Chris Cornell

Chris Cornell fronted Soundgarden as lead singer while also launching an independent path once the group first disbanded in 1997. Soundgarden had established itself among rock’s leading acts through the impact of releases such as Badmotorfinger and Superunknown. Across successive albums Cornell’s voice matured, shifting from aggressive metal shouts toward a more refined and melodic delivery. His debut solo record Euphoria Morning followed a singer/songwriter direction, yet he ventured into mainstream pop with the 2009 album Scream, assisted by producer Timbaland. He further collaborated with former Rage Against the Machine musicians to create Audioslave and maintained an active schedule of recording and live work as both a solo performer and a member of the reunited Soundgarden until his death in 2017. Later projects such as the 2020 album No One Sings Like You Anymore, Vol. 1 sustained appreciation for his commanding and nuanced vocal presence.

Born in Seattle on July 20, 1964, Cornell did not begin shaping a music career until his teenage years, when he started drumming in a local cover band. Though he remained largely withdrawn through adolescence, rock music eased his social discomfort. After leaving high school and taking a job as a cook, he helped lay the groundwork for the influential grunge outfit Soundgarden by the mid-1980s. He took on vocal duties alongside bassist friend Hiro Yamamoto, guitarist Kim Thayil, and eventually drummer Matt Cameron.

Together with the Melvins, Soundgarden ranked among the earliest rock acts to stretch punk’s brisk energy into a slower, Black Sabbath-inspired crawl. After issuing several independent recordings, Soundgarden became one of the first Seattle underground bands to secure a major-label deal with A&M, which released Louder Than Love in 1989. Following that album’s appearance Yamamoto departed, succeeded first by ex-Nirvana bassist Jason Everman and later by Ben Shepherd. With this classic lineup intact the group rose to widespread rock prominence through albums such as 1991’s Badmotorfinger, 1994’s Superunknown, and 1996’s Down on the Upside. Cornell’s singing continued to strengthen on each release as he gained greater command over his multi-octave range.

Cornell’s abilities extended beyond Soundgarden from the outset. In tribute to the late Mother Love Bone singer Andrew Wood he assembled the 1990 Temple of the Dog project, whose spare arrangements produced the lasting hit “Hunger Strike.”

His earliest officially issued solo piece, the acoustic “Seasons,” stood out on the 1992 soundtrack for the film Singles. Under the pseudonym M.A.C.C. he delivered a blues-inflected reading of Jimi Hendrix’s “Hey Baby (New Rising Sun)” for the 1993 compilation Stone Free: A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix. He also wrote material for other artists including Flotsam & Jetsam and Alice Cooper while producing the Screaming Trees’ 1991 album Uncle Anesthesia. After Soundgarden disbanded in April 1997, Cornell gradually assembled his first solo album with assistance from members of the band Eleven.

Released in 1999, Euphoria Morning marked a clear departure from Soundgarden’s style by spotlighting Cornell’s vocals and lyrics over dense guitar riffs. Soon after its issuance he embarked on his initial solo tour, blending material from every phase of his work. When the tour ended in early 2000 a modest remix of the Euphoria Morning song “Mission,” retitled “Mission 2000,” appeared on the Mission: Impossible 2 soundtrack. Cornell seemed poised for a hiatus after his wife gave birth to their first child in June of that year, yet by late 2000 he had joined a project that promised a landmark hard-rock partnership.

Following Zack de la Rocha’s departure, Rage Against the Machine chose not to disband but instead sought a new vocalist and continued under another name. Cornell accepted an offer to jam and co-write several songs, which guitarist Tom Morello later called “really groundbreaking,” and shortly afterward he formally united with the remaining Rage members as Audioslave. Produced by Rick Rubin, the self-titled debut arrived in November 2002 and achieved multi-platinum status. Its successor, 2005’s Out of Exile, entered the Billboard charts at number one and was followed by the platinum-certified Revelations in 2006. Despite this success Cornell exited the band that same year, attributing the split to irreconcilable differences.

He resumed solo activity with 2007’s Carry On. While largely autobiographical the album included a cover of Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean,” later popularized by American Idol contestant David Cook, along with a track from the James Bond film Casino Royale. In 2008 the new singles “Ground Zero” and “Watch Out” surfaced as digital downloads that highlighted electronic textures and studio production. These tracks originated from sessions with producer Timbaland that led to Cornell’s third solo album. Laden with drum-machine beats and R&B hooks, Scream appeared in March 2009; Timbaland praised it as “the best work I’ve done in my career,” though critics gave it a mixed reception.

In 2010 Soundgarden joined the wave of 1990s alternative acts that reunited during the 2000s and 2010s, headlining Lollapalooza and issuing the archival sets Telephantasm and Live on I-5, which captured the band’s 1996 tour, while also cutting new material. The next spring Cornell again focused on solo work with the acoustic Songbook tour, which yielded two EPs and the album Songbook, all released in 2011. That September he contributed a track to the Machine Gun Preacher soundtrack. Soundgarden’s first full-length since Down on the Upside, King Animal, surfaced in November 2012 and was supported by a tour. Cornell returned to solo recording in 2015, enlisting producer Brendan O’Brien for Higher Truth, his first set of original solo songs since Scream.

Cornell rejoined Soundgarden in 2016 as the band began work on a new album. In the interim the group issued a deluxe reissue of Ultramega OK in March 2017 and launched an American tour that April. On May 17, after a performance at Detroit’s Fox Theater, Cornell was discovered deceased in his hotel room; he had died by suicide at age 52. The following year the career-spanning compilation Chris Cornell appeared, gathering key tracks from his Soundgarden and Audioslave periods as well as highlights from his solo catalog and one previously unreleased song. “When Bad Does Good” earned Best Rock Performance at the 61st Grammy Awards.

Posthumous releases began arriving in 2019 with the summer issue of the Soundgarden concert album Live from the Artists Den. In 2020 the covers collection No One Sings Like You Anymore, Vol. 1, completed before his death, was issued digitally, followed by a physical edition in early 2021. Both the album and its single “Nothing Compares 2 U” received Grammy nominations in 2021.