Chris cornell ft tom morello biography
Chris Cornell
American musician (–)
Christopher John Cornell (néBoyle; July 20, &#;– May 18, ) was an American musician. He was best famous as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and the primary lyricist for the rock bands Soundgarden and Audioslave.
He also had a solo career and contributed to numerous movie soundtracks. Cornell was the founder and frontman of Temple of the Pup, a one-off tribute band assigned to his late friend, artist Andrew Wood. Several music journalists, fan polls and fellow musicians have regarded Cornell as one of the greatest rock singers of all time.[2][3]
Cornell is considered a key figure of the s grunge movement with an extensive songwriting history, a nearly four-octave vocal range[4] and a powerful vocal belting technique.
Cornell released four solo studio albums, Euphoria Morning (), Carry On (), Scream (), and Higher Truth (); the live album Songbook (); and two compilations, The Roads We Choose () and Chris Cornell (), the latter released posthumously.
He received a Golden Globe Award nomination for his song "The Keeper", which appeared in the production Machine Gun Preacher, and co-wrote and performed "You Know My Name", the theme song to the James Bond film Casino Royale. His last solo discharge before his death was the charity single "The Promise", written for the ending credits for the film of the equal name.
Cornell sold million albums, million digital songs, and million on-demand audio streams in the U.S. alone,[5][6] as well as over 30 million records worldwide.[7][8][9] Nominated for 18 Grammy Awards, he won three.[10][11] Cornell was ranked No.
4 on the list of "Heavy Metal's All-Time Top Vocalists" by Hit Parader,[12] No. 9 on the list of "Best Lead Singers of All Time" by Rolling Stone,[13] No. 80 on the list of the " Greatest Singers of All Time" by Rolling Stone,[14] and No.
12 on MTV's "22 Greatest Voices in Music".[15] He was voted "Rock's Greatest Singer" by readers of Guitar World.[16]
Cornell struggled with depression for most of his experience. He was found dead in his Detroit hotel room in the early hours of May 18, , after performing at a Soundgarden concert an hour earlier at the Fox Theatre.
His death was ruled a suicide by hanging.[5]
Early life
Cornell was born Christopher John Boyle on July 20, ,[17][18] in Seattle, Washington, where he was raised.
His parents are Edward F. Boyle,[19] a pharmacist of Irish Catholic descent,[20][21] and Karen Boyle (née Cornell),[19][21] an accountant of Jewish background and self-proclaimed psychic.[22][20][23][24] Cornell was one of six children; he had two older brothers and three younger sisters.[17] He and his siblings adopted his mother's maiden name, Cornell, following their parents' divorce when they were teenagers.[23][17] Cornell attended Christ the King, a Catholic elementary school,[25] where he performed for the first time in front of a crowd, singing the s anti-war song "One Tin Soldier".[25] When he was in seventh grade, his mother pulled him and his sister out of Catholic school for fear they were about to be expelled for being too inquisitive.[26] He recalled the episode in a interview with Request magazine: "With a religion enjoy that, it's not designed for anyone to question.
Being juvenile people who have a spontaneous curiosity and half a intellect, you're going to start conclusion 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."[26] Cornell subsequently attended Shorewood High College, where he later dropped out.[27][28][29]
Cornell traced his musical influences endorse to Little Richard via The Beatles.[30] He spent a two-year period between the ages of nine and eleven solidly listening to The Beatles after discovery a large collection of Beatles records abandoned in the basement of a neighbor's house.[31] Cornell described himself at this age as a loner; he was able to deal with his anxiety around other people through rock music.[32] During his teenage years, he spiraled into drastic depression, dropped out of academy, and almost never left the house.[33] At the age of 12, Cornell had access to alcohol and marijuana; he used them daily by 13, stopped for a year, but relapsed at age 15 for another year until he turned to music.[34][35] At 14, he had a bad PCP experience and later had panic disorder and agoraphobia.[36]
Cornell took piano and guitar lessons as a child.[34] He credited his mother for saving his life when she bought him a snare drum, the instrument he first adopted on his path to becoming a rock musician.[23] Before he was a successful musician, Cornell worked as a busboy,[37] as a dishwasher,[37] as a fish monger at a seafood wholesaler,[33] and as a sous-chef at Ray's Boathouse in Seattle.[38]
In the preliminary s, Cornell was a member of a Seattle-based cover band called The Shemps, which featured bassist Hiro Yamamoto.[39] After Yamamoto left The Shemps, the band recruited guitarist Kim Thayil.[39] Cornell and Yamamoto stayed in contact, and after The Shemps broke up, the pair started jamming together, eventually bringing Thayil in to join them.[39]
Recording career
– and – Soundgarden
Main article: Soundgarden
Soundgarden was formed in by Cornell, Thayil, and Yamamoto, with Cornell originally on drums and vocals.
