and Eddie Vedder 7.2 Depression and substance abuse 8 Death and aftermath 8.1 Memorial and tributes 8.2 Connections to other singers' suicides 9 Legacy 10 Discography 10.1 Studio albums 10.2 with Soundgarden 10.3 with Temple of the Dog 10.4 with Audioslave 11 Awards and nominations 12 Bibliography 13 See also 14 References 15 External links Early life Cornell was born Christopher John Boyle on July 20, 1964,[14][15] in Seattle, Washington, where he was raised. His parents are Edward F. Boyle,[16] a pharmacist of Irish Catholic descent,[17][18] and Karen Cornell,[16][18] an accountant of Jewish background and self-proclaimed psychic.[19][17][20][21] After his parents' divorce when he was a teenager, he and his siblings adopted their mother's maiden name, Cornell, as their surname.[20][14] Cornell was one of six children; he had two older brothers and three younger sisters.[14] He attended Christ the King, a Catholic elementary school,[22] where he performed for the first time in front of a crowd, singing the 1960s anti-war song "One Tin Soldier".[22] He later attended Shorewood High School.[23][24] When he was in seventh grade, his mother pulled him and his sister out of Catholic school; Cornell claimed because they were about to be expelled for being too inquisitive.[25] He recalled the episode in a 1994 interview: "With a religion like that, it's not designed for anyone to question. Being young people who have a natural curiosity and half a brain, you're going to start finding inconsistencies, which there are tons of in organized religion. We both sort of made it clear in classroom situations that we didn't get it. 'Explain this to me.' And they couldn't, so we started creating a lot of problems."[25] Cornell traced his musical influences back to Little Richard via The Beatles.[26] He spent a two-year period between the ages of nine and eleven solidly listening to The Beatles after finding a large collection of Beatles records abandoned in the basement of a neighbor's house.[27] He described himself at this age as a loner; he was able to deal with his anxiety around other people through rock music.[28] During his teenage years, he spiraled into severe depression, dropped out of school, and almost never left the house.[29] At the age of 12, he had access to alcohol, marijuana, LSD, psilocybin mushrooms and prescription drugs; he used them daily by 13, stopped for a year, but relapsed at age 15 for another year until he turned to music.[30][31] At 14, he had a bad PCP experience and later suffered from panic disorder and agoraphobia.[32] Cornell took piano and guitar lessons as a child.[30] He once explained that his mother saved his life when she bought him a snare drum, the instrument he adopted in beginning his path to become a rock musician.[20] Before becoming a successful musician, he worked as a busboy,[33] as a dishwasher,[33] as a fish monger at a seafood wholesaler[29] and was a sous-chef at Ray's Boathouse in Seattle.[34] In the early 1980s, Cornell was a member of a cover band called The Shemps, which featured bassist Hiro Yamamoto and performed around Seattle.[35] After Yamamoto left The Shemps, the band recruited guitarist Kim Thayil.[35] Cornell and Yamamoto stayed in contact, and after The Shemps broke up, the pair started jamming together, eventually bringing Thayil in to join them.[35] Recording career 1984–1997 and 2010–2017: Soundgarden Main article: Soundgarden Soundgarden was formed in 1984 by Cornell, Thayil and Yamamoto with Cornell originally on drums and vocals. In 1985, the band enlisted Scott Sundquist as the drummer to allow Cornell to concentrate on vocals.[36] The band's first recordings were three songs that appeared on a compilation for C/Z Records called Deep Six. In 1986, Sundquist, who by that point had a wife and a child, decided to leave the band and spend time with his family.[35] He was replaced by Matt Cameron, the drummer for Skin Yard, who became Soundgarden's permanent drummer.[35] "Flower" MENU0:00 "Flower" was the only single released from Ultramega OK. The song's intro features Kim Thayil blowing across his guitar strings. Problems playing this file? See media help. Soundgarden signed to Sub Pop, releasing the Screaming Life EP in 1987 and the Fopp EP in 1988 (a combination of the two was issued as Screaming Life/Fopp in 1990). Though the band was being courted by major labels, they signed to independent label SST Records in 1988 to release their debut album, Ultramega OK, for which they earned a Grammy Award nomination for Best Metal Performance in 1990.[37] The band subsequently signed with A&M Records, becoming the first grunge band to sign to a major label.[29] In 1989, the band released their second effort and their first album for a major label, Louder Than Love. Following the album's release, Yamamoto left the band to finish his master's degree in physical chemistry at Western Washington University.[38] He was replaced by former Nirvana guitarist Jason Everman. Everman was fired following Soundgarden's tour supporting Louder Than Love. In 1990, the band was joined by a new bassist, Ben Shepherd.[39] Along with Nirvana, Alice in Chains, and Pearl Jam, Soundgarden quickly became one of the most successful bands from Seattle's emerging grunge scene in the early 1990s. With Shepherd, the new line-up recorded Badmotorfinger in 1991. The album brought the band to a new level of commercial success, and Soundgarden found itself amidst the sudden popularity and attention given to the Seattle music scene. Badmotorfinger included the singles "Jesus Christ Pose", "Outshined" and "Rusty Cage". The three singles gained considerable airtime on alternative rock radio stations, while the videos for "Outshined" and "Rusty Cage" gained considerable airtime on MTV. The song "Jesus Christ Pose" and its music video was the subject of widespread controversy in 1991, and the video was removed from MTV's playlist. "Rusty Cage" was later covered by Johnny Cash on his 1996 album, Unchained. It also appeared on the fictional radio station Radio X in the 2004 video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and in the 32-bit version of Road Rash. "Room a Thousand Years Wide" was released (along with the B-side "HIV Baby") as a 7" single through Sub Pop's Single of the Month club a full year before the release of Badmotorfinger, and later re-recorded for the album. Badmotorfinger exposed Soundgarden to its first mainstream success: it was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance in 1992,[37] and was later ranked number 45 in the October 2006 issue of Guitar World on the magazine's list of the 100 greatest guitar albums of all time.[40] The band's fourth studio album, 1994's Superunknown, proved to be the band's breakthrough album. Upon its release in March 1994, Superunknown debuted at number one on the Billboard 200.[41] The album launched several successful singles, including "Spoonman" and "Black Hole Sun", and brought Soundgarden international recognition. Superunknown achieved quintuple platinum status in the United States,[42] triple platinum status in Canada,[43] and gold status in the United Kingdom,[44] Sweden,[45] and the Netherlands.[46] Rolling Stone gave Superunknown four out of five stars. Reviewer J.D. Considine said Superunknown "demonstrates far greater range than many bands manage in an entire career." Considine criticized "Black Hole Sun" and "Half", stating that the former is "not a very good song" while the latter "is the virtual definition of a B-side."[47] Jon Pareles of The New York Times said that "Superunknown actually tries to broaden its audience by breaking heavy-metal genre barriers that Soundgarden used to accept." He added that "Soundgarden ... want[s] something different from standard heavy metal."[48] David Browne of Entertainment Weekly gave the album an A, saying "Soundgarden is pumped and primed on Superunknown, and they deliver the goods." He praised it as a "hard-rock milestone—a boiling vat of volcanic power, record-making smarts, and '90s anomie and anxiety that sets a new standard for anything called metal."[49] The album was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rock Album in 1995.[50] Two singles from Superunknown, "Black Hole Sun" and "Spoonman", won Grammy Awards,[37] and the music video for "Black Hole Sun" won a MTV Video Music Award and a Clio Award.[51] Superunknown was ranked number 336 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time,[52] and "Black Hole Sun" was ranked number 25 on VH1's list of the 100 greatest songs of the '90s.[53] "Burden in My Hand" MENU0:00 "Burden in My Hand" was the second single released from Down on the Upside. The song was written by Cornell and blends acoustic and electric instrumentation. Problems playing this file? See media help. The band's fifth album was 1996's self-produced Down on the Upside. The album spawned several singles, including "Pretty Noose", "Burden in My Hand" and "Blow Up the Outside World". The album was notably less heavy than the group's preceding albums, and marked a further departure from the band's grunge roots. Soundgarden explained at the time that it wanted to experiment with other sounds.[54] David Browne of Entertainment Weekly said, "Few bands since Led Zeppelin have so crisply mixed instruments both acoustic and electric."[55] However, tensions within the group arose during the sessions, with Thayil and Cornell reportedly clashing over Cornell's desire to shift away from the heavy guitar riffing that had become the band's trademark.[56] Despite favorable reviews, the album did not match the sales of Superunknown.[42] In 1997, Soundgarden received another Grammy nomination, for the lead single "Pretty Noose".[37] As tensions grew within the band, reportedly due to internal strife over its creative direction, Soundgarden announced it was disbanding on April 9, 1997. In a 1998 interview, Thayil said, "It was pretty obvious from everybody's general attitude over the course of the previous half-year that there was some dissatisfaction."[57] Cornell, Cameron and Shepherd performing with Soundgarden at Lollapalooza 2010 On January 1, 2010, Cornell alluded to a Soundgarden reunion via his Twitter account, writing: "The 12-year break is over and school is back in session. Sign up now. Knights of the Soundtable ride again!" The message linked to a website that featured a picture of the group performing live and a place for fans to enter their e-mail address to get updates on the reunion. Entering that information unlocked an archival video for the song "Get on the Snake", from Soundgarden's second studio album, 1989's Louder Than Love.[58] In March 2010, Soundgarden announced that they would be headlining Lollapalooza 2010. Soundgarden made the announcement through their website and email list.[59] On April 16, 2010, Soundgarden held a secret show at the Showbox Theater on First Avenue in downtown Seattle, publicized via the band's mailing list. The show was billed as Nudedragons, an anagram for Soundgarden.[60] Asked in August 2010 if Soundgarden would record new material, Cornell replied, "it would be exciting to record one song, to hear how Soundgarden-ish that might be this much time later. But for me, it's been more of a trip relearning the songs and playing them together. Some of the songs we're approaching we've never played live."[61] Soundgarden made their first television appearance since their reunion on the second episode of Conan O'Brien's show on TBS, Conan, on November 9, 2010, and toured North America in summer 2011.[citation needed] In summer 2012, Soundgarden released a new single and video, "Live to Rise", for The Avengers movie soundtrack.[62] Their sixth album, King Animal, was released in November 2012 to largely positive reviews.[63] Soundgarden had continued to tour worldwide, and guitarist Kim Thayil mentioned in several interviews that the band was to begin work on material for their seventh album.[64] Following Cornell's death, the surviving members of Soundgarden discussed the possibility of moving on with a replacement for him,[65][66][67] but Thayil confirmed in an October 2018 interview with Seattle Times that the band had once again dissolved.[68] Thayil said in an interview with Music Radar in July 2019 that the surviving members of Soundgarden are trying to finish and release the album they were working on with Cornell. However, the master files of Cornell's vocal recordings are currently being withheld and they can't finish the album.[69] 1998–2000 and 2006–2017: Solo career In 1998, Cornell began working on material for a solo album on which he collaborated with Alain Johannes and Natasha Shneider of the band Eleven. The album, titled Euphoria Morning, was released on September 21, 1999. In his first ever solo tour Cornell spent seven months on the road from September 13, 1999 to March 7, 2000 playing 61 shows[70] in support of Euphoria Morning. Cornell performed two of those coinciding with the debut of the album on September 21 and 22, 1999 at the Henry Fonda Theater in Hollywood California. Attendance for the shows were high, considering he performed the initial shows before fans were even familiar with the music. The touring band was made up of some of the contributing musicians Alain Johannes, Natasha Shneider, Rick Markmann, and Greg Upchurch. The album proved commercially unsuccessful selling 393,000 copies in the U.S.,[71] although the album's single "Can't Change Me" was nominated for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance at the 2000 Grammy Awards.[72] Cornell recorded a version of Can't Change Me in French,[73] this version is a bonus on Euphoria Morning's deluxe version and on the Japanese and European editions.[74] The album includes "Wave Goodbye", Cornell's tribute to his late friend Jeff Buckley.[75][76] It has been noted that Euphoria Morning is influenced by Buckley's songwriting and distinctive vocal style.[75] The album was re-released in 2015 on CD and vinyl and retitled Euphoria Mourning, with Cornell stating in the press release that he had originally intended the album to be called that, but his manager at the time, Jim Guerinot, suggested that "Euphoria Morning" without the "u" would be a better title. "The title was so beautifully poetic to begin with, just the concept of euphoria in mourning; it was a moment I felt inspired and I let all the air out of it. So when we decided to do its first vinyl release I thought, I want to change the fukin' title! [Laughs] It's time to change it," Cornell stated.[33] An unreleased song called "Heart of Honey" was also recorded in collaboration with Johannes and Shneider during this period. According to Alain Johannes,[77] "Heart of Honey" was recorded for the film Titan A.E. but not used. The song leaked on the internet.[78] While on his solo tours between 2011–2016, Cornell would often pay tribute to the late Natasha Shneider and play the song "When I'm Down", (from the album Euphoria Morning that Shneider produced) accompanied by a vinyl recording of the original piano track that Shneider performed for the song.[79][80][81][82] "Billie Jean" unplugged MENU0:00 From the live album Chris Cornell: Unplugged in Sweden Problems playing this file? See media help. Though not officially released onto CD, an hour-long acoustic concert Cornell performed on September 7, 2006 at O-Baren in Stockholm, is widely available for download under the title Chris Cornell: Unplugged in Sweden. A promotional CD for his solo album, Carry On, was released in March 2007, titled The Roads We Choose – A Retrospective. The 17-song CD included songs from Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog, Audioslave and Cornell's solo work. On June 5, 2007, Cornell released his second solo album, Carry On, produced by Steve Lillywhite. It debuted at number 17 on the American Billboard charts. Among the artists who accompanied him on his second solo release was friend Gary Lucas, who contributed acoustic guitar to some of the tracks. Cornell stated that he was always writing, and that there were some songs that he was not able to put onto an Audioslave album.[83] While recording his second solo album, Cornell was involved in a motorcycle accident. He was apparently "rear-ended by a truck in Studio City, Los Angeles while riding his motorcycle" and "catapulted 20 feet into the air." He was able to walk away from the accident, but had severe cuts and bruises. He returned to the studio later that day.[84] Cornell performing live in Melkweg in Amsterdam, the Netherlands in 2007 In 2007, Cornell appeared as support to Aerosmith on at least two legs of their 2007 world tour[85]—Dublin, London, and Hyde Park—and to Linkin Park in Australia and New Zealand.[86] These shows formed part of his own ongoing world tour which began in April 2007 and continued into 2008 and 2009. Cornell described his touring band—comprising guitarists Yogi Lonich and Peter Thorn, bassist Corey McCormick and drummer Jason Sutter—as "musicians that could get the whole picture" playing music by Soundgarden and Audioslave, as well as his solo material.[87] In 2008, Cornell was featured on the Main Stage of Linkin Park's Projekt Revolution tour.[88] Throughout the tour, Cornell collaborated with Linkin Park's Chester Bennington while performing "Hunger Strike", and with Street Drum Corps for a number of his Soundgarden tracks.[89] While Linkin Park would perform their Grammy-winning song "Crawling", he would appear on stage singing the second verse of the song, the outro, and harmonies Aaron Lewis provided for the Reanimation version.[89] Cornell worked with producer Timbaland on his studio album Scream, which was released on March 10, 2009.[90] Timbaland has referred to the recording sessions as "The best work I've done in my career," and predicted that Cornell will be the "first rock star in the club". Cornell called the new album "a highlight of my career". The album was largely panned by critics,[91][92][93] but was the highest-charting album of Cornell's solo career, reaching No. 10 on the Billboard 200.