Chris Cornell: A Tribute
May 18th was a dark day for the rock and metal community as we lost yet another shining star and visionary in the incomparable Chris Cornell.
A humble family man from Seattle, Washington who alongside his compatriots formed SOUNDGARDEN in 1984, a band that are still considered to be one of the biggest catalysts of the 90’s grunge movement revolutionising the world of music forever. His mesmerising and emphatic vocal performances became a staple of their sound as they proceeded to create timeless classics such as Black Hole Sun, Spoonman, Rusty Cage amongst others which will be forever ingrained in every fibre of our beings as they received multiple plaudits from their peers as well as their multitude of fans achieving many awards at the MTV Music Awards and the Grammy‘s for Best Rock Video, Best Metal Performance and Best Hard Rock Performance.
Their album Superunknown reached dizzying heights as it reached number 1 in the US and Australian charts going multi-platinum. During his time in SOUNDGARDEN he also created an album alongside Eddie Vedder, Mike McCready, Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament (who would later become the components of legendary band PEARL JAM) in tribute to his long time friend Andrew Wood, the lead singer of MOTHER LOVE BONE.
His success didn’t stop there as he further proved his diversity releasing various solo albums including his incredible performance on You Know My Name which became the theme song for the critically acclaimed James Bond film Casino Royale as well as going on to front the supergroup AUDIOSLAVE alongside Tom Morello, Tim Commerford and Brad Wilk after the dissolution of RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE as their debut album stormed the charts also receiving multi-platinum status with hits such as Cochise and Like A Stone.
Due to dissatisfaction in the ranks SOUNDGARDEN called it a day in 1997 before eventually reforming in 2010 playing a secret show in Seattle under the anagram Nudedragons which led to them playing a string of festival dates and recording a new album in 2012 entitled King Animal.
On the morning of May 18th social media and news stations were flooded with the news that Chris Cornell had been pronounced dead at the age of 52 after performing a show with SOUNDGARDEN the previous night in Detroit. Musicians and fans from all walks of life displayed their own tributes to Chris Cornell as we all expressed our shock and sadness at the loss of one of the true greats. A memorial service was held on May 26th for Chris in Hollywood where it was attended by some of the biggest names in popular culture such as Lars Ulrich, Dave Grohl, Krist Novaselic, Jerry Cantrell, Pharell Williams and his former band members from SOUNDGARDEN, TEMPLE OF THE DOG and RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE as well as actors Brad Pitt, Christian Bale and James Franco which is a true testament to his creative vision, outstanding talent and to just how many people he touched with his music.
We may have lost another legend but his memory will forever live on through his countless contributions to the world of music. Thank you Chris Cornell, we will miss you greatly.
Chris Cornell – 1964 – 2017 RIP