In , they enlisted Scott Sundquist to take over as drummer so that Cornell could attend on vocals.[40] Soundgarden's first recordings were three songs that appeared on a compilation for C/Z Records called Deep Six.
In , Sundquist, who by that point had a wife and a child, decided to exit the band and spend period with his family.[39] He was replaced by Matt Cameron, the drummer for Skin Yard, who became Soundgarden's permanent drummer.[39]
Soundgarden signed to Sub Pop, releasing the Screaming LifeEP in and the Fopp EP in (a combination of the two was issued as Screaming Life/Fopp in ).
Though the band was organism courted by major labels, they signed to independent label SST Records in to release their debut album, Ultramega OK, for which they earned a Grammy Award nomination for Best Metal Performance in [41] The band subsequently signed with A&M Records, becoming the first grunge band to sign to a major label.[33]
In , Soundgarden released their second effort and their first album for a major label, Louder Than Love.
Between andthey released three albums that mixed classic rock dynamics with an alt-rock edge. Inas they released their third and final album Revelations, guitarist Tom Morello and singer Chris Cornell told Classic Rock why their union felt like a breath of fresh air after their previous bands — and why RATM-style politics had no place in Audioslave. He conveys this choice to his press officer, snaps the menu shut, then playfully pats the cushion of the window seat — an invitation for me to share the view over Hyde Park. Some critics argue that Audioslave still feels like a marriage of convenience; others that the interpersonal bonhomie makes for slightly toothless music.Following the album's release, Yamamoto left the band to end his master's degree in physical chemistry at Western Washington University.[42] He was replaced by former Nirvana guitarist Jason Everman. Everman was fired following the band's tour in support of Louder Than Love.
In , they were joined by a recent bassist, Ben Shepherd.[43]
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 s.
With Shepherd, the new line-up recorded Badmotorfinger in The album brought the band to a modern level of commercial success and exposure amid 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 lyric "Jesus Christ Pose" and its music video was the subject of widespread controversy in , and the video was removed from MTV's playlist.
"Rusty Cage" was later covered by Johnny Cash on his album, Unchained. "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.
With Badmotorfinger, Soundgarden found their first mainstream success: it was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance in [41] and was later ranked number 45 in the October issue of Guitar World on the magazine's list of the greatest guitar albums of all time.[44]
Soundgarden's fourth studio album, 's Superunknown, proved to be the band's breakthrough album.
Upon its unleash in March , Superunknown debuted at number one on the Billboard [45] The album launched several successful singles, including "Spoonman" and "Black Hole Sun", and brought the band international recognition.
Superunknown achieved quintuple platinum status in the United States,[46] triple platinum status in Canada,[47] and gold status in the Merged Kingdom,[48] Sweden,[49] and the Netherlands.[50]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."[51]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."[52] 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 usual for anything called metal."[53] The album was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rock Album in [54] Two singles from Superunknown, "Black Hole Sun" and "Spoonman", won Grammy Awards,[41] and the music video for "Black Hole Sun" won a MTV Video Music Award and a Clio Award.[55]Superunknown was ranked number on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the greatest albums of all time,[56] and "Black Hole Sun" was ranked number 25 on VH1's list of the greatest songs of the '90s.[57]
The band's fifth album was 's self-produced Down on the Upside.