[94][95] Cornell performing at Quart Festival 2009, Kristiansand, Norway On April 2, 2009, Cornell took over Atlanta Rock station, Project 961, WKLS. For 24 hours the station became "Chris-FM" and included a two-hour special of Cornell DJing and playing his favorite songs of his career with the stories behind them leading up to a rebroadcast of his solo show from the previous night.[96] On September 11, 2009, Cornell performed John Lennon's "Imagine" on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien.[97] In January 2011, Cornell announced his solo acoustic "Songbook" tour, continuing a series of acclaimed solo acoustic shows in Los Angeles during 2009 and 2010. The first leg of the sold-out tour began on April 1, 2011 and continued through the U.S. and Canada until May 6, resuming in October and visiting New Zealand, Australia, South America and the U.S. again before ending on December 17. The tour received universally positive reviews.[98] In November 2011 Cornell, released Songbook, an acoustic live album featuring songs recorded during Cornell's "Songbook" tour in North America. It was his first live album as a solo artist, and it included stripped-down performances of songs from his entire career as a solo artist as well as with Soundgarden, Audioslave, and Temple of the Dog, plus covers of Led Zeppelin's "Thank You" and John Lennon's "Imagine". The album received largely positive reviews, with AllMusic calling it Cornell's "best solo offering to date".[99] Cornell continued his "Songbook" tour in Europe and the U.S. during 2012 and 2013 to further acclaim.[100][101] Cornell performed a 10-minute acoustic set at the Commander-in-Chief's Ball in the White House on January 21, 2013, which recognized Medal of Honor recipients and Wounded Warriors. He returned later in the evening with Soundgarden to perform at Barack Obama's Inaugural Ball, doing a three-song set at the event.[102] In January 2015, Cornell announced via his Twitter account that he was in the studio recording a new solo album. Cornell's last studio album, Higher Truth, was released on September 18, 2015.[103] The last solo release prior to his death was the charity single "The Promise", written for the ending credits for the movie of the same name about the Armenian genocide.[104] Prior to his death, Cornell committed all proceeds from the song to support refugees and vulnerable children.[105] On February 26, 2018, Cornell's first posthumous song was released. He composed the music and added lyrics[106] to Johnny Cash's poems "You Never Knew My Mind" and "I Never Knew Your Mind". The song, titled "You Never Knew My Mind", is featured on the album Johnny Cash: Forever Words, a collection of songs created from Cash's unused poetry, lyrics and letters interpreted by several artists.[107] In 2019, Cornell won a posthumous Grammy award in the Best Rock Performance category at the 61st Grammy Awards for his single "When Bad Does Good".[108] 2001–2007: Audioslave Main article: Audioslave Cornell performing with Audioslave at the 2005 Montreux Jazz Festival Audioslave was formed after Zack de la Rocha left Rage Against the Machine and the remaining members were searching for another vocalist. Producer and friend Rick Rubin suggested that they contact Cornell. Rubin played the Soundgarden song "Slaves & Bulldozers" for the remaining Rage Against the Machine band members to showcase his ability. Cornell was in the writing process of a second solo album, but decided to shelve that and pursue the opportunity to work with Tom Morello, Tim Commerford and Brad Wilk when they approached him. Morello described Cornell: "He stepped to the microphone and sang the song and I couldn't believe it. It didn't just sound good. It didn't sound great. It sounded transcendent. And ... when there is an irreplaceable chemistry from the first moment, you can't deny it."[109] The quartet wrote 21 songs during 19 days of rehearsal and began working in the studio in late May 2001.[110][111] Their debut album, Audioslave, released in November 2002, spawned hits such as "Cochise", "Like a Stone" and "Show Me How to Live", and has reached triple platinum status in the United States. The band was nearly derailed before the album's release; Cornell was going through alcohol problems and a slot on the Ozzfest tour was canceled.[34] During this time, there was a rumor that Cornell had checked himself into drug rehabilitation. He later confirmed it in an interview with Metal Hammer that was conducted from a clinic payphone.[112] In a San Diego CityBeat article, Cornell explained that he went through "a horrible personal crisis" during the making of the first record, staying in rehab for two months and separating from his wife. The problems were ironed out and Cornell remained sober.[113] The band toured through 2003,[114] before resting in 2004 to record their second album.[115] Audioslave's second album, Out of Exile, was released in May 2005 and debuted at number one on the U.S. charts. The album has since gone on to achieve platinum status.[116] The album features the singles "Out of Exile", "Be Yourself", "Your Time Has Come" and "Doesn't Remind Me". Cornell admitted to writing his most personal songs ever on this album, influenced by the positive changes in his life since 2002.[117] He also described the album as more varied than the debut and relying less on heavy guitar riffs.[113] Critics initially described Audioslave as an amalgamation of Rage Against the Machine and Soundgarden,[118] but by the band's second album, Out of Exile, noted that they had established a separate identity. The album was received more favorably than Audioslave's debut; critics noted Cornell's stronger vocals, likely the result of quitting smoking and drinking,[119] and pointed out that Out of Exile is "the sound of a band coming into its own".[120] AllMusic praised the album as "lean, hard, strong, and memorable".[121] On May 6, 2005, Audioslave played a free show in Havana, Cuba.[122] Audioslave became the first American rock group to perform a concert in Cuba, playing in front of an audience of 70,000.[123] The band traveled to Havana on May 4 to interact with Cuban musicians.[124] Cornell commented: "Hopefully, this concert will help to open the musical borders between our two countries." The 26-song set concert was the longest the band had ever played.[125] In early 2006 the band returned, recording their third album as they had written most of the material during the tour. The band released the album, titled Revelations, in September 2006. Revelations was influenced by 1960s and 1970s funk and R&B music.[126] The first two singles were "Original Fire" and "Revelations". Two of the songs from the third album, "Shape of Things to Come" and "Wide Awake" were also prominently featured in Michael Mann's 2006 film, Miami Vice, prior to the release of the album. Despite the exposure to other forms of media and the positive critical buzz for their third album, Audioslave did not tour behind the release. They went into hiatus to allow Cornell to complete "You Know My Name", the theme song for the 2006 James Bond film, Casino Royale, and Morello to pursue his own solo work under the moniker of the Nightwatchman.[127] All of Audioslave's lyrics were written by Cornell, whilst all four members were credited with writing the music. Their songwriting process was described by Wilk as "more collaborative" and "satisfying" than Rage Against the Machine's, which was "a battle creatively". Cornell, for his part, saw Soundgarden's songwriting method as inferior to Audioslave's.[128][129] Cornell's lyrics were mostly apolitical; Audioslave's Morello referred to them as "haunted, existential poetry".[130] They were characterized by his cryptic approach, often dealing with themes of existentialism,[131] love, hedonism,[132] spirituality and Christianity.[130] Cornell's battle with addiction to prescription drugs and alcoholism was a defining factor in the writing and recording process. Even though the singer admitted that he was "never able to write effectively" while drinking,[133] and attended rehab after recording the debut album, Morello stated that Revelations was "the first record [Cornell] didn't smoke, drink, or take drugs through the recording."[134] However, Morello said: "Chris was stone sober during the making of our Out of Exile album. Chris was also sober during the making of Revelations and prior to recording he gave up smoking as well. I apologize for any confusion or concern that was stirred up by the original article. Sobriety can be a matter of life or death and Chris's courage in maintaining his health for years has been an inspiration."[135] News about Cornell's departure emerged in July 2006, when insiders stated that after the third album he would leave to pursue for a solo career. The singer immediately denied the rumors, stating: "We hear rumors that Audioslave is breaking up all the time. [...] I always just ignore [them]."[127] On February 15, 2007, Cornell officially announced his departure from Audioslave, stating that "Due to irresolvable personality conflicts as well as musical differences, I am permanently leaving the band Audioslave. I wish the other three members nothing but the best in all of their future endeavors."[136] As the other three members were busy with the Rage Against the Machine reunion with de la Rocha coming back, and Morello and Cornell had each released solo albums in 2007, Audioslave officially disbanded.[137][138] On January 17, 2017, it was announced that Audioslave would reunite for their first show in twelve years at Prophets of Rage's Anti-Inaugural Ball, protesting President Donald Trump's inauguration as President of the United States.[139] The event took place on January 20, 2017.[140] Asked in February 2017 if there would be more Audioslave reunion shows in the future, frontman Cornell replied, "It's always a possibility. I mean, we've been talking about it for at least three or four years now. We were talking about actually picking dates, and it just ended up not working out because everybody's so busy. They have another band again, they all have separate bands that they do themselves, I have Soundgarden and a solo career that's taking up a lot of time, and I just did Temple of the Dog. So, it's really honestly as simple as we end up having a window of time where it's comfortable for everybody and we want to do it, because I definitely feel like everybody's up for it."[141] Other musical projects Center for Disease Control Boys From 1986 to 1987, Cornell was also a member of the satirical Western swing band Center for Disease Control Boys.[142] Temple of the Dog Main article: Temple of the Dog While still in Soundgarden, Cornell recorded an album with members of what would become Pearl Jam. This collaboration went under the name Temple of the Dog, and the self-titled album was released in 1991. The album is a tribute to their mutual friend, and Cornell's former roommate,[143] Andrew Wood. Wood, the former lead singer of Mother Love Bone, had died of a heroin overdose the year before. Jeff Ament and Stone Gossard of Mother Love Bone teamed up with Mike McCready, new vocalist Eddie Vedder, and drummer Dave Krusen in 1990, forming Pearl Jam. Cameron would eventually become Pearl Jam's drummer in 1998.[144] Temple of the Dog has gone on to sell more than a million copies,[145][146] thanks in large part to the singles "Say Hello 2 Heaven" and "Hunger Strike", the latter of which features a duet between Cornell and Vedder. This was the first time Vedder was recorded professionally.[147] Vedder said about Hunger Strike in the 2009 book Grunge Is Dead; "I really like hearing that song. I feel like I could be real proud of it – because one, I didn't write it, and two, it was such a nice way to be ushered onto vinyl for the first time. I'm indebted to Chris time eternal for being invited onto that track."[148] During a 2003 Pearl Jam show at the Santa Barbara Bowl, Cornell appeared as a surprise guest. After playing a short acoustic set, Cornell joined Vedder and the rest of the band to perform "Hunger Strike" and "Reach Down".[149] On October 6, 2009, Cornell made a surprise appearance during a Pearl Jam concert at the Gibson Amphitheater in Los Angeles. The reunited Temple of the Dog played "Hunger Strike". At the end of the concert, Cornell took a bow with the band along with Jerry Cantrell of Alice in Chains.[150] In September 2011, he joined members of Pearl Jam for a Temple of the Dog live reunion at the two-day PJ20 Festival at Alpine Valley, Wisconsin.[151] On both October 25 and 26, 2014, Cornell joined Pearl Jam onstage to perform "Hunger Strike" at Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, California during the 28th Annual Bridge School Benefit, the latter being the last time that Vedder and Cornell performed the song together.[152] On January 30, 2015, Pearl Jam bandmates (minus Vedder) Stone Gossard, Jeff Ament, and Matt Cameron joined Chris Cornell and Mike McCready during the Mad Season Sonic Evolution Concert at Benaroya Hall with the Seattle Symphony. The group performed two songs, "Reach Down" and "Call Me a Dog".[153] The band toured for the first time in the fall of 2016 in celebration of the 25th anniversary of their self-titled album.[154][155] Vedder did not participate on the tour citing "family commitments", but the crowd sang his part in "Hunger Strike",[156] and Cornell dedicated the song to Vedder during the band's concert at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle on November 21, 2016.[157] M.A.C.C. In 1992, Cornell and three other former members of Temple of the Dog played under the name M.A.C.C. (McCready, Ament, Cameron, Cornell), recording the song "Hey Baby (New Rising Sun)"[158] for the 1993 album, Stone Free: A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix.[159] The band performed the song live for the first time during the first Temple of the Dog tour in November 2016.[160] Collaborations Cornell worked as a co-producer and backing vocalist on the Screaming Trees' 1991 album, Uncle Anesthesia.[161][162] In 1992, Cornell co-wrote the song "The Message" for the album Cuatro by the metal band Flotsam and Jetsam.[163] Cornell, together with Layne Staley and Jerry Cantrell of Alice in Chains, and Mark Arm of Mudhoney, contributed vocals on the Alice in Chains song "Right Turn", from the 1992 EP Sap, although the band given credit for this song is Alice Mudgarden.[164] The song was featured in the 2001 film Black Hawk Down.[165] Cornell contributed vocals on Alice Cooper's "Stolen Prayer"[166] and "Unholy War"[167] (which he also wrote) from the 1994 album, The Last Temptation. In 1997, Cornell collaborated with Eleven on a rendition of the song, "Ave Maria", for the Christmas compilation album, A Very Special Christmas 3.[168] In the '90s, Cornell teamed up with Heart's Ann and Nancy Wilson for a cover of the Rolling Stones' "Wild Horses", when the sisters were performing as The Lovemongers.[169] Bootleg versions of the live performances are available online.[169] Cornell and the Wilsons also performed "Wild Horses" and The Lovemongers' song "Sand" at Layne Staley's funeral in 2002.[170][171] It was incorrectly believed (for many years)[citation needed] that Cornell had written the Eleven song "Someone to Die For", featured on the 2004 Spider-Man 2 soundtrack. The song is performed by Jimmy Gnecco of Ours and Brian May of Queen on the soundtrack, and the lyrics are credited to Alain Johannes, Natasha Shneider and Cornell in the album.[172] However, the ASCAP song database only shows Johannes and Shneider as the songwriters.[173] Cornell had recorded a demo of the song some time earlier,[citation needed] which was released only to members of the Eleven street team.[citation needed] The version recorded by Cornell and Eleven can be found on the internet.[174] Cornell co-wrote (with Brian Howes) David Cook's first post-American Idol album single, "Light On", released in 2008. And in 2009, he contributed vocals on the song, "Mister Dirt", from the album, Good.Night.Melody, by Joshua David Lewis.[175] In 2009, Cornell co-wrote a song with a fan named Rory de la Rosa, who had lost his six-year-old daughter to cancer in 2008, and he was diagnosed with the same illness shortly afterwards. He reached out to Cornell to tell him how much his music impacted his life and also the bond it helped create for him and his daughter, and he sent Cornell a poem called "I Promise It's Not Goodbye". Cornell was so moved that he turned the poem into a song with the same title. De la Rosa gave Cornell permission to post the song online. It was available for free download on Cornell's official website in April 2009. Cornell asked, however, that his fans would consider making a donation in memory of Rory's daughter and to help ease the financial burden of his disease.[176][177] In 2013, Cornell made the song available for streaming on his official website in honor of the kids who lost their lives in the Sandy Hook tragedy. Links were provided for donations in memory of the victims.[178] Cornell sang one song (which he co-wrote) on "Slash", Slash's solo record released in April 2010.[179] The song is called "Promise" and it was premiered at on March 26, 2010.[180] He contributed vocals on the song, "Lies", on the 2010 album, Third and Double, by Gabin which was subsequently released as a single in October 2010. Cornell appears on the Carlos Santana album Guitar Heaven: The Greatest Guitar Classics of All Time, where he sings on the cover of Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love".[181] Cornell wrote the lyrics and shared vocals with Andrew Wood in the song "Island of Summer", which was recorded while they were living together in Seattle.[143] The song was released for the first time in the 2011 album "Melodies & Dreams", a collection of Wood's unreleased recordings and demos.[182] Cornell sings backing vocals in a cover of the Everly Brothers' song "All I Have to Do Is Dream", on Rita Wilson's debut album AM/FM, released in 2012.