Soundgarden Founder Chris Cornell Dead at 52

[Tucker301]

Just damn.

---

[h=1]Chris Cornell, Lead Singer Of Soundgarden And AudioSlave, Dies At 52[/h]
May 18, 20175:34 AM ET
DOREEN MCCALLISTER

Chris Cornell gained fame as the lead singer to the grunge band Soundgarden and later with Audioslave.

Brian Bumbery, Cornell's representative, released a statement to NPR on the singer's death:

"Chris Cornell passed away late last 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."​

Soundgarden was formed in 1984 by Cornell, guitarist Kim Thayil and Bassist Hiro Yamamoto — it went on to become one of the biggest bands of the 1990s grunge movement.

Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains were other bands to come out of the Northwestern grunge-rock scene at about the same time.

Soundgarden found a place 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.
Cornell pursued a solo career after Soundgarden broke up in 1997.

In 2001, Cornell joined Audioslave and the band released three albums — disbanding in 2007.

Later, Cornell and Soundgarden reunited and in 2012 released the band's sixth studio album, King Animal.

NPR's Rachel Martin talked to Cornell in 2015. At the time he had just released a solo album called Higher Truth.

In the interview that aired on Weekend Sunday, Martin noted Cornell was still recording with Soundgarden, and asked if he needed the band and the solo projects to make the whole?

I would live without both parts, Cornell answered. "But it's a lot more satisfying to have them. It's great to still be having new experiences with the same group of guys — because we invented a band together, and kind of co-invented a genre of music. Being able to come back and experience being a band together at a different time in our lives has been really rewarding, but it's also just really nice to still share some part of my life with these people that have been so important to it."​

Cornell, who was on tour in Detroit at the time of his death, was 52.

 

[JMGlasgow]

Rock music has lost a legend. I'm a huge fan of Soundgarden, and Chris Cornell's musical talent.

 

[Maggot]

Generations surely have different icons. When I saw this it was like "Hmmmm Ive heard of the band...."

Now had you said "Grace Slick" or "Robert Plant" or "David Gilmore" I would have been all over it. Ill have to see if I can dig out one of their albums and check them out.

 

[boomer81]

He was our generations robert plant. Dude could belt it out. Check out a song called say hello to heaven no pun intended by temple of the dog. Then you will get it

 

[JMGlasgow]

Check out the Superunknown album, and the self titled Audioslave album. Two of my favorites.

 

[vh20]

He had a distinct, soulful grit to his voice that was unmistakable. I was a big fan of his voice, more than his bands. I'm not a grunge (i.e. Soundgarden) fan at all, but I liked what he did later with Audioslave a lot. He made such a name for himself that he showed up on a lot of other artists' recordings as a guest, most recent one I can think of being Zac Brown Band's "Heavy Is The Head," for which Chris sang the hook. I think he was my favorite vocalist of the current era.

I'm off work today and slept in. My wife had to get up early, and she woke me with this news. Sad way to start the day.

 

[Guest]

Travel well Spoonman

 

[Maggot]

It was suicide by hanging. I had two buddies that hung themselves...I dont see it. If I were going out a 45 acp bullet in the ear is quick and painless.

--------------------------
Chris Cornell's Death Ruled Suicide by Hanging


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Grunge legend and peerless rock vocalist Chris Cornell was found dead in a Detroit hotel room on Wednesday night, shortly after Soundgarden performed a concert at the city's Fox Theatre. The cause of death was immediately unknown and under investigation by Detroit police. Later on Thursday, the medical examiner ruled Cornell's death as suicide by hanging.

Cornell's rep Brian Bumbery called the death "sudden and unexpected" and said his wife and family were shocked by it. Two Detroit newspapers citing a police spokesman first reported that Cornell, who was on tour, was found with "a band around his neck."

Cornell was born July 20, 1964, in Seattle, Washington, which became the fertile crescent of the grunge rock scene in the '80s. Cornell formed Soundgarden in 1984 with Kim Thayil and Hiro Yamamoto, both of whom he had played with in a Seattle covers band called The Shemps. Predating most of the grunge bands who would come to define the sound for the mainstream (Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Alice In Chains), Soundgarden were an essential force in establishing the sound of grunge - a melange of sludge metal, punk, distorted guitars, wounded vocals and lyrics about alienation.

Soundgarden debuted with the 1987 EP Screaming Life on Sub Pop Records, which was followed by the 1988 EP Fopp prior to the band's full-length 1988 debut album, Ultramega OK, an essential touchstone in the codification of the grunge genre. 1989's major-label debut for A&M Records, Louder Than Love, became their first album to chart on the Billboard 200, and they broke through commercially with 1991's Badmotorfinger, which produced the singles "Jesus Christ Pose," "Rusty Cage" and "Outshined" (videos for the latter two songs got heavy MTV play). That same year Cornell, along with members of what would become Pearl Jam, released the Temple of the Dog album Apple, which was a tribute to Mother Love Bone singer Andrew Wood, a former roommate of Cornell's who died of a heroin overdose.