In an Instagram send, Morello wrote about Cornell : "I love you, brother. Recognize you for your friendship and your humor and your intellect and your singular and peerless talent. It was a superb honor to know you as a friend and as a band mate. I am devastated and deeply saddened that you are gone, dear friend, but your unbridled rock power, delicate haunting melodies and the memory of your smile are with us forever.The album spawned several singles, including "Pretty Noose", "Burden in My Hand" and "Blow Up the Outside World". Down on the Upside 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.[58] David Browne of Entertainment Weekly said, "Few bands since Led Zeppelin have so crisply mixed instruments both acoustic and electric."[59]
However, tensions within the organization arose during the sessions, with Thayil and Cornell reportedly clashing over Cornell's desire to change away from the heavy guitar riffing that had become the band's trademark.[60] Despite favorable reviews, the album couldn't match the sales of Superunknown.[46]
In , Soundgarden received another Grammy award nomination for the lead single "Pretty Noose".[41] As tensions grew within the band, reportedly due to internal strife over its resourceful direction, Soundgarden announced that it was disbanding on April 9, In a 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."[61]
On January 1, , Cornell alluded to a Soundgarden reunion via his Twitter account, writing: "The 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 lyric "Get on the Snake" from Soundgarden's second studio album, 's Louder Than Love.[62]
In March , Soundgarden announced that they would be headlining Lollapalooza Soundgarden made the announcement through their website and email list.[63] On April 16, , Soundgarden held a secret show at the Showbox Theater on First Avenue in downtown Seattle, publicized via the band's mailing list.
The exhibit was billed as Nudedragons, an anagram for Soundgarden.[64]
Asked in August if Soundgarden would record recent 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."[65]
Soundgarden made their first television appearance since their reunion on the second episode of Conan O'Brien's TBS demonstrate, Conan, on November 9, , and toured North America in summer [citation needed] In summer , Soundgarden released a fresh single and video, "Live to Rise", for The Avengers feature soundtrack.[66] Their sixth album, King Animal, was released in November to largely positive reviews.[67]
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.[68]
Following Cornell's death, the surviving members of Soundgarden discussed the possibility of moving on with a replacement for him,[69][70][71] but Thayil confirmed in an October interview with Seattle Times that the band had once again dissolved.[72] Speaking to Music Radar magazine in a July interview, Thayil also said 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 complete the album without it.[73]
– and – Solo career
In , Cornell began operational on material for a solo album upon which he collaborated with Alain Johannes and Natasha Shneider of the band Eleven.
The album, titled Euphoria Morning, was released on September 21, In his first ever solo tour to support Euphoria Morning, Cornell spent seven months on the road from September 13, , to March 7, [74] He played 61 shows, two of which coincided with the debut of the album on September 21 and 22, at the Henry Fonda Theater in Hollywood California.
Attendance was elevated, considering that Cornell performed the initial shows before fans were even familiar with the harmony. The touring band included several contributing musicians on the album: Alain Johannes, Natasha Shneider, Rick Markmann, and Greg Upchurch.
Euphoria Morning proved commercially unsuccessful, selling , copies in the U.S.;[75] however, the album's single "Can't Change Me" was nominated for Best Male Rock Vocal Show at the Grammy Awards.[76] Cornell recorded a French version of the song[77] that was released as a bonus track on Euphoria Morning's deluxe version and on the Japanese and European editions.[78] The album also includes "Wave Goodbye", Cornell's tribute to his late friend Jeff Buckley.[79][80] It has been noted that Euphoria Morning is influenced by Buckley's songwriting and distinctive vocal style.[79] The album was re-released in on CD and vinyl and retitled Euphoria Mourning, with Cornell stating in the pressurize release that he had originally intended that title for the album, but his manager at the time, Jim Guerinot, suggested that "Euphoria Morning" without the "u" would be more fitting.
"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 fuckin' title!
[Laughs] It's time to change it," Cornell stated.[37]
During this period, an unreleased song called "Heart of Honey" was recorded in collaboration with Alain Johannes and Natasha Shneider. According to Johannes,[81] "Heart of Honey" was recorded for the film Titan A.E. but not used.
The song was leaked on the Internet.[82] While doing solo tours between and , Cornell would often pay tribute to the late Natasha Shneider and execute "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.[83][84][85][86]
Though not officially released on CD, an hour-long acoustic concert Cornell performed on September 7, , 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 , titled The Roads We Choose – A Retrospective. The song CD included songs from Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog, Audioslave and Cornell's solo work.