[183] On April 18, 2013, the Seattle band Heart was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,[184] and Cornell gave Heart's induction speech and emotionally talked about what heroes and role models Ann and Nancy Wilson had been to him and other musicians in Seattle. "For me, and for countless other men and women, they have earned, at long last, their rightful place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame," Cornell said.[185] Cornell also joined fellow Seattle musicians Jerry Cantrell and Mike McCready to play guitar for Heart's hit song "Barracuda" alongside Ann and Nancy Wilson at the ceremony.[186] On January 30, 2015, Cornell joined Mike McCready and Barrett Martin plus Duff McKagan, Sean Kinney, the Seattle Symphony and others in a special 'Sonic Evolution' concert at Seattle's Benaroya Hall in a tribute to Mad Season.[187] The performance was released as a live album in August 2015, entitled Mad Season / Seattle Symphony: Sonic Evolution / January 30, 2015 / Benaroya Hall.[188] Proceeds will benefit the Seattle Symphony and Vitalogy Foundation.[188] Soundtrack contributions In 1992, Cornell contributed his first solo song "Seasons", and Soundgarden's "Birth Ritual" to the Singles soundtrack.[189] He also contributed the song "Sunshower" (a bonus track on the Japanese release of Euphoria Morning) to the soundtrack of the 1998 film Great Expectations,[190] and a reworked version of the track "Mission", retitled "Mission 2000", was used on the soundtrack to the 2000 film, Mission: Impossible 2.[191] Cornell and composer David Arnold collaborated on the song "You Know My Name", which Cornell co-wrote and performed and which accompanies the opening titles for the 2006 James Bond film, Casino Royale.[192] "You Know My Name" is the first theme song since 1983's Octopussy to use a different title than the film, the first ever sung by a male American, and the first ever title theme song that did not appear on the soundtrack album. "You Know My Name" won a 2006 Satellite Award in the category of Best Original Song,[193] and a 2007 World Soundtrack Award in the category of Best Original Song Written Directly for a Film.[194] The song sold 323,000 digital copies and 3.5 million streams,[3] and was also nominated for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media at the 2008 Grammy Awards.[195] It was the first song recorded for his solo album Carry On, which he began work on in 2007. In August 2011, Cornell released "The Keeper", an original song written for the Marc Forster-directed 2011 film Machine Gun Preacher. The song was nominated for a Golden Globe Award in 2012. For the first 24 hours after its release, the song was exclusively available as part of the "Donate to Download" campaign for Sam Childers' Angels of East Africa children's charity. The song is also the lead track on the film's soundtrack album.[196] In 2012, Soundgarden released their first song in 15 years, "Live to Rise", written for The Avengers movie soundtrack.[62] In 2013, Cornell wrote the song "Misery Chain", for the soundtrack to the film 12 Years a Slave, in which he performed a duet with Joy Williams.[197][198] In 2016, Cornell covered the song "Stay With Me Baby" for the soundtrack of the HBO TV series Vinyl. Cornell said about recording the song; "I was very honored to be asked to record a version of 'Stay With Me Baby' for Vinyl. I get to pay tribute to Terry Reid, whose version of the song has been a favorite of mine for many years, and be included on a great soundtrack with an amazing group of artists."[199] In November 2016, Cornell sang a cover of The Beatles' "Drive My Car" on episode 18b of the animated children's television series Beat Bugs.[200] His last soundtrack contribution was the song "The Promise", written for the ending credits for the movie of the same name released in 2017.[104] Influences, musical style and vocal ability Cornell performing in Lisbon in 2009 at the Optimus Alive!09 Cornell cited Paul McCartney, XTC, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Ultravox,[201] and Bauhaus[202] as some of the artists he liked. Cornell's songwriting often features non-standard chord progressions and melodies that do not conform with one diatonic scale. A prominent example is "Black Hole Sun", which not only involves many kinds of open chords and several key changes in short sequences, but also unique melody phrases with large-interval jumps.[203] A recurrent characteristic is his use of major-only chord sequences ("Sweet Euphoria",[204] "Pretty Noose"[205]), which also leads to more subtle key changes. Cornell's most concentrated example of his own songwriting style remains on his first solo album Euphoria Morning,[206] as his subsequent works, whether with Audioslave or on his later solo albums, tend toward the conventional and only occasionally contain short but inventive interludes (e.g., "Like a Stone",[207] "Disappearing Act", "No Such Thing").[208] Cornell was a baritone,[209][210][211] with a vocal range of "nearly" four octaves[212][213] (from C2 to A5).[214] He had the ability to sing extremely high in the tenor range,[215] as well as in the lower register of a baritone voice. He showcased this in various songs, most notably the studio and the demo versions of "Beyond the Wheel", where he can be heard spanning three octaves. He also experimented with various different vocal styles, ranging from light falsetto, to high falsetto screams, and chants. In addition to singing rock and metal mainly with Soundgarden and Audioslave, Cornell sang the blues,[216] neo-soul[26] and stripped-down acoustic numbers.[217] The New York Times music critic Jon Pareles wrote that "As it rose, higher and higher, Mr. Cornell's voice could sustain a melody through the fray, or it could confront hard-rock turbulence with grunts, rasps, wails, bitter moans and, at the top of his range, full-bodied shrieks that admitted no weakness".[212] Other work Cornell made a cameo in the 1992 Seattle-based film Singles directed by Cameron Crowe, in which he appeared opposite Matt Dillon and Bridget Fonda.[218] He also appeared onstage with Soundgarden performing the song "Birth Ritual" in a club. Cornell was Crowe's original choice for the role of Cliff Poncier (played by Dillon), but he was unable to do it due to Soundgarden's busy schedule.[219] Cornell was the face of fashion producer John Varvatos' 2006 ad campaign.[220] Cornell became a restaurateur with the opening of his restaurant, Black Calavados, in Paris,[34] and was also the owner of the music publishing company You Make Me Sick I Make Music.[221] In 2009, Cornell planned to turn Philip Carlo's true crime book The Night Stalker: The Life and Crimes of Richard Ramirez, into a film, collaborating with Carlo to produce the screenplay.[222] In 2011, James Franco was attached to direct the film and star in the role of Ramirez.[223] In popular culture Garbage's song "Fix Me Now" from the band's debut album was originally called "Chris Cornell". According to lead singer Shirley Manson, she was obsessed with Cornell at the time of the release of Soundgarden's hit song "Black Hole Sun". A demo version of "Fix Me Now" has Manson singing Cornell's name.[224] The line "I'm looking California, and feeling Minnesota" from Soundgarden's song "Outshined" (written by Cornell), inspired the title of Steven Baigelman's 1996 film Feeling Minnesota, starring Keanu Reeves and Cameron Diaz.[225] Cornell's song "Preaching the End of the World" from his debut solo album Euphoria Morning, inspired the title of Lorene Scafaria's 2012 film Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, starring Steve Carell and Keira Knightley.[226][227] Cornell was an answer on the game show Jeopardy! on February 12, 2018. The clue was, "In 2017, music fans were saddened by the death of this Soundgarden singer".[228] Personal life In 1985, Cornell started dating Susan Silver,[229][230][231] the manager of Alice in Chains, Soundgarden and Screaming Trees,[232] and they married in 1990.[31][233] They had a daughter, Lillian Jean, born on June 28, 2000.[234] Cornell and Silver divorced in 2004.[233] In 2004, he married Vicky Karayiannis,[235][236] a Paris-based American publicist of Greek heritage.[34] The couple had a daughter together, Toni, in September 2004,[233][34] and a son, Christopher Nicholas, in December 2005.[237] In 2012, the Cornells created the Chris and Vicky Cornell Foundation[238][239] which works to aid the homeless, the poor, and abused or neglected children. In 2013, a portion of proceeds from ticket sales went to benefit the cause.[240] In a 2008 television interview, Cornell said about religion, "I don't follow any particular one. … Ultimately I think I'm sort of a freethinker and kind of open. … So many bad things–as well as good things–have happened based on people just sort of blindly following religion that I kind of feel like I want to stay away from any type of specific denomination or any religion period."[241] Friendships with Andrew Wood and Eddie Vedder Cornell was a close friend of late singer Andrew Wood, who was his roommate in Seattle.[143] While living together, they recorded the song "Island of Summer",[182] which was written by Cornell and is the only existing recording of the two of them singing together. The song was released in 2011 in the album Melodies & Dreams, a solo album from Andrew Wood featuring unreleased songs he recorded throughout his life.[242] Wood's sudden death in 1990 led Cornell to make a tribute album for him with the band Temple of the Dog. In a 2016 interview with The Guardian promoting the first tour of Temple of the Dog, Cornell said about Wood's death: "I've always had a really difficult time with loss. I didn't deal well with Andy's death. After he died, numerous times I'd be driving and I would look out the window and I thought I saw him. It would take me five minutes to update to the moment and realize, 'no, he's actually dead.' This tour, in a sense, is the dealing. It's facing the reality."[243] During a 1994 Rolling Stone interview on Kurt Cobain's suicide, when asked if it is legitimate to read a songwriter's suicide into his lyrics after the fact, Cornell said: When Andy [Wood] died, I couldn't listen to his songs for about two years after that, and it was for that reason—his lyrics often seem as though they can tell that story. But then again, my lyrics often could tell the same one. In terms of seeing everything as a matter of life and death—if that's what you're feeling at the time, then that's what you're going to write. It's sort of a morbid exchange when somebody who is a writer like that dies, and then everyone starts picking through all their lyrics. In Kurt's case, whatever he was thinking and whatever he was writing, there wasn't an arrow pointing at what his demise was. It's a stream of thought, it's a possibility—it's definitely something that somebody was feeling when they were writing. It doesn't mean that it's going to happen. But it doesn't necessarily mean that it isn't, either.[30] Cornell was good friends with Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder. Cornell was one of the first people that Vedder met outside his Pearl Jam bandmates after moving to Seattle in 1990.[244] The two were neighbors for a while and had shared vocal duties in Temple of The Dog.[244] Soundgarden manager Susan Silver recalled in the 2009 book Grunge Is Dead: The Oral History of Seattle Rock Music the moment in 1990 that Cornell walked Vedder onstage at the second show performed by Pearl Jam (then named Mookie Blaylock) in Seattle: "Alice in Chains filmed the show at Moore theatre in 1990 and that was the show this new band [Mookie Blaylock] opened for them. Everyone was still reeling from Andy [Andrew Wood]'s death... and they hadn't really played out yet. The band came on and Chris carried Eddie onto the stage – he was on his shoulders. It was one of those super powerful moments, where it was all a big healing for everybody. He came out as this guy who had all the credibility in the world - in terms of people in Seattle - and Malfunkshun and Mother Love Bone were loved bands. Andy was such an endearing personality. It was a hard thing to do - to show up after people die. And Chris bringing Eddie out, and pointing at him, as much to say, 'This is your guy now.'"[245][246] Pearl Jam lead guitarist Mike McCready said about their friendship; "Ed was from San Diego and he felt very intimidated in Seattle. Chris really welcomed him. Ed was super, super shy. Chris took him out for beers and told him stories. He was like, 'Hey, welcome to Seattle. I love Jeff [Ament] and Stone [Gossard]. I give you my blessing.' From then on he was more relaxed. It was one of the coolest things I saw Chris do."[247] In September 2011, Vedder introduced Cornell at a concert in Alpine Valley before performing "Hunger Strike" with him, saying, "I had no idea how he would affect my life and my views on music and my views on friendship and what a big impact he would have. These guys [the other members of Pearl Jam] know him much longer than me and his impact is profound."[248][244] The friendship between Vedder and Cornell is also featured in the 2011 documentary Pearl Jam Twenty.[249] Depression and substance abuse Cornell struggled with depression[209][250][31] and had multiple addictions (mostly alcohol and prescription drugs),[30][31][133] which he was able to manage from roughly 1980 until 1997, when Soundgarden disbanded and his first marriage was failing.[29] At that point, Cornell turned to OxyContin and other substances.[29] He said about that period, "I went through a serious crisis with depression where I didn't eat a whole meal every day. I was just kind of shutting down. I eventually found that the only way out of that was to change virtually everything in my life. That was a very frightening thing to do, but it was worthwhile."[34] He checked into a rehabilitation center in 2002[112][251] and quit drinking and smoking around 2005.[134][252] Cornell stated in a 1996 interview: "I know what it feels like to be suicidal, and I know what it feels like to be hopeless. There is some point where I learnt enough about myself to know that I don't have the tolerance to create other hurdles as well."[253] In 1999, Cornell said the following about depression: No one really knows what run-of-the-mill depression is. You'll think somebody has run-of-the-mill depression, and then the next thing you know, they're hanging from a rope. It's hard to tell the difference. But I do feel that depression can be useful. Sometimes it's just chemical. It doesn't seem to come from anywhere. And whenever I've been in any kind of depression, I've over the years tried to not only imagine what it feels like to not be there, but try to remind myself that I could just wake up the next day and it could be gone because that happens, and not to worry about it. And at the same time, when I'm feeling great, I remember the depression and think about the differences in what I'm feeling and why I would feel that way, and not be reactionary one way or the other. You just have to realize that these are patterns of life and you just go through them.[254] At the age of 12, Cornell had access to alcohol, marijuana, LSD, psilocybin mushrooms and prescription drugs; he used them daily by 13, stopped for a year, but relapsed at age 15 for another year until he turned to music.[30][31] In a 2006 interview, Cornell revealed that at the age of 14, he had a bad PCP experience and later suffered from panic disorder and agoraphobia: It's not like you go to your dad or your doctor and say, 'Yeah, I smoked PCP and I'm having a bad time.' So I became more or less agoraphobic because I'd have flashbacks. From 14 to 16, I didn't have any friends. I stayed home most of the time. Up till then life was pretty great... I never did any drugs until my late 20s. Unfortunately, being a child of two alcoholics, I started drinking a lot, and that's what eventually got me back into drugs. You often hear that pot leads to harder drugs. But I think alcohol is what leads you to everything, because it takes away the fear. The worst drug experimentation I ever did was because I was drunk and didn't care.[32] In May 2007, Cornell was honored with the Stevie Ray Vaughan Award for "his dedication and support of the MusiCares MAP Fund and his devotion to helping other addicts with the recovery process."[255] The award was presented by Alice Cooper.[256] When asked how he beat his addictions, Cornell stated, "It was a long period of coming to the realization that this way (sober) is better. Going through rehab, honestly, did help... it got me away from just the daily drudgery of depression and either trying to not drink or do drugs or doing them and you know, they give you such a simple message that any idiot can get and it's just over and over, but the bottom line is really, and this is the part that is scary for everyone, the individual kinda has to want it... not kinda, you have to want it and to not do that crap anymore or you will never stop and it will just kill you. There's nothing you can do...if your best friend has a problem and it's very serious, there's nothing you're going to be able to do about it and it was sad for me and the people around me. Sad for me when friends of mine died because of it."[257] In a 2011 interview, Cornell said the major change when Soundgarden re-formed was a lack of alcohol: "The biggest difference I noticed ... and we haven't even really talked about it: there are no bottles of Jack Daniel's around or beers. And we never talked about it ... it's just not there."[258] Death and aftermath Around 12:15 a.m. on May 18, 2017,[259] Cornell's bodyguard found him unconscious in the bathroom of his hotel room, 1136, at the MGM Grand in Detroit, Michigan, after performing at a show with Soundgarden at the Fox Theatre on May 17.[260] He was lying on the floor with an exercise band around his neck and blood in his mouth.[261] An MGM medic and EMS personnel were unable to revive Cornell.[259] Cornell was pronounced dead by a doctor at 1:30 a.m., at the age of 52. The cause of death was officially ruled a suicide by hanging.[259] Police ruled out foul play by reviewing a hotel surveillance video, which showed nobody entering or exiting the suite after Cornell's bodyguard left at around 11:35 p.m.