Read more: Detroit Police Investigating Chris Cornell Death as Possible Suicide

1994's Superunknown took Soundgarden to even greater heights: The album became their only studio LP to top the Billboard 200, and all five singles charted on the Alternative Songs chart - of those songs, "Black Hole Sun" and "Spoonman" are all-time rock classics. On 1996's Down on the Upside, the band moved away from their heaviness of their previous releases and began experimenting with a more psychedelic sound. After a 1996 Lollapalooza tour and an ensuing world tour, internal tensions lead to the band calling it quits in 1997 (they would reunite for 2012's well-received King Animal and continue to tour until Cornell's death).

While Soundgarden's output was warmly received by Gen X and positively reviewed by critics, Cornell's solo output - save his 1999 solo debut Euphoria Morning - was less so. But Cornell's career got a massive second wind when he joined forces with members of Rage Against the Machine to create Audioslave in 2001. Melding RATM's blistering punk-metal attack with his nearly four-octave range, Audioslave netted Cornell a new generation of rock fans.

Audioslave also fared better on the Billboard Hot 100 than Soundgarden had. While Soundgarden only charted one Hot 100 hit ("Black Rain" peaked at No. 96), Audioslave placed seven songs on the Hot 100 over the course of three albums, including hard rock classics "Like a Stone" and "Cochise" from their self-titled 2002 debut.

Cornell collaborated with an eclectic collection of artists throughout his career, from Alice Cooper to Timbaland, Mudhoney, Carlos Santana and Screaming Trees. He made a cameo in the 1992 film Singles and performed one of the better latter day James Bond theme songs, "You Know My Name," from 2006's Casino Royale. That song was the lead single from his second solo album, 2007's Carry On, which also featured a cover of Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean." After covering the King of Pop, Cornell dove even deeper into the worlds of dance, pop and R&B on his third solo LP, 2009's Scream, which was executive produced by Timbaland. Eschewing guitars for electronics, the album was certainly Cornell's most artistically risky, but it was met with confusion from fans and scathing reviews from critics. On 2015's Higher Truth, a solo album released amidst Soundgarden's reunion, Cornell returned to rock, but continued to experiment, using drum loops and even a hurdy-gurdy on the album.

Cornell spoke openly about his struggles with addiction, fighting both alcohol and pill dependency at various points in his life. He went sober in 2002, and balked at the deification of rock stars whose lives were claimed by addiction. Speaking to The Tampa Bay Times in 2016, Cornell said, "People die of drug overdoses every day that nobody talks about. It's a shame that famous people get all the focus, because it then gets glorified a little bit, like, 'This person was too sensitive for the world,' and, 'A light twice as bright lives half as long,' and all that. Which is all bullshit. It's not true."

Read more: Hollywood Stars, Musicians React to Chris Cornell's Death

Cornell's first wife was Soundgarden manager Susan Silver. They had one child, Lillian Jean, in 2000, and divorced in 2004. He married Vicky Karayiannis in 2004; they had two children together, a daughter in 2004 and a son in 2005. In the philanthropic realm, the couple co-founded the Chris and Vicky Cornell Foundation to support homeless, abused and impoverished children.

Prior to Cornell's death, Soundgarden had been working on the follow-up album to 2012's King Animal.

 

[Tucker301]

Damn. Demons.

 

[thejeep]

It was suicide by hanging. I had two buddies that hung themselves...I dont see it. If I were going out a 45 acp bullet in the ear is quick and painless.

--------------------------
Chris Cornell's Death Ruled Suicide by Hanging


[IMG2=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"full","src":"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/lo\/api\/res\/1.2\/1xnLDbeocFj99SZuJv6InQ--\/YXBwaWQ9eW15O3E9NzU7dz02NDA7c209MQ--\/http:\/\/l.yimg.com\/os\/creatr-images\/GLB\/2017-05-18\/3e60f4d0-3bf4-11e7-8572-7d729fa614e3_chris-cornell.jpeg"}[/IMG2]
Grunge legend and peerless rock vocalist Chris Cornell was found dead in a Detroit hotel room on Wednesday night, shortly after Soundgarden performed a concert at the city's Fox Theatre. The cause of death was immediately unknown and under investigation by Detroit police. Later on Thursday, the medical examiner ruled Cornell's death as suicide by hanging.

Cornell's rep Brian Bumbery called the death "sudden and unexpected" and said his wife and family were shocked by it. Two Detroit newspapers citing a police spokesman first reported that Cornell, who was on tour, was found with "a band around his neck."

Cornell was born July 20, 1964, in Seattle, Washington, which became the fertile crescent of the grunge rock scene in the '80s. Cornell formed Soundgarden in 1984 with Kim Thayil and Hiro Yamamoto, both of whom he had played with in a Seattle covers band called The Shemps. Predating most of the grunge bands who would come to define the sound for the mainstream (Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Alice In Chains), Soundgarden were an essential force in establishing the sound of grunge - a melange of sludge metal, punk, distorted guitars, wounded vocals and lyrics about alienation.