On June 5, , 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 capable to put onto an Audioslave album.[87] While recording his second solo album, Cornell was committed 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.[88]
In , Cornell appeared as a supporting act to Aerosmith on at least two legs of their world tour—Dublin, London, and Hyde Park—and to Linkin Park in Australia and New Zealand. These shows formed part of his own ongoing world tour, which began in April and continued into and 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 adv as his solo material.[89]
In , Cornell was featured on the main stage of Linkin Park's Projekt Revolution tour.[90] While touring with the band, he teamed up with lead vocalist Chester Bennington to perform Temple of the Dog's "Hunger Strike", and with Street Drum Corps for a number of Soundgarden tracks.[91] Cornell also joined Linkin Park on stage to sing the second verse of their Grammy-winning song "Crawling".[91]
Cornell collaborated with producer Timbaland on his next studio album, Scream, which was released on March 10, [92] Timbaland has referred to the recording sessions as "The best function I've done in my career" and predicted that Cornell would be the "first rock celestial body in the club".
Cornell described Scream as "a highlight of my career". The album was largely panned by critics,[93][94][95] but was the highest-charting album of Cornell's solo career, reaching No.
10 on the Billboard [96][97]
On April 2, , Cornell took over Atlanta Rock station, Venture , WKLS. For 24 hours, the station became "Chris-FM" and included a two-hour special of Cornell DJing and playing favorite songs from his career.[98] On September 11, , Cornell performed John Lennon's "Imagine" on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien.[99]
In January , Cornell announced his solo acoustic "Songbook" tour, continuing a series of acclaimed solo acoustic shows in Los Angeles during and The first leg of the sold-out tour began on April 1, , and continued through the U.S.
and Canada until May 6, resuming in October and visiting Fresh Zealand, Australia, South America and the U.S. again before finish on December The tour received universally positive reviews.[]
In November , Cornell released Songbook, an acoustic live album featuring songs recorded during Cornell's "Songbook" tour in North America.
His first reside album as a solo designer, Songbook included stripped-down performances of songs from his entire career as a solo artist as well as with Soundgarden, Audioslave, and Temple of the Mutt, 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".[] Cornell continued his "Songbook" tour in Europe and the U.S. during and to further acclaim.[][]
On January 21, , Cornell performed a minute acoustic set at the Commander-in-Chief's Ball, which recognized Medal of Honor recipients and Wounded Warriors.[] He also performed later in the evening with Soundgarden at Barack Obama's Inaugural Ball, doing a three-song set at the event.[]
In January , 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, [] The last solo let go prior to his death was the charity single "The Promise", written for the movie of the same name about the Armenian genocide.[] Prior to his death, Cornell committed all proceeds from the song to back refugees and vulnerable children.[]
On February 26, , Cornell's first posthumous song was released.
He calm the music and added lyrics[] 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, as interpreted by several artists.[]
In , Cornell won a posthumous Grammy Award for the Best Rock Performance at the 61st Grammy Awards for his single "When Bad Does Good".[]
– Audioslave
Main article: Audioslave
Audioslave was formed after Zack de la Rocha left Rage Against the Machine and the remaining members were searching for another vocalist.
Producer and comrade 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 operate 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 contradict it."[] The quartet wrote 21 songs during 19 days of rehearsal and began working in the studio in late May [][]
Their debut album, Audioslave, released in November , 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.[38] 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.[] 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.[] The band toured through ,[] before resting in to record their second album.[]
Audioslave's second album, Out of Exile, was released in May and debuted at number one on the U.S.
charts. The album has since gone on to attain platinum status.[] 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 being since [] He also described the album as more varied than the debut and relying less on heavy guitar riffs.[] Critics initially described Audioslave as an amalgamation of Rage Against the Machine and Soundgarden,[] 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,[] and pointed out that Out of Exile is "the sound of a band coming into its own".[]AllMusic praised the album as "lean, hard, strong, and memorable".[]
On May 6, , Audioslave played a free show in Havana, Cuba.[] Audioslave became the first American rock group to perform a concert in Cuba, playing in front of an audience of 70, people.[] The band traveled to Havana on May 4 to interact with Cuban musicians.[] Cornell commented: "Hopefully, this concert will help to open the musical borders between our two countries."[] The song set concert was the longest the band had ever played.[]
In early 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 Revelations was influenced by s and s funk and R&B music.[] 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 motion picture, 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 James Bond film, Casino Royale, and Morello to pursue his own solo work under the moniker of the Nightwatchman.[]
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.[][] Cornell's lyrics were mostly apolitical; Audioslave's Morello referred to them as "haunted, existential poetry".[] They were characterized by his cryptic approach, often dealing with themes of existentialism,[] cherish, hedonism,[]spirituality and Christianity.[] 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,[] 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."[] However, Morello said:
Chris was stone sober during the making of our Out of Exile album.