[262] On June 2, 2017, the Wayne County Medical Examiner released its autopsy[263] and toxicology report in the death of Cornell.[264] The medical examiner confirmed that the cause of death was hanging and the manner of death was ruled as suicide, adding that Cornell's injuries were all "consistent with hanging, partially suspended by the resistance exercise band,"[263] and that "drugs did not contribute" to the cause of death.[263] Only prescription medications in therapeutic doses were found in Cornell's system:[264] the sedative Butalbital (5.4 µg/mL), commonly prescribed for the treatment of headache; four doses (41 ng/mL) of the anti-anxiety medication lorazepam (also known as Ativan); the decongestant pseudoephedrine (170 ng/mL) and its metabolite norpseudoephedrine (10 ng/mL); caffeine (from No-Doz tablets that Cornell had ingested);[264][265] and naloxone (used to reverse opioid overdoses), which was reportedly administered by emergency personnel upon their arrival at the scene.[264][266] No pills were found in Cornell's stomach.[263] Cornell's widow stated that the Ativan was prescribed to him in 2016 as a sleep aid.[267] Photos from Cornell's hotel room[268] showed that his prescription for Ativan was "1 tablet every 12 hours."[269] Cornell's widow contacted insurance lawyer Kirk Pasich within a few minutes after her husband's death.[270] Pasich became the spokesperson for the widow and blamed Ativan for the singer's death, stating that Cornell would not intentionally take his own life.[271][270] Cornell's widow said, "When we spoke after the show, I noticed he was slurring his words; he was different. When he told me he may have taken an extra Ativan or two, I contacted security and asked that they check on him."[271][272] Following the release of the autopsy and toxicology report, Cornell's widow released a statement to the press: Many of us who know Chris well noticed that he wasn't himself during his final hours and that something was very off. We have learned from this report that several substances were found in his system. After so many years of sobriety, this moment of terrible judgment seems to have completely impaired and altered his state of mind. Something clearly went terribly wrong and my children and I are heartbroken and are devastated that this moment can never be taken back. We very much appreciate all of the love we have received during this extremely difficult time and are dedicated to helping others in preventing this type of tragedy.[265] Three weeks after his death, the music video for Cornell's single "Nearly Forgot My Broken Heart" was removed from YouTube.[273] Released in September 2015,[274] the video depicted the singer as a death row prisoner in the Old West who survived a hanging. Cornell's son, Christopher, also appeared in the video.[273] Cornell publicly talked about his struggle with depression, isolation, and suicidal thoughts several times throughout his life.[253][254][209][31][250][30] This started after Cornell stated he had ingested PCP for the first and only time causing a “deep scar on his psyche.” This changed his life over night. He said he became an introvert, experienced anxiety and depression, dealing with this period for over 2 years.[275] Following Cornell's death, his older brother, Peter Cornell, started a campaign to raise awareness of depression and suicide prevention.[276] A few days later, Peter revealed that he was being bullied and threatened to change the narrative of his awareness message, stating "this bullying is coming from a place I never could have imagined".[276] In October 2017, Peter reacted to criticism directed at him on social media by his brother's mother-in-law. He talked about the stigma surrounding mental illness and the addiction narrative being spun by his brother's widow and her family to explain Cornell's death, stating, "And there is that word again. Stigma. Somehow it's 'sexy' to be an addict (of which I am also familiar), but let's not talk about mental illness. Stigma. There are those who re-victimize and bully us. Taunt and demand us to re-live and tell the details of our painful upbringing. To what end? It doesn't erase the damage done. It doesn't turn back the hands of time. We are survivors."[277] On July 11, 2017, the Detroit Police Department[278] released the full police report on Cornell's death,[261] along with photographs from Cornell's hotel room[268] and the 911 call from the MGM Grand Detroit from the night of Cornell's death.[279] The call was made by a hotel employee at 12:56 a.m., reporting "a nonresponsive guest... inside of Room 1136."[280] According to the report, Martin Kirsten (Cornell's bodyguard) was at the singer's hotel room at 11:30 p.m. to help him with his computer. It also says that Cornell's wife, Vicky, talked to her husband at 11:35 p.m. Alarmed by what she heard, Vicky phoned Kirsten to ask him to check on her husband "because he did not sound like he was OK."[281] According to Vicky, Cornell kept saying, "I am just tired," and hung up the phone.[261] A call from Vicky's at 12:15 a.m. prompted Kirsten to go to Cornell's suite to check on him.[261] Unable to enter the room because of the interior latch, Kirsten returned to his room and called hotel security. Security refused to assist.[278] Kirsten told police that he went to Cornell's room at around 12:15 a.m., but could not access the locked room. He then had a telephone conversation with Vicky, who instructed him to kick the door open as the hotel staff refused to do it. Kirsten told police in a signed statement that he kicked the bedroom door 6-7 times before it opened, then went inside and the bathroom door was partially opened and he could see Cornell's feet.[261] Kirsten said that Vicky was on the phone with him the whole time asking for updates.[278] Kirsten said in his statement that he loosened the band around Cornell's neck, then tried to resuscitate him by compressing his chest.[261] Medical personnel arrived at 12:56 a.m. and tried to resuscitate Cornell, with no success.[281][278] Cornell was pronounced dead at around 1:30 a.m.,[278] an hour and 15 minutes after his bodyguard was first contacted by Cornell's wife.[261] It is unknown how long it took for the bodyguard to gain entry to the hotel room and find Cornell.[281] Questioned by The Detroit News why it took 41 minutes to get a medical team to the scene after the bodyguard found Cornell lying on the floor, police insisted that there were no gaps.[281] Investigators looked at the length of the phone call between Cornell and his wife, and the calls the bodyguard made to security and checked video surveillance footage from the hotel hallway, and determined the timeline was accurate, and the bodyguard's story checked out.[281] On November 1, 2018, Vicky Cornell and her children filed suit in Los Angeles Superior Court, claiming that Dr. Robert Koblin "negligently and repeatedly" prescribed "dangerous mind-altering controlled substances to Chris Cornell which impaired Mr. Cornell's cognition, clouded his judgment, and caused him to engage in dangerous impulsive behaviors that he was unable to control, costing him his life."[282] The suit claims Koblin prescribed Lorazepam over a period of 20 months without seeing Cornell.[282] In his motion for dismissal, Koblin denied all accusations of negligence and said that Cornell was well aware of the risks inherent to the medication, which he was taking to treat anxiety. Koblin ordered Cornell the first prescription of Lorazepam in September 2015. Koblin insisted that he did everything within his power to help Cornell, and that a malpractice law should shield him from being sued.[283] Memorial and tributes Cornell's grave at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery Cornell's body was cremated on May 23, 2017.[284] His funeral took place on May 26, 2017, at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles.[285] Attendees and speakers at the ceremony included Soundgarden members Kim Thayil, Matt Cameron, and Ben Shepherd, as well as former members Hiro Yamamoto and Scott Sundquist, along with Audioslave's Tom Morello, and Pearl Jam/Temple of the Dog members Jeff Ament and Mike McCready,[286] The mourners included friends and families as well as many notable musicians[287][288] and others.[289] The ceremony began with the cemetery's speakers playing Audioslave's "Like a Stone", as well as Cornell's last solo song released before his death, "The Promise". Linkin Park's Chester Bennington and Brad Delson performed Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah". At the end of the funeral, Temple of the Dog's song "All Night Thing" accompanied mourners as they exited.[289] Cornell's ashes were placed next to his friend Johnny Ramone's cenotaph statue[289] — Ramone is not buried there, he was cremated and his ashes were retained by his widow.[290] Seattle's Space Needle observation tower went dark from 9:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. PST on May 18, 2017, in honor of Cornell and his contributions to the city's music scene.[291] In the same night, Ann Wilson paid tribute to Cornell singing Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun" on Jimmy Kimmel Live!.[292] Soundgarden's drummer, Matt Cameron, was the first of Cornell's former bandmates to comment on his death saying "my dark knight is gone" via Facebook.[293] Pearl Jam, for whom Cameron also drums, released a tribute on their website with a picture of Cornell entitled "Chris".[294] Cornell's Audioslave bandmate, Tom Morello, wrote a poem in tribute to him.[295] Alice in Chains paid tribute with a photo of Cornell on their social media pages with the caption, "We are heartbroken".[296] Faith No More changed the homepage of the band's official website to a tribute to Cornell after his death.[297][298] The message could still be seen on the website until November 9, 2017.[299] The Seattle Mariners held a pregame tribute to Cornell prior to their game against the Chicago White Sox on May 19 with a moment of silence and videoboard tribute to Cornell.[300] Oakland Athletics's player Trevor Plouffe changed his walk-up music to "Black Hole Sun" to honor Cornell.[301] Linkin Park dedicated their performance of "One More Light" on Jimmy Kimmel's show, in tribute to Cornell.[302] During the 2017 Billboard Music Awards, Imagine Dragons' lead singer, Dan Reynolds, paid tribute to Cornell remembering his life and career and asking for a moment of silence as a photo of Cornell filled television screens at home and the monitors in the venue.[303] On May 23, 2017, Norah Jones performed a solo piano cover of “Black Hole Sun” at Detroit's Fox Theatre, the theatre Chris last performed in.[304] During his solo concert in London on June 6, 2017, Eddie Vedder talked for the first time about Cornell since his death, saying "he wasn't just a friend, he was someone I looked up to like my older brother" and "I will live with those memories in my heart and I will love him forever."[305] Cornell's former Audioslave bandmates paid tribute to him during a Prophets of Rage concert in Berlin on June 7, playing an instrumental version of "Like a Stone" with a single spotlight shining down on an empty mic at center stage as the audience filled in on vocals. It was later performed with Serj Tankian of System of a Down on vocals.[306] At the Alternative Press Music Awards on July 17, the band Pierce The Veil paid tribute to Cornell with their rendition of "Black Hole Sun" while images of Cornell were displayed on a screen above the stage. Near the end of the performance, an audio of Cornell singing the song was played.[307] On July 20, 2017, the day that would have been Cornell's 53rd birthday, Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard, who played with Cornell in Temple of the Dog, wrote a letter to him in a post shared on Pearl Jam's official website. Cornell and Gossard share the same birthday.[308] In August 2017, Seattle-based singer Shawn Smith announced a single in tribute to Cornell, "The Way You Made Your Garden Grow", set to be released on his first solo vinyl album. Smith said in a statement: "Written and recorded in loving tribute to the glorious Chris Cornell, who left us the day before this session. We will never stop singing your songs. Goodbye for now, Chris... Love Never Dies."[309] Foo Fighters' drummer Taylor Hawkins added a tribute image of Cornell on his touring drum kit in August 2017.[310] Cornell's Soundgarden bandmate, Matt Cameron, paid homage to him in his first solo album titled Cavedweller, with the inscription "For Chris"[311] on the vinyl version of the album,[312] which was released on September 22, 2017.[313] Cornell heard the album two months before his death and was very supportive of Cameron's solo debut.[313] The movie American Satan, released in October 2017, paid tribute to Cornell and other artists who have died since production on the movie began with a music video featuring the band portrayed in the film, The Relentless, playing a cover of Neil Young's song "Hey Hey, My My".[314] During Pearl Jam's first concert since Cornell's death in Santiago, Chile on March 13, 2018, lead singer Eddie Vedder dedicated the song "Come Back" (from Pearl Jam's 2006 self-titled album) to Cornell, while drummer Matt Cameron wore a T-shirt with a portrait of Cornell on the back during the show.[315] On April 14, 2018, Cornell's longtime friends Ann Wilson and Jerry Cantrell paid tribute to him during the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony with a rendition of Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun". At the end of the performance, a photo of Cornell was displayed on a screen behind the stage and Cantrell turned around and raised his fist saluting Cornell.[316] U2 dedicated the song "Running to Stand Still" to Cornell at their concert of May 20, 2017 at the Rose Bowl. Before that concert began, "Black Hole Sun" played over the PA.[317] One year later, they saluted Cornell with a snippet of "Black Hole Sun" during their concert in Inglewood, Calif., on May 16, 2018.[318] On the first anniversary of Cornell's death on May 18, 2018, Alice in Chains paid tribute to him covering two Soundgarden songs, "Hunted Down" and "Boot Camp", respectively, closing their headlining set at the Rock on the Range festival in Columbus, Ohio. Towards the end of "Boot Camp", the lights on stage spelled out "CC" for Chris Cornell and "SG" for Soundgarden as feedback rang out. Soundgarden was scheduled to headline the festival in 2017 prior Cornell's death.[319][320] On May 20, 2018, Tool dedicated their entire set at Rock on the Range to the friends and family of Cornell.[321] American rock band Guns N' Roses paid tribute to Cornell on their Not In This Lifetime... Tour. Alice in Chains' song "Never Fade" from their 2018 album Rainier Fog was partially inspired by Cornell's death.[322] One of Cornell's acoustic guitars was also played by both Jerry Cantrell and William DuVall in the album.[323] In July 2018, Ann Wilson released her cover of Audioslave's "I Am The Highway" in tribute to Cornell. The song is featured on her covers album Immortal, which honors Wilson's friends and other artists that have inspired her and who died recently.[324] A life-size bronze statue of Cornell was placed at Seattle Center in October 2018.[325] A compilation album titled Chris Cornell was released on November 16, 2018, featuring songs from Cornell's solo career and his three bands.[326] On January 16, 2019, a five-hour tribute concert to Cornell named "I Am The Highway" was held at The Forum in Los Angeles and featured Foo Fighters, Metallica, Melvins, as well as members of Soundgarden, Audioslave and Temple of the Dog performing Cornell's songs alongside artists such as Fiona Apple, Jerry Cantrell, William DuVall, Miguel, Nikka Costa, Adam Levine, Jesse Carmichael, Jack Black, Geezer Butler, Ryan Adams, Taylor Momsen, Brandi Carlile, Perry Farrell, Juliette Lewis, Josh Homme, Miley Cyrus, Alain Johannes, Wayne Kramer, Peter Frampton and Ziggy Marley.[327] Eddie Vedder covered Cornell's "Seasons" at Düsseldorf's Mitsubishi Electric Halle on June 30, 2019, and dedicated it to Cornell's daughter Lily.[328] On July 20, 2020, Cornell's eldest daughter, Lily Cornell Silver launched an IGTV interview series on Instagram titled "Mind Wide Open" in honor of her father's 56th birthday. The mission of the series is to help destigmatize the conversations around mental health.[329] The same day, Cornell's estate released a previously unreleased cover of Guns N' Roses's 1989 ballad, "Patience".[330] The song was a single from covers album No One Sings Like You Anymore, Vol. 1 released on December 11, 2020.[331] Connections to other singers' suicides Music journalists noted apparently coincidental relationships between Cornell's suicide and those of two other rock singers, one in the past and another shortly afterward, who also hanged themselves.[332][333] Theodore Decker of the Columbus Dispatch, the daily newspaper in Columbus, Ohio, where Cornell was due to play his next show, noted that Ian Curtis, the lead singer of the British post-punk band, Joy Division,[332] whom Cornell had said in a 1994 Rolling Stone interview was popular with the members of Soundgarden,[30] took his own life on May 18, 1980, exactly 37 years before Cornell, and by the same method as well. Curtis, known for lyrics that, as Cornell's sometimes had, explored despair and depression, had become legendary as a result after his death, Decker recalled. However, Stephen Morris, one of Curtis's bandmates (who later became New Order) recalled Curtis not as the "brooding rock deity" Decker said he became posthumously but as "an ordinary bloke just like you or me." Decker recalled the other deaths of musicians who had risen from Seattle's grunge scene in the early 1990s and called on Cornell's fans to remember that he, too, was a human being who might still be alive if he had gotten the help he needed.[332] Two months after Cornell's death, on July 20, 2017, the day on what would have been Cornell's 53rd birthday, Chester Bennington, the lead vocalist of Linkin Park, also died by hanging himself.