Chris Cornell (1964-2017) Lead Singer of Soundgarden & Audioslave

[Zoneboy]

Link

Rocker Chris Cornell, who gained fame as the lead singer of the bands Soundgarden and later Audioslave, has died at age 52, according to his representative.

Cornell, who had been on tour, died Wednesday night in Detroit, Brian Bumbery said in a statement to The Associated Press.

Bumbery called the death "sudden and unexpected" and said his wife and family were shocked by it. The statement said the family would be working closely with the medical examiner to determine the cause and asked for privacy.

With his powerful, nearly four-octave vocal range, Cornell was one of the leading voices of the 1990s grunge movement with Soundgarden, which emerged as one of the biggest bands out of Seattle's emerging music scene, joining the likes of Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains.

Formed in 1984 by Cornell, guitarist Kim Thayil and bassist Hiro Yamamoto, Soundgarden's third studio album, "Badmotorfinger," in 1991 spawned enormously popular singles "Jesus Christ Pose," ''Rusty Cage" and "Outshined" that received regular play on alternative rock radio stations.

Cornell also collaborated with members of what would become Pearl Jam to form Temple of the Dog, which produced a self-titled album in 1991 in tribute to friend Andrew Wood, former frontman for Mother Love Bone.

Chris Cornell arrives at the U.S. premiere of The Promise at the TCL Chinese Theatre on April 12, 2017 in Los Angeles.

Three years later, Soundgarden broke through on mainstream radio with the album Superunknown, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and was nominated for a Grammy for Best Rock Record in 1995. It included hit singles "Spoonman," ''Fell on Black Days," ''Black Hole Sun," ''My Wave" and "The Day I Tried to Live."

Soundgarden disbanded in 1997 due to tensions in the band, and Cornell pursued a solo career. In 2001, he joined Audioslave, a supergroup that included former Rage Against the Machine members Tom Morello, Brad Wilk and Tim Commerford. The band released three albums in six years and also performed at a concert billed as Cuba's first outdoor rock concert by an American band, though some Cuban artists have disputed that claim.

Audioslave disbanded in 2007, but Cornell and Soundgarden reunited in 2012 and released the band's sixth studio album, King Animal in 2012.

In addition to his music, Cornell also became involved in philanthropy and started the Chris and Vicky Cornell Foundation to support children facing challenges, including homelessness, poverty, abuse and neglect.

[Hawkee]

Wasn't Soundgarden the rock group that had the hit song Black Hole Sun? Because when my cousin and I would watch MTV we thought the video for Black Hole Sun was always funny but weird. What a shock that Chris Cornell is gone because they recently reissued Soundgarden's debut album and I wonder now that Chris is gone I wonder if Soundgarden's albums will be collector's items for fans
Bestie

[Zoneboy]

"Black Hole Sun" - Soundgarden

http://tinyurl.com/luqql3g

[80sTrivia]

Just heard the news and immediately pulled up Audioslave's Like a Stone on YouTube, with Chris as lead singer. This song had one of the greatest guitar riffs in rock history. Wow, he died so young...

[Zoneboy]

Originally Posted by LaBestia

Wasn't Soundgarden the rock group that had the hit song Black Hole Sun?
Bestie

Yes and I tried to post the video, but the board filter refused to allow it. It also wouldn't let me post just the link because the last 3 letters of the URL spelled out a slur toward gays. The filter couldn't distinguish that wasn't the intent and because the last 3 letters were automatically censored with *** that meant the video nor the link was going to work. My only other choice was to get a new URL at tinyurl.com.

[Jaqui-Michel]

Wow! I just saw an interview with him on Earth Day. He did an acoustic version of Black Hole Sun. My best friend and I referred to him as our "imaginary baby daddy". So young, so talented, so everything. RIP Chris Cornell.

[1960'sTVfan]

R.I.P., sad news but honestly I'm not familiar with him because by the time he came along and his bands were popular I had pretty much stopped following the music scene. I was really into music thruout the 70's and up till about 1986, after that is when I began to lose interest. During the past 30 years I've made only a rare and occasional new music purchase.

[MrCleveland]

Originally Posted by LaBestia

Wasn't Soundgarden the rock group that had the hit song Black Hole Sun? Because when my cousin and I would watch MTV we thought the video for Black Hole Sun was always funny but weird. What a shock that Chris Cornell is gone because they recently reissued Soundgarden's debut album and I wonder now that Chris is gone I wonder if Soundgarden's albums will be collector's items for fans
Bestie

Yep...the weirdest part of the vid was the girl spitting-out her ice cream cone while watching her Barbie melt...pure bizarreness!

[AB]

Rest in peace.

[ABlairican Pie]

This was the first thing I saw when I saw the KNAC.com site a few minutes ago. This is absolutely unbelievable. So talented, but yet another tragic casualty of the Seattle scene.

It's strange how the only thing people think about Soundgarden is "Black Hole Sun", when their career goes well back into the 80's, and they sounded very little like their mid-90's hit. What set Soundgarden apart from everything else going on the late 80's was that they had this sludgy, drone-y, detuned guitar sound reminescent of Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin. They were in fact inspired by many punk and avant-garde cutting edge bands that made them difficult to categorize on albums such as "Ultramega OK" and "Screaming Life". In 1989, when they signed to a major record label, their album "Louder Than Love" introduced them to a wider audience hungry for music that straddled the line between metal and the growing alternative scene.

[ABlairican Pie]

I am actually hearing "Rusty Cage" right now on KNAC.com.

[JO Sweet Heart]

I've seen it said that suicide is why the guy is not here anymore. My newest musical interest happens to be someone who sadly went out like that too and so my prayers are with Chris's fans. May they hold onto the fact that they got to be a part on his journey because not everyone can say that about their favorite singers.

God bless you always!!!

Holly

P.S. Who have I been listening to lately? The lead guy of this group...what a beautiful precious.

[ABlairican Pie]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQOOgQtLI4M

[Penny Lane]

My son was at that concert last night. I don't know much about the band. It's a mystery why someone so young and successful would take his own life. I had heard that he suffered with depression. So very sad.

[ABlairican Pie]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0xosEFe8Ik