Soundgarden debuted with the 1987 EP Screaming Life on Sub Pop Records, which was followed by the 1988 EP Fopp prior to the band's full-length 1988 debut album, Ultramega OK, an essential touchstone in the codification of the grunge genre. 1989's major-label debut for A&M Records, Louder Than Love, became their first album to chart on the Billboard 200, and they broke through commercially with 1991's Badmotorfinger, which produced the singles "Jesus Christ Pose," "Rusty Cage" and "Outshined" (videos for the latter two songs got heavy MTV play). That same year Cornell, along with members of what would become Pearl Jam, released the Temple of the Dog album Apple, which was a tribute to Mother Love Bone singer Andrew Wood, a former roommate of Cornell's who died of a heroin overdose.

Read more: Detroit Police Investigating Chris Cornell Death as Possible Suicide

1994's Superunknown took Soundgarden to even greater heights: The album became their only studio LP to top the Billboard 200, and all five singles charted on the Alternative Songs chart - of those songs, "Black Hole Sun" and "Spoonman" are all-time rock classics. On 1996's Down on the Upside, the band moved away from their heaviness of their previous releases and began experimenting with a more psychedelic sound. After a 1996 Lollapalooza tour and an ensuing world tour, internal tensions lead to the band calling it quits in 1997 (they would reunite for 2012's well-received King Animal and continue to tour until Cornell's death).

While Soundgarden's output was warmly received by Gen X and positively reviewed by critics, Cornell's solo output - save his 1999 solo debut Euphoria Morning - was less so. But Cornell's career got a massive second wind when he joined forces with members of Rage Against the Machine to create Audioslave in 2001. Melding RATM's blistering punk-metal attack with his nearly four-octave range, Audioslave netted Cornell a new generation of rock fans.

Audioslave also fared better on the Billboard Hot 100 than Soundgarden had. While Soundgarden only charted one Hot 100 hit ("Black Rain" peaked at No. 96), Audioslave placed seven songs on the Hot 100 over the course of three albums, including hard rock classics "Like a Stone" and "Cochise" from their self-titled 2002 debut.

Cornell collaborated with an eclectic collection of artists throughout his career, from Alice Cooper to Timbaland, Mudhoney, Carlos Santana and Screaming Trees. He made a cameo in the 1992 film Singles and performed one of the better latter day James Bond theme songs, "You Know My Name," from 2006's Casino Royale. That song was the lead single from his second solo album, 2007's Carry On, which also featured a cover of Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean." After covering the King of Pop, Cornell dove even deeper into the worlds of dance, pop and R&B on his third solo LP, 2009's Scream, which was executive produced by Timbaland. Eschewing guitars for electronics, the album was certainly Cornell's most artistically risky, but it was met with confusion from fans and scathing reviews from critics. On 2015's Higher Truth, a solo album released amidst Soundgarden's reunion, Cornell returned to rock, but continued to experiment, using drum loops and even a hurdy-gurdy on the album.

Cornell spoke openly about his struggles with addiction, fighting both alcohol and pill dependency at various points in his life. He went sober in 2002, and balked at the deification of rock stars whose lives were claimed by addiction. Speaking to The Tampa Bay Times in 2016, Cornell said, "People die of drug overdoses every day that nobody talks about. It's a shame that famous people get all the focus, because it then gets glorified a little bit, like, 'This person was too sensitive for the world,' and, 'A light twice as bright lives half as long,' and all that. Which is all bullshit. It's not true."

Read more: Hollywood Stars, Musicians React to Chris Cornell's Death

Cornell's first wife was Soundgarden manager Susan Silver. They had one child, Lillian Jean, in 2000, and divorced in 2004. He married Vicky Karayiannis in 2004; they had two children together, a daughter in 2004 and a son in 2005. In the philanthropic realm, the couple co-founded the Chris and Vicky Cornell Foundation to support homeless, abused and impoverished children.

Prior to Cornell's death, Soundgarden had been working on the follow-up album to 2012's King Animal.

unless of course you miss and just get fucked up.

 

[Maggot]

unless of course you miss and just get fucked up.

From the shots Ive seen, the ear canal is likely to do the job, The temple or under the chin, not so much...though a large caliber is likely to get er dun most anywhere.

 

[jrassy]

A damn shame, I liked the music,

 

[my human host]

Writing good music requires going to the darker places in your mind. Sooner or later the door is gonna lock behind you.

Thank you, Chris. Rest easy.

 

[Surffshr]

Follow me into the desert
As thirsty as you are
Crack a smile and cut your mouth
And drown in alcohol...

 

[vh20]

Not all hangings are intentional.

 

[Tucker301]

 

[sirhrmechanic]

 

[sirhrmechanic]

Too soon???

 

[oneshot86]

nevah

 

[K-tech]

Check out the Superunknown album, and the self titled Audioslave album. Two of my favorites.

I'd have to add Down on the Upside and Badmotorfinger to that list. Even some his solo stuff is pretty good. One of my all time favorite front men