[333] Bennington had been a close friend of Cornell's; the two had performed together on some occasions and Bennington was the godfather to Cornell's son, Christopher.[333] Bennington also sang Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" at Cornell's funeral.[333] Bennington's family and bandmates said he had taken Cornell's death hard. Bennington's Linkin Park bandmate Mike Shinoda said that the singer had been unable to complete a performance of the band's song "One More Light", about the death of a friend, both in rehearsals and live, when they appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! shortly after Cornell's death.[334] Legacy In a 1989 interview with Rolling Stone, Axl Rose stated: "I enjoy Soundgarden. The singer [Cornell] just buries me. The guy sings so great."[335] Rose also stated that Cornell was the best vocalist in rock.[336][337] In a 2009 interview, Ronnie James Dio stated: "I think Chris Cornell is such a great singer, and those guys [from Soundgarden] write so well and always write well — I mean, I love what he's done with Audioslave and the things he's done since then."[338] In a 2009 interview, Eddie Vedder stated that Cornell was "the best singer that we've got on the planet".[339] In April 2017, Scott Stapp stated that Cornell was "the greatest pure Rock singer". He added, "I'm really a huge fan of him, and everything that he has done. I just think all around that he is an extremely talented artist, songwriter, singer, and guitar player. He can do so many different things to evoke emotion. From the soulfulness, to the top end of his range when he gets metal and aggressive, to his choice of melodies and how the melody in itself, despite what he's saying, can incite emotion. I think he'll go down in history as one of the greats."[340] After hearing about his death, Alice Cooper stated: "Chris Cornell, in our circle, was known as 'The Voice' because he had the best voice in rock and roll. I was lucky enough to write and record two songs with him. His death comes as a total shock to all of us. 'Black Hole Sun' will live on as a classic, and his is a true legacy of rock and roll."[341] Living Colour guitarist Vernon Reid stated: "There are barely any words to describe my grief over the loss of Chris Cornell...His impact as a singer, songwriter and guitarist will be felt for generations to come."[342] Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament said of Cornell: "I've always said that Chris was the greatest songwriter to ever come out of Seattle. Jimi Hendrix could play the guitar like crazy, but Chris had the song-writing chops that we all sort of hoped to get to at different points in our songwriting careers. He had a way he could wrap a melody around odd time signatures and weird parts and make them catchy. He was a beautiful wordsmith. If you look at his lyrics, he obviously was processing his pain and depression, and all of those things. I think that's part of what people, myself included, responded to when he was singing. With the songwriting he had that voice, there's not too many people that have that many options with their voice. He could do a lot of different things with it, and have a lot of different characters in that voice. I feel so lucky that I got to be in a project with him, got to hang out with him, and just sort of witness his greatness."[343] Following his death, the sales and streams of Cornell's discography grew by more than 550% from the week prior to his death. On platforms like Spotify, Apple Music and Pandora, his songs were streamed 32.5 million times during the week in which he died. The charting week prior to that, his tracks were played 5 million times. That same week, 38,000 copies of Cornell albums were sold, which represented a 1,700% gain in purchases; the week before his death, only 2,000 units were sold.[344] Discography Main article: Chris Cornell discography See also: Soundgarden discography and Audioslave discography Studio albums Euphoria Morning (1999) Carry On (2007) Scream (2009) Higher Truth (2015) No One Sings Like You Anymore, Vol. 1 (2020)[345] with Soundgarden Ultramega OK (1988) Louder Than Love (1989) Badmotorfinger (1991) Superunknown (1994) Down on the Upside (1996) King Animal (2012) with Temple of the Dog Temple of the Dog (1991) with Audioslave Audioslave (2002) Out of Exile (2005) Revelations (2006) Awards and nomina Euphoria Mourning (originally titled Euphoria Morning) is the first solo studio album released by American musician Chris Cornell. It was released on September 21, 1999 through Interscope Records. Euphoria Mourning sold over 75,000 copies in its first week of release, and eventually sold 393,000 copies in the U.S. alone.[3] While a large success critically, it did not sell nearly as well as Cornell's albums with Soundgarden. It is Cornell's only album between the split of Soundgarden until he formed Audioslave with members of Rage Against the Machine. The lead single "Can't Change Me" was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance at the 2000 Grammy Awards.[4] On August 14, 2015, the album was re-released on CD and vinyl with the title Euphoria Mourning, with Cornell stating in the press release that he had originally intended the album to be called that.[5] Contents 1 Production 1.1 Recording history 2 Musical style 3 Reception 4 Re-release and title change 5 Track listing 6 Personnel 7 Charts 8 References Production Recording history In 1998, Cornell began working on material for a solo album on which he collaborated with Alain Johannes and Natasha Shneider of the band Eleven,[6] and the album was recorded at their Los Angeles home studio.[7] Cornell stated that the lead single "Can't Change Me" is "kind of a sad discovery that this singer is involved with this person that has amazing powers to help people and change things positively, and he's realizing that none of it is really rubbing off on him."[8] Cornell told MTV News that the genesis of "Can't Change Me" can be found in some of Soundgarden's hits, such as "Blow Up the Outside World" and "Fell on Black Days".[9] Cornell also recorded a version of the song in French.[10] This version is a bonus track on the deluxe version of Euphoria Morning,[11] and on the Japanese[12] and European editions of the album that were released in November 1999.[13] The song was translated to French by Alexis Lemoine.[13] "Flutter Girl" was an outtake from Superunknown, the 1994 Soundgarden album.[14] The title was created by Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament as part of the joke tracklist of Poncier's EP for the 1992 Cameron Crowe film Singles,[15] and Cornell wrote the lyrics and music for it. The complete Poncier EP with the 1992 demo version of "Flutter Girl" was released as a promotional CD demo in 2015 for Record Store Day.[16] "Moonchild" is about Cornell's then-wife Susan Silver. In the song, Cornell affectionately describes how Silver "gets really freaked out during the full moon".[17] Cornell stated that "Wave Goodbye" was written as a tribute to his friend Jeff Buckley, who died in 1997.[17][18] Musical style According to AllMusic's Euphoria Mourning is "a shaded, textured rock album," lacking the "grinding sludge and furious rock" of Soundgarden.[1] Nevertheless, the album was described to be of a piece with Soundgarden's psychedelic-indebted 1994 album Superunknown[1] and delves back into ’60s psychedelic melodies and acoustic ditties."[19] Los Angeles Times' Mikael Wood described the album's style as "psychedelic folk-rock."[20] Reception Professional ratings Review scores Source Rating AllMusic 4/5 stars[1] Alternative Press 3/5 stars[21] Robert Christgau (C+)[22] Entertainment Weekly (B+)[19] NME 4/10[23] Q 3/5 stars[24] Rolling Stone 3.5/5 stars[25] The album proved commercially unsuccessful although the album's single "Can't Change Me" was nominated for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance at the 2000 Grammy Awards.[4] He also contributed the song "Sunshower" (a bonus track on the Japanese release of Euphoria Morning) to the soundtrack of the 1998 film, Great Expectations, and a reworked version of the track "Mission", retitled "Mission 2000", was used on the soundtrack to the 2000 film, Mission: Impossible 2. In 2000, Cornell embarked on a tour in support of the album.[26] The song "Preaching the End of the World" inspired the title of Lorene Scafaria's 2012 film Seeking a Friend for the End of the World.[27][28] Re-release and title change The album was re-released on August 14, 2015 on CD and vinyl and retitled Euphoria Mourning. Cornell stated that he had originally intended the album to be called that, but his manager at the time of the original release, Jim Guerinot, suggested that "Euphoria Morning" without the "u" would be a better title.[5] Cornell on the title: It was a pretty dark album lyrically and pretty depressing, and I was going through a really difficult time in my life – my band wasn’t together anymore, my marriage was falling apart and I was dealing with it by drinking way too much, and that has its own problems, particularly with depression. So I titled the album Euphoria Mourning, but right before the record came out and I was doing interviews over the radio for example, if you say “Euphoria Mourning”, the listener doesn’t know if it’s mourning with a “u” or morning without a “u”. And that started to bother me. So I had a conversation with my manager at the time, and said I really love the title but do you think it’s confusing? And he suggested that Euphoria Morning would probably be a better title. I thought, in contrast to the lyrics maybe that works. And it wasn’t my manager’s fault, I was a grown man and could say I don’t think that’s a good idea, and in the back of my mind I didn’t think it was a good idea. But mentally I wasn’t together enough to really know what was right. So I went with “Morning”, and it’s bothered me ever since. It even showed up in an early review where someone reviewing the record said that the title sounded like a potpourri scent, and when I read that I was just like [with disdain], “Fck! Fukin’ bulshi!” The title was so beautifully poetic to begin with, just the concept of euphoria in mourning; it was a moment I felt inspired and I let all the air out of it. So when we decided to do its first vinyl release I thought, I want to change the fckin’ title! [Laughs] It’s time to change it.[5] Track listing All lyrics are written by Chris Cornell; all music is composed by Cornell, except where noted. No. Title Music Length 1. "Can't Change Me"   3:23 2. "Flutter Girl" Cornell, Alain Johannes, Natasha Shneider 4:25 3. "Preaching the End of the World"   4:41 4. "Follow My Way" Cornell, Johannes, Shneider 5:10 5. "When I'm Down"   4:20 6. "Mission" Cornell, Johannes, Shneider 4:05 7. "Wave Goodbye"   3:43 8. "Moonchild"   4:02 9. "Sweet Euphoria"   3:08 10. "Disappearing One" Cornell, Johannes, Shneider 3:48 11. "Pillow of Your Bones" Cornell, Johannes, Shneider 4:29 12. "Steel Rain"   5:41 Japanese bonus tracks No. Title Length 13. "Sunshower" 5:52 14. "Can't Change Me" (French version) 3:47 "Can't Change Me" (French version) is also found on international versions "Can't Change Me" (French version) & another b-side "Nowhere But You" are also found on the "Can't Change Me" single. Personnel Personnel adapted from Euphoria Morning liner notes.[2] Main personnel Chris Cornell - lead vocals (all tracks), guitar (tracks 1-3 and 5-13), harmonica (track 1) Alain Johannes - guitar (tracks 1-6, 8, and 10-12), bass guitar (tracks 2-5, 10, and 11), backing vocals (tracks 1 and 13), theremin (track 4), mandolin (tracks 4 and 13), clarinet (track 10), tabla (track 12) Natasha Shneider - keyboards (tracks 1-4, 6-8, and 10-13), bass guitar (tracks 6 and 13), backing vocals (tracks 4-7, and 13), tambourine (tracks 1-4, 11, and 12), piano (track 5), organ (track 5), timpani (track 11) Ric Markmann - bass guitar (tracks 1, 7, 8, and 12) Josh Freese - drums (tracks 1-4, 6, 8, and 11) Additional musicians Jason Falkner - bass guitar (track 5) Greg Upchurch - drums (track 5) Victor Indrizzo - drums (track 7) Matt Cameron - drums (track 10) Bill Rieflin - drums (track 12) Misha Shneider - bayan (track 14) Technical personnel Chris Cornell - production, engineering, mixing Alain Johannes - production, engineering, mixing Natasha Shneider - production, engineering, mixing Dave Collins - mastering Ex-Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell has set tentative dates for a five-city tour supporting his solo debut, Euphoria Morning, due Sept. 13, his first musical project in more than two years. The tour is expected to kick off at the Sanders Theater in Boston on Sept. 13, according to an anonymous source close to the singer. Cornell will be joined on the road by two members of Los Angeles rock band Eleven — guitarist Alain Johannes and keyboardist Natasha Shneider. Both appear on Euphoria Morning, which Johannes and Cornell co-produced. Johannes and Shneider backed Cornell on his first solo venture, "Sunshower," (RealAudio excerpt), which appeared on 1998's "Great Expectations" soundtrack. Also backing Cornell on tour will be bassist Rick Markman and drummer Greg Upchurch. Cornell's manager said Euphoria Morning mixes the influence of classic pop songs and modern psychedelic rockers such as Radiohead. "He probably clipped the top end a bit," manager Jim Guerniot said of the album's sound. "But it still really rocks hard at points, and showcases him as a singer and songwriter." Guerniot said fans will recognize Cornell's signature rebel-yell vocals, made famous on such hard-rocking Soundgarden songs as "Pretty Noose" (RealAudio excerpt) and "Blow Up the Outside World" (RealAudio excerpt), but they might also be surprised by the "intensely musical" vibe of the album. "Parts of it are really layered," Guerniot said. "I think some contemporary references would be Pink Floyd and Radiohead." The release comes more than two years after the breakup of Seattle grunge-metal band Soundgarden, which was fronted by the muscular-voiced Cornell for more than a decade. Ex-Soundgarden drummer Matt Cameron — who joined Pearl Jam's live lineup last summer — dropped by the studio while Pearl Jam were in Los Angeles earlier this year and recorded parts for the song "Disappearing One." The first single from Cornell's album, "Can't Change Me," was described by Guerniot as a "pretty straight-up midtempo rocker with an intense musical approach and a great, strong vocal." Along with the post-modern psychedelia of Radiohead, he said Euphoria Morning experiments with electronic effects that accent a number of the songs. In keeping with Soundgarden's whisper-to-a-scream dynamics, Guerniot also said Cornell's album swings from the hard rock of "Disappearing One" and "Follow My Way" to the dark ballad "Preaching the End of the World." The full track listing for the album is: "Can't Change Me," "Flutter Girl," "Preaching the End of the World," "Follow My Way," "When I'm Down," "Mission," "Wave Goodbye," "Moonchild," "Sweet Euphoria," "Disappearing One," "Pillow of Your Bones" and "Steel Rain." Soundgarden was an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984 by singer and rhythm guitarist Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil (both of whom are the only members to appear in every incarnation of the band), and bassist Hiro Yamamoto. Matt Cameron became the band's full-time drummer in 1986, while bassist Ben Shepherd became a permanent replacement for Yamamoto in 1990. The band dissolved in 1997 and re-formed in 2010. Following Cornell's death in 2017 and a year of uncertainty of the band's future, Thayil declared in October 2018 that the band was finished; they did, however, reunite in January 2019 for a one-off concert in tribute to Cornell. Soundgarden are associated with grunge, a style of alternative rock that developed in Seattle. After releasing two EPs on the Seattle-based label Sub-Pop in 1987 and 1988, their debut album, Ultramega OK was released on the California-based independent label SST Records in 1989. While the album did not sell well nationally, it gained critical acclaim and was nominated for a Grammy award in 1990. They recorded their second album, Louder Than Love, independently but had signed with major label A&M Records in the interim, and released the album as their major label debut. Unlike their debut, which had failed to chart, Louder Than Love peaked at number 108 on the Billboard 200 album chart. Released the same day as fellow Seattle grunge act Nirvana's album Nevermind, their third album Badmotorfinger would bring Soundgarden to national acclaim for the first time, buoyed by the popularity of the singles "Jesus Christ Pose", "Outshined", and "Rusty Cage", the album would reach number 39 on the Billboard 200 and has been certified double-platinum by the RIAA. Soundgarden achieved its biggest success with the 1994 album Superunknown, which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and yielded the Grammy Award-winning singles "Spoonman" and "Black Hole Sun". In 1996, the band experimented with new sonic textures on their follow-up album Down on the Upside, which debuted at number 2 on the Billboard 200 and spawned several hit singles of its own, including "Burden in My Hand" and "Blow Up the Outside World". In 1997, the band broke up due to internal strife over its creative direction and exhaustion from touring. After more than a decade of working on projects and other bands, Soundgarden reunited in 2010, and Republic Records released their sixth and final studio album, King Animal, two years later. As of 2019, Soundgarden sold more than 14 million records in the United States,[1] and an estimated 30 million worldwide.[2] VH1 ranked Soundgarden at number 14 in their special 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock.[3] Contents 1 History 1.1 Formation and early recordings (1984–1988) 1.2 Ultramega OK, major label signing, and Louder Than Love (1988–1990) 1.3 Established lineup, Badmotorfinger, and rise in popularity (1991–1993) 1.4 Superunknown and mainstream success (1994–1995) 1.5 Down on the Upside and breakup (1996–1997) 1.6 Post-breakup activities (1998–2009) 1.7 Reunion, Telephantasm and King Animal (2010–2013) 1.8 Echo of Miles... and Cornell's death (2013–2017) 1.9 Aftermath and disbandment (2017–2019) 2 Musical style and influences 3 Legacy 4 Members 4.1 Timeline 5 Discography 5.1 Studio albums 6 Awards and nominations 7 References 8 Bibliography 9 External links History Formation and early recordings (1984–1988) Soundgarden's origins began with a band called the Shemps, which performed around Seattle in the early 1980s,[4] and featured bassist Hiro Yamamoto and drummer and singer Chris Cornell. Following Yamamoto's departure, the band recruited guitarist Kim Thayil as its new bassist.[4] Thayil moved to Seattle from Park Forest, Illinois, with Yamamoto and Bruce Pavitt, who would later start the independent record label Sub Pop.[5] Cornell and Yamamoto stayed in contact, and after the Shemps broke up Cornell and Yamamoto started jamming together, and were eventually joined by Thayil.[4] Soundgarden formed in 1984 and included Cornell (drums and vocals), Yamamoto (bass), and Thayil (guitar). The band named themselves after a wind-channeling pipe sculpture titled A Sound Garden,[6] on National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration property at 7600 Sand Point Way, next to Magnuson Park in Seattle.[7] Cornell originally played drums while singing, but in 1985 the band enlisted Scott Sundquist to allow Cornell to concentrate on vocals.[8] The band traveled around playing various concerts with this lineup for about a year. Their first recordings were three songs that appeared on the 1986 compilation album for C/Z Records called Deep Six—"Heretic", "Tears to Forget" and "All Your Lies".[9] It also featured songs by fellow grunge pioneers Green River, Skin Yard, Malfunkshun, the U-Men, and the Melvins. In 1986, Cornell's then-girlfriend and future wife, Susan Silver started managing Soundgarden.[10] In the same year, Sundquist left the band to spend time with his family and was replaced by Skin Yard's drummer, Matt Cameron.[4] A Soundgarden performance one night impressed KCMU DJ Jonathan Poneman who later said: "I saw this band that was everything rock music should be."[11] Poneman offered to fund a release by the band, so Thayil suggested he team up with Bruce Pavitt. Poneman offered to contribute $20,000 in funding for Sub Pop, effectively turning it into a full-fledged record label.[12] Soundgarden signed to Sub Pop, and the label released "Hunted Down" in 1987 as the band's first single. The B-side of "Hunted Down", "Nothing to Say", appeared on the KCMU compilation tape Bands That Will Make Money, which was distributed to record companies, many of whom showed interest in Soundgarden.[13] Through Sub Pop, the band released the Screaming Life EP in 1987, and the Fopp EP in 1988, and a combination of the two, Screaming Life/Fopp, in 1990.[14] Ultramega OK, major label signing, and Louder Than Love (1988–1990) "Hands All Over" MENU0:00 "Hands All Over" "combines an Eastern-tinged rock riff in an extended arrangement. Guitars chime on a single note amongst a wash of cymbals, Cornell doing his best 'Islamic call', while Thayil foreshadows the vocal melody with a lilting lick."[15] Problems playing this file? See media help. Though major labels were courting the band, in 1988 they signed to the independent label SST Records for their debut album, Ultramega OK, released on October 31, 1988. Cornell said the band "made a huge mistake with Ultramega OK" because they used a producer suggested by SST who "didn't know what was happening in Seattle".[16][17] According to Steve Huey of AllMusic, Soundgarden demonstrates, a "Stooges/MC5-meets-Zeppelin/Sabbath sound" on the album.[18] Mark Miremont directed the band's first music video for "Flower", which aired regularly on MTV's 120 Minutes. Soundgarden promoted Ultramega OK on a tour in the United States in the spring of 1989, and a tour in Europe, which began in May 1989—the band's first overseas tour.[19] Ultramega OK earned the band a Grammy Award nomination for Best Metal Performance in 1990.[20] After touring to promote Ultramega OK, the band signed with A&M Records, which caused a rift between Soundgarden and its traditional audience. Thayil said, "In the beginning, our fans came from the punk rock crowd. They abandoned us when they thought we sold out the punk tenets, getting on a major label and touring with Guns N' Roses. There were fashion issues and social issues, and people thought we no longer belonged to their scene, to their particular sub-culture."[21] The band later began work on its first album for a major label, but personnel difficulties caused a shift in the band's songwriting process, according to Cornell: "At the time Hiro [Yamamoto] excommunicated himself from the band and there wasn't a free-flowing system as far as music went, so I ended up writing a lot of it."[22] On September 5, 1989, the band released its debut major-label album, Louder Than Love, which saw it take "a step toward the metal mainstream", according to Steve Huey of AllMusic, describing it as "a slow, grinding, detuned mountain of Sabbath/Zeppelin riffs and Chris Cornell wailing".[23] Because of some of the lyrics, most notably on "Hands All Over" and "Big Dumb Sex", the band faced various retail and distribution problems upon the album's release.[24] Louder Than Love became the band's first album to chart on the Billboard 200, peaking at number 108 on the chart in 1990.[citation needed] A month before touring for Louder Than Love was to begin, bassist Hiro Yamamoto, who was becoming frustrated that he was not making much of a contribution,[25] left the band to return to college.[26] Jason Everman, formerly of Nirvana, replaced him on bass. The band toured North America from December 1989 to March 1990, opening for Voivod, who were supporting their album Nothingface, with Faith No More and the Big F also serving as opening acts at the beginning and end of the tour.[26][27] The band then went on to tour Europe. The band fired Everman in mid-1990 immediately after completing its promotional tour for Louder Than Love. Thayil said that "Jason just didn't work out."[28] Louder Than Love spawned the EP Loudest Love and the video compilation Louder Than Live, both released in 1990.[citation needed] Established lineup, Badmotorfinger, and rise in popularity (1991–1993) "Jesus Christ Pose" MENU0:00 'Jesus Christ Pose' "starts with a kind of free-jazz throwdown and moves quickly into the realm of rockdom."[29] Problems playing this file? See media help. Bassist Ben Shepherd replaced Jason Everman and the new lineup recorded Soundgarden's third album in 1991. Cornell said that Shepherd brought a "fresh and creative" approach to the recording sessions,[30] and the band as a whole said that his knowledge of music and writing skills redefined the band.[28] The band released the resulting album, Badmotorfinger, on September 24, 1991. Steve Huey of AllMmusic said that the songwriting on Badmotorfinger "takes a quantum leap in focus and consistency". He added, "It's surprisingly cerebral and arty music for a band courting mainstream metal audiences."[31] Thayil suggested that the album's lyrics are "like reading a novel [about] man's conflict with himself and society, or the government, or his family, or the economy, or anything".[32] The first single from Badmotorfinger, "Jesus Christ Pose", garnered attention when MTV decided to ban its music video in 1991.[13] The song and its video outraged many listeners who perceived it as anti-Christian. The band received death threats while on tour in the United Kingdom in support of the album.[33] Cornell explained that the lyrics criticize public figures who use religion (particularly the image of Jesus Christ) to portray themselves as being persecuted.[34] Although eclipsed at the time of its release by the sudden popularity of Nirvana's Nevermind, the focus of attention brought by Nevermind to the Seattle scene helped Soundgarden gain wider attention.[35] The singles "Outshined" and "Rusty Cage" were able to find an audience on alternative rock radio and MTV. Badmotorfinger was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance in 1992,[20] and was among the 100 top-selling albums of the year.[36] Soundgarden name from the cover of the Badmotorfinger album Following the release of Badmotorfinger, Soundgarden went on a North American tour in October and November 1991.[22] Afterward, Guns N' Roses personally selected the band as its opening act for their Use Your Illusion Tour.[37] The band also opened for Skid Row in North America in February 1992 on its Slave to the Grind tour,[38] and then headed to Europe for a month-long headlining theater tour.[28] The band returned for a tour in the United States, and then rejoined Guns N' Roses in the summer of 1992 in Europe as part of the Use Your Illusion Tour along with fellow opening act Faith No More.[28] Describing opening for Guns N' Roses, Cornell said, "It wasn't a whole lot of fun going out in front of 40,000 people for 35 minutes every day. Most of them never heard our songs and didn't care about them. It was a bizarre thing."[33] The band played the 1992 Lollapalooza tour with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pearl Jam, Ministry and Ice Cube among others. In anticipation of the band's appearance at Lollapalooza, they released a limited edition of Badmotorfinger in 1992 with a second disc containing the EP Satanoscillatemymetallicsonatas (a palindrome), featuring Soundgarden's cover of Black Sabbath's "Into the Void", titled "Into the Void (Sealth)", which was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance in 1993.[20] The band later released the video compilation Motorvision, filmed at Seattle's Paramount Theatre in 1992. The band appeared in the movie Singles, performing "Birth Ritual". The song is included on the soundtrack, as is a Cornell solo song, "Seasons".[39] In 1993, the band contributed the track "Show Me" to the AIDS-Benefit album No Alternative, produced by the Red Hot Organization.[40] Superunknown and mainstream success (1994–1995) "Black Hole Sun" MENU0:00 "With its weepy, vibrato-guitar arpeggios and spare drums, the verses on 'Black Hole Sun' pave the way for a gloriously pounding metallic chorus."[41] Problems playing this file? See media help. Soundgarden began working on its fourth album after touring in support of Badmotorfinger. Cornell said that while working on the album, the band allowed each other more freedom than on past records,[42] and Thayil observed that the band spent a lot more time working on the recording of the songs than on previous records.[43] Released on March 8, 1994, Superunknown became the band's breakthrough album, debuting at number one on the Billboard 200 album chart and being driven by the singles "Spoonman", "The Day I Tried to Live", "Black Hole Sun", "My Wave", and "Fell on Black Days".[44] The songs on Superunknown captured the creativity and heaviness of the band's earlier works, while showcasing the group's newly evolving style. Lyrically, the album was quite dark and mysterious, and it is often interpreted to be dealing with substance abuse, suicide, and depression. At the time, Sylvia Plath inspired Cornell's writing.[45] The album was also more experimental than previous releases, with some songs incorporating Middle-Eastern or Indian music. J. D. Considine of Rolling Stone said Superunknown "demonstrates far greater range than many bands manage in an entire career". He also stated, "At its best, Superunknown offers a more harrowing depiction of alienation and despair than anything on [Nirvana's final studio album] In Utero."[46] The music video for "Black Hole Sun" became a hit on MTV, and received the award for Best Metal/Hard Rock Video at the 1994 MTV Video Music Awards,[47] and in 1995 the Clio Award for Alternative Music Video.[48] Soundgarden won two Grammy Awards in 1995—"Black Hole Sun" received the award for Best Hard Rock Performance and "Spoonman" received the award for Best Metal Performance.[20] The album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Album in 1995.[49] Superunknown has been certified five times Platinum in the United States and remains Soundgarden's most successful album.[1] The band began touring in January 1994 in Oceania and Japan,[50] areas where the record came out early[51] and where the band had never toured before.[52] This round of touring ended in February 1994. In March 1994 the band moved on to Europe.[50] They began a theater tour of the United States, first with a stop on May 27, 1994 at the PNE Forum in Vancouver,[50][53] with the opening acts Tad and Eleven.[51] In late 1994, after touring in support of Superunknown, doctors discovered that Cornell had severely strained his vocal cords, and Soundgarden canceled several shows to avoid causing any permanent damage. Cornell said, "I think we kinda overdid it! We were playing five or six nights a week and my voice pretty much took a beating. Towards the end of the American tour I felt like I could still kinda sing, but I wasn't really giving the band a fair shake. You don't buy a ticket to see some guy croak for two hours! That seemed like kind of a rip off."[54] The band made up the dates later in 1995.[55] Superunknown spawned the EP Songs from the Superunknown and the CD-ROM Alive in the Superunknown, both released in 1995.[citation needed] Down on the Upside and breakup (1996–1997) "Burden in My Hand" MENU0:00 'Burden in My Hand', according to reviewer J. D. Considine, "recall[s] the classic psychedelia of Cream's Wheels of Fire or Led Zeppelin's Led Zeppelin III"[56] Problems playing this file? See media help. Following the worldwide tour in support of Superunknown, the band began working on what would become their last studio album for over 15 years, choosing to produce the record themselves.[57] However, tensions within the group reportedly arose during the sessions, with Thayil and Cornell allegedly clashing over Cornell's desire to shift away from the heavy guitar riffing that had become the band's trademark.[58] Cornell said, "By the time we were finished, it felt like it had been kind of hard, like it was a long, hard haul. But there was stuff we were discovering."[59] The band's fifth album, Down on the Upside, was released on May 21, 1996. It was notably less heavy than the group's earlier albums, and marked a further departure from the band's grunge roots. At the time, Soundgarden explained that they wanted to experiment with other sounds,[60] including acoustic instrumentation. David Browne of Entertainment Weekly said, "Few bands since Led Zeppelin have so crisply mixed instruments both acoustic and electric."[61] The overall mood of the album's lyrics is less dark than on previous Soundgarden albums, with Cornell describing some songs as "self-affirming".[62] The album spawned several singles, including "Pretty Noose", "Burden in My Hand", and "Blow Up the Outside World". "Pretty Noose" was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance in 1997.[63] Despite favorable reviews and modest sales, the album did not match the sales or critical praise of Superunknown.[1] The band took a slot on the 1996 Lollapalooza tour with Metallica, who had insisted on Soundgarden's appearance on the tour.[64] After Lollapalooza, the band embarked on a world tour,[65] and already-existing tensions increased during it. When asked whether the band hated touring, Cornell replied: "We really enjoy it to a point, and then it gets tedious, because it becomes repetitious. You feel like fans have paid their money and they expect you to come out and play them your songs like the first time you ever played them. That's the point where we hate touring."[66] At the tour's last stop in Honolulu, Hawaii on February 9, 1997, Shepherd threw his bass into the air in frustration after suffering equipment failure, and then stormed off the stage.[67] The band retreated, with Cornell returning to end the show with a solo encore.[68] On April 9, 1997, the band announced it was disbanding. Thayil said, "It was pretty obvious from everybody's general attitude over the course of the previous half year that there was some dissatisfaction."[69] Cameron later said that Soundgarden was "eaten up by the business".[70] The band released a greatest hits collection entitled A-Sides on November 4, 1997, composed of 17 songs, including the previously-unreleased "Bleed Together", which had been recorded during the Down on the Upside recording sessions.[citation needed] Post-breakup activities (1998–2009) This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) A man playing a guitar and singing on stage at a concert. Frontman Chris Cornell performing live at the Montreux Jazz Festival, 2005 Cornell released a solo album in September 1999, entitled Euphoria Morning, which featured Matt Cameron on the track "Disappearing One". Later, in 2001, Cornell formed the platinum-selling supergroup Audioslave with Tom Morello, Tim Commerford and Brad Wilk, then-former members of Rage Against the Machine, which recorded three albums: Audioslave (2002), Out of Exile (2005), and Revelations (2006). Cornell left Audioslave in early 2007, resulting in the band's break-up.[71] His second solo album, Carry On, was released in June 2007, and his third solo album, Scream, produced by Timbaland, was released in March 2009, both to mixed commercial and critical success.[72][73] Cornell also wrote the lyrics and provided vocals for the song "Promise" on Slash's debut solo album Slash, released in 2010.[74] Thayil joined forces with former Dead Kennedys singer Jello Biafra, former Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic, and drummer Gina Mainwal for one show, performing as The No WTO Combo during the WTO ministerial conference in Seattle on December 1, 1999.[75] Thayil contributed guitar tracks to Steve Fisk's 2001 album, 999 Levels of Undo, as well as Dave Grohl's 2004 side-project album, Probot. In 2006, Thayil played guitar on the album Altar, the collaboration between the bands Sunn O))) and Boris.[76] Cameron initially turned his efforts to his side-project Wellwater Conspiracy, to which both Shepherd and Thayil have contributed. He then worked briefly with the Smashing Pumpkins on the band's 1998 album, Adore. In 1998, he played drums for Pearl Jam's Yield Tour following Jack Irons's health problems, and later joined Pearl Jam as an official member. He has recorded six albums as the band's drummer: Binaural (2000), Riot Act (2002), Pearl Jam (2006), Backspacer (2009), Lightning Bolt (2013) and Gigaton (2020). Cameron also played percussion on Geddy Lee's album My Favourite Headache. In 2017, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Pearl Jam.[77] Shepherd was the singer on Wellwater Conspiracy's 1997 debut studio album, Declaration of Conformity, but left the band in 1998. He has toured with Mark Lanegan and played bass on two of Lanegan's albums, I'll Take Care of You (1999), and Field Songs (2001). Shepherd and Cameron lent a hand with recording Tony Iommi's album IOMMI (2000). While they were members of Soundgarden they were part of the side-project band Hater, and in 2005 Shepherd released the band's long-delayed second album, The 2nd. In a July 2009 interview with Rolling Stone, Cornell shot down rumors of a reunion, saying that conversations between the band members had been limited to discussion about the release of a box set or B-sides album of Soundgarden rarities, and that there had been no discussion of a reunion at all.[78] The band's interest in new releases emerged from a 2008 meeting about their shared properties, both financial and legal, where they realized Soundgarden lacked online presence such as a website or a Facebook page. As Thayil summed up, "we kind of had neglected our merchandise over the last decade".[79] Eventually the musicians decided to create an official site handled by Pearl Jam's Ten Club, relaunch their catalog, and according to Cameron, seek "a bunch of unreleased stuff we wanted to try to put out". On March 2009, Thayil, Shepherd and Cameron got onstage during a concert by Tad Doyle in Seattle and played some Soundgarden songs. Cornell stated that the moment "sort of sparked the idea: If Matt, Kim, and Ben can get in a room, rehearse a couple songs, and play, maybe we all could do that as Soundgarden."[80][79] On October 6, 2009, all the members of Soundgarden attended Night 3 of Pearl Jam's four-night stand at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City, CA. During an encore, Temple of the Dog reunited for the first time since Pearl Jam's show at the Santa Barbara Bowl on October 28, 2003. Chris Cornell joined the band to sing "Hunger Strike". It was the first public appearance of Soundgarden since their breakup in April 1997. Consequently, rumors of an impending reunion were circulating on the Internet.[81] Reunion, Telephantasm and King Animal (2010–2013) Soundgarden performed at Lollapalooza in 2010. (L-R: Cornell, Cameron, and Shepherd. Not pictured: Thayil.) On January 1, 2010, Cornell alluded to a Soundgarden reunion on his Twitter account writing: "The 12-year break is over and school is back in session. Sign up now. Knights of the Soundtable ride again!" The message linked to a website that featured a picture of the group performing live and a place for fans to enter their e-mail addresses to get updates on the reunion. Entering that information unlocked a video for the song "Get on the Snake", from 1989's Louder Than Love.[82] On March 1, 2010, Soundgarden announced to their e-mail subscribers that they would be re-releasing an old single "Hunted Down" with the song "Nothing to Say" on a 7-inch vinyl record. It was released on April 17, Record Store Day. They released "Spoonman" live at the Del Mar Fairgrounds in San Diego, California from 1996. Soundgarden played their first show since 1997 on April 16 at the Showbox at the Market in the band's hometown of Seattle.[83] The band headlined Lollapalooza on August 8.[84] Telephantasm: A Retrospective, a new Soundgarden compilation album, was packaged with initial shipments of the Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock video game and released on September 28, 2010,[85] one week before the CD's availability in stores on October 5, 2010.[85] An expanded version of Telephantasm consisting of two CDs and one DVD is available for sale.[85] A previously unreleased Soundgarden song—"Black Rain"—debuted on the Guitar Hero video game and appears on the compilation album,[85][86] which achieved platinum certification status after its first day of retail availability.[87] "Black Rain" hit rock radio stations on August 10, 2010, and was the band's first single since 1997.[88] In November 2010, Soundgarden was the second musical guest on the show Conan, making their first television appearance in 13 years.[89] The band issued a 7-inch vinyl, "The Telephantasm", for Black Friday Record Store Day.[90] In March 2011, Soundgarden released their first live album, Live on I-5.[91] In February 2011 Soundgarden announced on their homepage that they had started recording a new album.[92] On March 1, 2011, Chris Cornell confirmed that Adam Kasper would produce it.[93] Four days later, the band stated it would consist of material that was "90 percent new" with the rest consisting of updated versions of older ideas. They also noted that they had 12 to 14 songs that were "kind of ready to go".[94] Although Cameron claimed the album would be released in 2011,[95] the recording was prolonged as Thayil said that "the more we enjoy it, the more our fans should end up enjoying it".[96][97] Thayil also reported that some songs sound "similar in a sense to Down on the Upside" and that the album would be "picking up where we left off. There are some heavy moments, and there are some fast songs."[98] The next day, Cornell reported that the new album would not be released until the spring of 2012.[99] Soundgarden performing in 2013 In April 2011, Soundgarden announced a summer tour consisting of four dates in July. The band headlined for Voodoo Experience at City Park in New Orleans on the 2011 Halloween weekend.[100] In March 2012 a post on the band's official Facebook page said a new song, "Live to Rise", would be included on the soundtrack of the upcoming movie The Avengers, based on the Marvel Comics franchise. It was the first newly recorded song the band had released since re-forming in 2010. "Live to Rise" was released as a free download on iTunes on April 17.[101] Also in March it was announced that Soundgarden would headline the Friday night of the Hard Rock Calling Festival the following July in London, England.[102] In April, Soundgarden announced the release of a box set titled Classic Album Selection for Europe, containing all of their studio albums except for Ultramega OK, and live album Live on I-5.[103] On May 5, just before The Offspring began playing their set, the band appeared as a special guest at the 20th annual KROQ Weenie Roast in Irvine, California.[104][105] Later that month, Soundgarden told Rolling Stone they were eyeing an October release for their new album.[106] That June, the band appeared at Download Festival in Donington, England. The band released "Been Away Too Long", the first single from their new album King Animal on September 27; the album was released on November 13, 2012.[107] The band released a video for "By Crooked Steps", directed by Dave Grohl, in early 2013.[108] "Halfway There" was the third single released from the album.[109] Echo of Miles... and Cornell's death (2013–2017) On November 15, 2013, drummer Matt Cameron announced he would not be touring with Soundgarden in 2014, due to prior commitments promoting Pearl Jam's album Lightning Bolt.[110] On March 16, 2014, Soundgarden and Nine Inch Nails announced they were going to tour North America together, along with opening act Death Grips.[111] Former Pearl Jam drummer Matt Chamberlain replaced Cameron for live shows in South America and Europe on March 27, 2014.[112][113] Soundgarden announced on October 28, 2014, they would release the 3-CD compilation box set, Echo of Miles: Scattered Tracks Across the Path, on November 24. The set includes rarities, live tracks, and unreleased material spanning the group's history. It includes previously released songs, such as "Live to Rise", "Black Rain", "Birth Ritual", and others, as well as a newly recorded rendition of the song "The Storm" from the band's pre-Matt Cameron 1985 demo, now simply titled "Storm", which was, like the original, produced by Jack Endino.[114] One day before its official announcement, on October 27, the band posted a copy of "Storm" on YouTube.[115] Thayil mentioned in several interviews it was likely the band would start working on material for a new album in 2015,[116][117] and in August 2015, Cornell stated they were doing so.[118] On January 19, 2016, The Pulse Of Radio announced that Soundgarden had returned to the studio to continue working on their new album.[119] On July 14, 2016, bassist Ben Shepherd and Cameron stated that the band had written "six solid tunes" for the new album, with more writing to be done in August.[120] On May 18, 2017, Cornell was found dead, "with a band around his neck", according to his representative, Brian Bumbery. Cornell was in his room at the MGM Grand hotel and casino in Detroit, Michigan, after performing at the Fox Theatre with Soundgarden.[121] From the outset, the investigation into the singer's death was described by a local police spokesperson as that of a "possible suicide", based on unspecified details in the room where his body was discovered.[122] Subsequently, the Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office determined the cause of death as suicide by hanging.[123] However, Cornell's widow, Vicky, questioned whether he would deliberately end his own life,[124] and said that the drug Ativan, which her husband was taking, might have led him to commit suicide. She said: "I know that he loved our children and he would not hurt them by intentionally taking his own life."[125] Following Cornell's death, Soundgarden canceled the rest of their 2017 tour,[126] including headlining performances at Rock on the Range and Rocklahoma later that month.[127] Aftermath and disbandment (2017–2019) In September 2017, drummer Matt Cameron told Billboard that he and the other surviving members of Soundgarden had yet to make a decision about the future of the band following Cornell's death. He was quoted as saying, "I don't think we're ready to say anything other than ... Kim and Ben and I are certainly aware of how much our fans are hurting, and we're certainly hurting right there along with them. But we're extremely private people, and we're all still processing our grief in our own way and on our own time. But we definitely are thinking of our fans and love them very much."[128] In September 2018, guitarist Kim Thayil told Billboard that he and the other surviving members of Soundgarden were still unsure about the future of the band. He was quoted as saying, "We often reference rock history and we've often commented on what other bands in similar situations have done, not as a plan or anything but just commenting on how bands have handled situations like this and what bands seem to have been graceful and dignified in how they manage their future musical endeavors and how some maybe were clumsy and callous. We think about those things. We try not to go too deep into these conversations, but stuff comes up after a few beers."[129] A month later, Cameron told Rolling Stone that the surviving members of Soundgarden "would certainly love to try to continue to do something, figure out something to do together." Bassist Ben Shepherd added, "We haven't even gotten a chance to hang out, just us three, yet. We're going through natural healing, then thinking about the natural next step."[130] In an October 2018 interview with Seattle Times, Thayil stated that the Soundgarden band name would be retired. He explained, "I don't know really what kind of thing is possible or what we would consider in the future. It's likely nothing. The four of us were that. There were four of us and now there's three of us, so it's just not likely that there's much to be pursued other than the catalog work at this point." Thayil also stated that while he does not rule out the possibility of working with Cameron and Shepherd in a different capacity, writing or touring under the Soundgarden banner again was unlikely. "No, I don't think that's anything we'd give reasonable consideration to at this point. When I say 'at this point,' I mean perhaps ever."[131] In January 2019, the remaining members of the band reunited in a tribute concert and fundraiser in The Forum in Inglewood, California, organized by Cornell's widow, Vicky Cornell. Members of Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog, Audioslave, Alice in Chains, Melvins, Foo Fighters, and Metallica together with other notable artists performed songs from Cornell's career. Taylor Momsen, Marcus Durant, Brandi Carlile, and Taylor Hawkins contributed vocals to Soundgarden, who performed "Rusty Cage", "Flower", "Outshined", "Drawing Flies", "Loud Love", "I Awake", "The Day I Tried to Live", and "Black Hole Sun", making this their only performance since Cornell's death.[132] On June 25, 2019, The New York Times Magazine listed Soundgarden among hundreds of artists whose master tapes were reportedly destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire.[133] In July 2019, Thayil said in an interview with Music Radar that the surviving members of Soundgarden are trying to finish and release the album they were working on with Cornell. However, the master files of Cornell's vocal recordings are currently being withheld, and when Thayil sought permission to use these files, he was denied.[134] Musical style and influences Soundgarden were pioneers of the grunge music genre,[135][136] which mixed elements of punk rock and metal to make a sludgy, murky sound through the use of fuzzy-sounding distortion in the guitars.[137] "Soundgarden are quite good..." remarked Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi, "It's very much like the same sort of stuff that we would have done."[138] Soundgarden's sound during the early years of the Seattle grunge scene has been described as consisting of "gnarled neo-Zeppelinisms".[139] The influence of Led Zeppelin was evident, with Q magazine noting that Soundgarden were "in thrall to '70s rock, but contemptuous of the genre's overt sexism and machismo."[140] According to Sub Pop, the band had "a hunky lead singer and fused Led Zeppelin and the Butthole Surfers".[141] The Butthole Surfers' mix of punk, heavy metal and noise rock was a major influence on the early work of Soundgarden.[141] The band was also influenced by the likes of the Ramones,[142] Kiss,[143] Accept,[144] the Melvins[145] and Saint Vitus.[145] The name of the band, according to Thayil, was supposed to include the many roots of their style: that included "a virtual plethora of cutting edge rock that spans Velvet Underground, Meat Puppets, and Killing Joke". The band also mentioned "Metallica Gothicism and sublime poetry. The almost ethereal flavour of the name betrays the brutality of the music but never pins Soundgarden in one corner".[146] Black Sabbath also had a huge impact on the band's sound, especially on the guitar riffs[147] and tunings.[148] Joel McIver stated: "Soundgarden are one of the bands I've heard closest to the original Sabbath sound."[149] Soundgarden, like other early grunge bands, were also influenced by British post-punk bands such as Gang of Four and Bauhaus which were popular in the early 1980s Seattle scene.[150] Cornell himself said: "When Soundgarden formed we were post-punk – pretty quirky. Then somehow we found this neo-Sabbath psychedelic rock that fitted well with who we were."[151] Thayil described the band's sound as a "Sabbath-influenced punk".[152] Soundgarden broadened its musical range with its later releases. By 1994's Superunknown, the band began to incorporate more psychedelic influences into its music.[153][154] As a member of Soundgarden, Cornell became known for his wide vocal range and his dark, existentialist lyrics.[155][156][157] Soundgarden often used alternative tunings in its songs. Many Soundgarden songs were performed in drop D tuning, including "Jesus Christ Pose", "Outshined", "Spoonman", "Black Hole Sun", and "Black Rain". The E strings of the instruments were at times tuned even lower, such as on "Rusty Cage", where the lower E is tuned down to B.[158] Some songs use more unorthodox tunings: "Been Away Too Long", "My Wave", and "The Day I Tried to Live" are all in a E–E–B–B–B–B tuning and "Burden in My Hand", "Head Down", and "Pretty Noose" in a tuning of C-G-C-G-G-E".[159] Soundgarden also used unorthodox time signatures; "Fell on Black Days" is in 6/4, "Limo Wreck" is played in 15/8, and "The Day I Tried to Live" alternates between 7/8 and 4/4 sections.[159] The main guitar riff of "Circle of Power" is in 5/4.[160] Thayil has said Soundgarden usually did not consider the time signature of a song until after the band wrote it, and said the use of odd meters was "a total accident".[159] He also used the meters as an example of the band's anti-commercial stance, saying that if Soundgarden "were in the business of hit singles, we'd at least write songs in 4/4 so you could dance to them".[161] Legacy The development of the Seattle independent record label Sub Pop is tied closely to Soundgarden, since Sub Pop co-founder Jonathan Poneman funded Soundgarden's early releases, and the band's success led to the expansion of Sub Pop as a serious record label. Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain was a fan of Soundgarden's music,[162] and reportedly Soundgarden's involvement with Sub Pop influenced Cobain to sign Nirvana with the label.[47] Cobain also stated that Soundgarden was one of the only Seattle bands that he liked along with Tad and Mudhoney.[163] In rare footage from the 2015 documentary Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck, Cobain can be seen impersonating Chris Cornell singing "Outshined".[164] Alice in Chains guitarist and vocalist, Jerry Cantrell stated that Soundgarden was a big influence on his band.[165] Soundgarden was the first grunge band to sign to a major label when the band joined the roster of A&M Records in 1989. However, Soundgarden did not achieve success initially, and only with successive album releases did the band meet with increased sales and wider attention.[58] Bassist Ben Shepherd has not been receptive to the grunge label, saying in a 2013 interview "That's just marketing. It's called rock and roll, or it's called punk rock or whatever. We never were Grunge, we were just a band from Seattle."[166] They were ranked No. 14 on VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock.[3] In 1994, Electronic Arts approached Cornell about featuring Soundgarden's music in a CD-based entry in the Road Rash video game series. Cornell agreed, as him and his band members were big fans of the games and frequently played them on their bus while touring the country.[167] Regarding Soundgarden's legacy, in a 2007 interview Cornell said: "I think, and this is now with some distance in listening to the records, but on the outside looking in with all earnestness I think Soundgarden made the best records out of that scene. I think we were the most daring and experimental and genre-pushing really and I'm really proud of it. And I guess that's why I have trepidation about the idea of re-forming. I don't know what it would mean, or I guess I just have this image of who we were and I had probably a lot of anxiety during the period of being Soundgarden, as we all did, that it was responsibility and it was an important band and music and we didn't want to mess it up and we managed to not, which I feel is a great achievement."[168] Soundgarden has been praised for its technical musical ability, and the expansion of its sound as the band's career progressed.[169][170] "Heavy yet ethereal, powerful yet always-in-control, Soundgarden's music was a study in contrasts," said Henry Wilson of Hit Parader. Wilson proclaimed the band's music as "a brilliant display of technical proficiency tempered by heart-felt emotion".[170] Soundgarden is one of the bands credited with the development of the genre of alternative metal,[171] with Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic stating that "Soundgarden made a place for heavy metal in alternative rock."[35] Ben Ratliff of Rolling Stone defined Soundgarden as the "standard-bearers" of the rock riff during the 1990s.[172] The band inspired and influenced a number of metalcore bands such as Between the Buried and Me and the Dillinger Escape Plan.[173][174][175] In 2017, Metal Injection ranked Soundgarden at number three on their list of 10 Heaviest Grunge Bands.[176] Members Kim Thayil – lead guitar (1984–1997, 2010–2019) Chris Cornell – lead vocals (1984–1997, 2010–2017), rhythm guitar (1988–1997, 2010–2017), drums (1984–1985); died 2017 Hiro Yamamoto – bass, backing vocals (1984–1989) Scott Sundquist – drums (1985–1986) Matt Cameron – drums, backing vocals (1986–1997, 2010–2019) Jason Everman – bass (1989–1990) Ben Shepherd – bass, backing vocals (1990–1997, 2010–2019) Timeline Discography For a more comprehensive list, see Soundgarden discography. Studio albums Ultramega OK (1988) Louder Than Love (1989) Badmotorfinger (1991) Superunknown (1994) Down on the Upside (1996) King Animal (2012) Awards and nominations Clio Awards Year Nominee / work Award Result 1995 "Black Hole Sun" Alternative Music Video Won Grammy Awards Year Nominated work Award Result 1990 Ultramega OK Best Metal Performance Nominated 1992 Badmotorfinger Nominated 1993 "Into the Void (Sealth)" Nominated 1994 "Spoonman" Won "Black Hole Sun" Best Hard Rock Performance Won Best Rock Song Nominated Superunknown Best Rock Album Nominated 1997 "Pretty Noose" Best Hard Rock Performance Nominated 2011 "Black Rain" Best Hard Rock Performance Nominated MTV Europe Music Awards Year Nominee / work Award Result 1994 Soundgarden Best Rock Nominated MTV Video Music Awards Year Nominee / work Award Result 1994 "Black Hole Sun" Best Metal/Hard Rock Video Won Northwest Area Music Awards Year Nominee / work Award Result 1991 Chris Cornell Best Male Vocalist Won Matt Cameron Best Musician - Drums Won Soundgarden Best Rock Group[177] Won 1992 Matt Cameron Best Drums Won Chris Cornell Best Male Vocalist Won Badmotorfinger Best Metal Album Won Soundgarden Best Metal Group[178] Won Revolver Music Awards Year Nominee / work Award Result 2013 King Animal Album of the Year Nominated Soundgarden Comeback of the Year Nominated Kim Thayil Best Guitarist Nominated Chris Cornell Best Vocalist[179] Nominated Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Year Nominee / work Award Result 2020 Soundgarden Performers[180] Nominated Soundgarden and Audioslave frontman Chris Cornell died by suicide late Wednesday, Variety has confirmed. He died in Detroit after performing with his longtime band Soundgarden on May 17. The Wayne County Medical Examiner’s office issued a statement Thursday confirming the cause of death: “The Medical Examiner has completed the autopsy on 52-year-old Chris Cornell, the Soundgarden musician who died last night in Detroit. The cause of death has been determined as suicide by hanging. A full autopsy report has not yet been completed. There is no additional information at this time.” Michael Woody, director of media relations for the Detroit Police, told Variety Cornell’s wife asked a friend to check on the singer, the friend forced opened the door and found Cornell on the bathroom floor. Cornell was pronounced dead at the scene. He was 52. A rep for the singer issued the following statement in the early hours of May 18: “Chris Cornell passed away late Wednesday night in Detroit, MI. His wife Vicky and family were shocked to learn of his sudden and unexpected passing, and they will be working closely with the medical examiner to determine the cause. They would like to thank his fans for their continuous love and loyalty and ask that their privacy be respected at this time.” Cornell sent a tweet just hours before his final show, posting a photo of the Fox Theater and a caption complete with a reference to Kiss, a band that influenced him deeply as a teen: “#Detroit finally back to Rock City!!!! @soundgarden #nomorebulls—.” Cornell, a key figure in the Seattle grunge scene with a powerful four-octave voice, founded Soundgarden in 1984 with guitarist Kim Thayil, drummer Matt Cameron and bassist Hiro Yamamoto. Along with Green River — which ultimately split into two bands, Pearl Jam and Mudhoney — Soundgarden were the vanguards of the movement of long-haired, hard-rocking bands that emerged from the city in the mid-to-late 1980s. Their debut single, “Hunted Down,” was the first release on the soon-to-be deeply influential Sub Pop record label in the summer of 1987, and it was followed by the “Screaming Life” EP in November. The band’s sound, a then-unusual fusion of garagey indie rock with a slightly sarcastic take on the stadium-rock (Aerosmith, Kiss) that its members grew up on, found an audience as the band toured extensively. Yet Soundgarden’s members were wary of the optics of signing with a major label too quickly — even though they were already deep in negotiations with majors — and instead chose to release their debut full-length, 1988’s “Ultramega OK”; ironically, the band had already signed A&M at the time of the album’s release. The following year saw the band’s push for the big time: Its major label debut, “Louder Than Love,” arrived in the fall of 1989, and driven by songs like “Loud Love” and “Big Dumb Sex” (with its profane chorus), the band began finding an audience outside the indie scene that had nurtured it. They toured hard into the next year — notably with fellow rising rockers Faith No More — before woodshedding their next album. Several key events took place in 1990 and ’91 that profoundly shaped the band’s career. First, in April 1990, Mother Love Bone singer Andrew Wood — a close friend and former roommate of Cornell’s — died of a heroin overdose just weeks before the band released its promising debut album. As a way of grieving, Cornell united with Cameron, Mother Love Bone members Jeff Ament and Stone Gossard (both of whom had been in Green River) and a promising young singer named Eddie Vedder whom Ament and Gossard were considering for their next band. The resulting album, “Temple of the Dog,” was released rather quietly on A&M in mid-1991, but took on a whole new dimension when Pearl Jam — the band Ament, Gossard and Vedder went on to form — Nirvana, and the entire Seattle scene vaulted into the mainstream the following year. Next, Soundgarden released “Badmotorfinger,” which showed vast maturity in both the band’s performance and, via songs like “Rusty Cage” and “Outshined,” its Cornell-driven songwriting; the album was nominated for a Grammy Awards (albeit for Best Heavy Metal Performance) the following year. And in 1992, just as the grunge wave was cresting, came the Cameron Crowe-directed film “Singles,” a celebration of Seattle’s scene and sound, which starred Matt Dillon and Bridget Fonda and featured many characters from the area’s rock world. Soundgarden performs in the film and appears on the soundtrack, yet perhaps its most memorable moment in the film comes when Dillon and Cornell briefly groove together to music; Cornell’s presence actually outshines that of the far more famous actor. The film’s soundtrack, which was certified platinum at the time by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), just last week received a deluxe reissue featuring several rare and previously unreleased tracks, including Cornell’s rare solo “Poncier” EP. The group was a highlight on the second Lollapalooza tour in 1992, which also featured Pearl Jam. The scene was set for Soundgarden to rise to superstardom, and they did not miss their moment. “Superunknown,” which was released in March 1994, debuted atop the Billboard 200 album chart and featured a string of radio smashes from the album, including “Spoonman” and “Black Hole Sun,” both of which won Grammy Awards in 1995. “Superunknown” would eventually sell more than 5 million copies, according to the RIAA. The band returned with 1996’s “Down On the Upside,” but tensions between Cornell and Kim Thayil, along with the decline of the Seattle sound and the overall burnout of 12 years together, led to their split in 1997. The band would not play together again until 2010. In 1999, Cornell ventured out on his own and with the album “Euphoria Morning,” which showed a more introspective and softer side to his songwriting. While critically well-received, the album was not a commercial success, and by 2001 Cornell reverted to his rocker muse and formed the band Audioslave with the members of Rage Against the Machine, who had recently parted ways with singer Zack De La Rocha. The band’s self-titled debut was released in 2002 and yielded another hit, “Cochise.” Audioslave’s “Like a Stone” was also nominated for a Grammy. The band would go on to release two more albums, before calling it quits in 2007. Cornell’s solo career would kick into high-gear in 2006 with the song “You Know My Name,” written for the James Bond film “Casino Royale.” He would receive a Golden Globe Award for the track. The following  year, Cornell released a solo album, “Carry On,” which was produced by Steve Lillywhite. It was released to mixed reviews. Cornell followed with his most pop effort to date, 2009’s “Scream,” which saw him collaborating with R&B producer Timbaland and Onerepubic frontman Ryan Tedder; Justin Timberlake even appeared on a song. While the album was his highest charting solo release — debuting at No. 10 on the Billboard 200 — Cornell was lambasted critically and by peers including Trent Reznor, who called the album “embarassing.” Around that time Cornell covered the Michael Jackson song “Billie Jean” in an acoustic rendition that gained unexpected currency when Jackson died in June of 2009. In 2010, Cornell began hinting at a Soundgarden reunion, which would eventually take place at Lollapalooza in April of that year. Over the past few years he generally alternated between solo work, releasing the albums”Songbook” (2011), and “Higher Truth” (2015), Soundgarden (which released its first new album in 16 years, “King Animal,” in 2012, and did a tour around the 20th anniversary of “Superunknown” in 2014) and a Temple of the Dog reunion. In 2014, that group emerged from hibernation when Cornell joined Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder at Neil Young’s Bridge School Benefit to perform “Hunger Strike,” and the band did a rapturously received reunion tour in 2016, marking the 25th anniversary of Temple of the Dog’s debut album. With Soundgarden, Cornell won two Grammy Awards from 14 nominations, and a 1994 MTV Video Music Award for “Black Hole Sun.” AD According to Nielsen Music, across his entire catalog (Soundgarden, Audioslave and solo) he sold 14,865,000 albums, 8,808,000 digital songs and had 300,091,000 on-demand audio streams. The top sellers were Soundgarden’s “Superunknown” (3,859,000), “Badmotorfinger” (1,615,000) and 1996’s “Down on the Upside” (1,606,000); the band’s top songs were “Black Hole Sun” (1,044,000 sold, 45.4 million streams), “Spoonman” (431,000 sold, nearly 15 million streams) and “Fell on Black Days (420,000 sold, 13.7 million streams). Audioslave sold 3.5 million copies of its self-titled debut and 1.2 million of its “Out of Exile” follow-up; its top song was “Like a Stone” (908,000 sold, 31.8 million streams). Cornell’s solo albums “Out of Exile” sold 1.2 million, while his debut “Euphoria Morning” moved 393,000 units. His top songs were “You Know My Name” (323,000 sold, 3.5 million streams), “Nearly Forgot My Broken Heart” (“5.5 million streams) and his cover of Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” (125,000 sold). Cornell had struggled with substance abuse throughout much of his life, including a bout with Oxycontin for which in 2009 he admitted had sent him into rehab. He had been sober since 2002. He is survived by his wife, Vicky Karayiannis, and three children: Lillian, Toni, and Christopher. Chris Cornell is a rock icon who thrives on contradictions. An innovator who resists genre labels, he was nonetheless the chief architect of the 90s grunge movement. Frequently ranked as one of the best voices in music history, he has successfully maintained his own unique identity over more than two decades as a multi-Grammy award winning musician and universally acclaimed singer, songwriter and lyricist. Seattle trailblazers Soundgarden were a law to themselves, edgy, dark and deeply individual. Their savage soundscapes, coupled with Cornell’s incisive lyrics and predatory roar, seduced audiences hungry for musical depth and complexity while leading trends in street fashion and iconic design. In 1989, they became the first Seattle band to sign to a major label. Their sound continued to change and evolve over the course of five pioneering albums. Celebrated side project Temple of the Dog had already shown Cornell’s more soulful side and introduced future Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder to the world. Later, Cornell shocked the business once again with richly melodic, critically acclaimed solo album “Euphoria Morning”, swiftly recognized for its alienation and despair. And as the millennium turned, he joined with three other musical pioneers from rap-rock’s Rage Against The Machine to create Audioslave - a multi-platinum supergroup which lived to deny its detractors, producing three top-selling albums, touring the world and becoming the first American band to bring rock to Castro’s Cuba. Since then, Cornell has redefined his sound and vision to encompass new music, new collaborations and new activities. Having contributed solo songs to movie soundtracks from “Great Expectations” to “Mission Impossible II”, he became the first American male singer to write the theme song for the James Bond franchise in “Casino Royale.” His bold and bluesy reinvention of Michael Jackson dance classic “Billie Jean” courted controversy and attracted imitators. And his triumphant world tour brought together songs from every stage of his career, reinterpreting them for new audiences and blending their original fire with the shock of the new. Cornell fronted fashion designer John Varvatos’s Spring 2006 collection, helped revive a historic Parisian restaurant/nightclub, the stylish Black Calavados, and forged the first-ever multimedia partnership between an artist and a commercial airline, Virgin America. 2008 culminated in an appearance at the Kennedy Center Honors Gala in Washington DC in front of the President. Cornell paid tribute to Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend of the Who with a triumphant performance of their classic "Won't Get Fooled Again", which, according to the Washington Times, "brought down the house." 2009 saw the release of his latest solo album "Scream" while Chris continued to tour worldwide, co-headlining a European tour with Lenny Kravitz and playing his first-ever live solo show in Israel. Only the most confident would claim to predict exactly what comes next for Chris Cornell. Always eclectic, always experimental, his collaboration "Scream" with super-producer Timbaland – who calls the album “the best work I’ve done in my career” – took him into fresh territory, establishing a new sound and marking the creation of a masterpiece that breaks all musical boundaries. More recently, Cornell's studio collaborations with artists as diverse as Slash and Italian nu-jazz outfit Gabin have stood alongside intimate live shows showcasing songs from throughout his career. In April 2010, Soundgarden announced they will make a historic return to the live stage as headliners for Chicago's Lollapalooza festival this year. Only one thing’s for sure – Chris Cornell will continue to break rules, make history and challenge everyone’s expectations.
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