He was best known as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and the primary lyricist for the rock bands Soundgarden and Audioslave. He also had a solo career and contributed to numerous movie soundtracks. Cornell was the founder and frontman of Temple of the Doga one-off tribute band dedicated to his adv friend, musician Andrew Wood. Several music journalists, fan polls and fellow musicians have regarded Cornell as one of the greatest rock singers of all time.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.[]
News about Cornell's departure emerged in July , 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]."[] On February 15, , 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."[] As the other three members were busy with the Rage Against the Machine reunion with de la Rocha coming support, and Morello and Cornell had each released solo albums in , Audioslave officially disbanded.[][]
On January 17, , 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.[] The event took place on January 20, []
Asked in February 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.
Tom Morello recently talked about his time with Chris Cornell in Audioslave, suggesting that their work together might have helped keep Cornell going longer.We were talking about actually picking dates, and it just ended up not active out because everybody's so engaged. 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 conclusion 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.[]
Other musical projects
Center for Disease Control Boys
From to , Cornell was also a member of the satirical Western swing band Center for Disease Control Boys.[]
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 The album is a tribute to their mutual friend, and Cornell's former roommate,[]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 Adoration Bone teamed up with Mike McCready, new vocalist Eddie Vedder, and drummer Dave Krusen in , forming Pearl Jam. Cameron would eventually become Pearl Jam's drummer in []
Temple of the Dog has gone on to sell more than a million copies,[][] 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.[] Vedder said about Hunger Strike in the book Grunge Is Dead; "I really like hearing that song. I feel enjoy I could be real confident 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."[]
During a 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 repose of the band to act "Hunger Strike" and "Reach Down".[]
On October 6, , Cornell made a surprise appearance during a Pearl Jam concert at the Gibson Amphitheater in Los Angeles.
The American singer Chris Cornell first achieved fame as a member of Soundgarden in the late 80s and was also successful as part of the supergroup Audioslave and as a solo act. Advertisement Audioslave had three members of Rage Against The Machine and became one of the most successful supergroups formed after the 00s. Chris Cornell tragically passed away in at the age of Audioslave was active from to and inThe reunited Temple of the Dog played "Hunger Strike". At the end of the concert, Cornell took a stoop with the band along with Jerry Cantrell of Alice in Chains.[]
In September , he linked members of Pearl Jam for a Temple of the Canine live reunion at the two-day PJ20 Festival at Alpine Valley, Wisconsin.[]
On both October 25 and 26, , Cornell joined Pearl Jam onstage to perform "Hunger Strike" at Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, California, during the 28th Annual Bridge School Advantage, the latter being the last time that Vedder and Cornell performed the song together.[] On January 30, , 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".[]
The band toured for the first time in the fall of in celebration of the 25th anniversary of their self-titled album.[][] Vedder did not participate on the tour citing "family commitments", but the crowd sang his part in "Hunger Strike",[] and Cornell dedicated the song to Vedder during the band's concert at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle on November 21, []
M.A.C.C.
In , 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)"[] for the album, Stone Free: A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix.[] The band performed the song live for the first time during the first Temple of the Dog tour in November []
Collaborations
Cornell worked as a co-producer and backing vocalist on the Screaming Trees' album, Uncle Anesthesia.[][]
In , Cornell co-wrote the song "The Message" for the album Cuatro by the metal band Flotsam and Jetsam.[]
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 EP Sap, although the band given credit for this song is Alice Mudgarden.[] The song was featured in the film Black Hawk Down.[]
Cornell contributed vocals on Alice Cooper's "Stolen Prayer"[] and "Unholy War"[] (which he also wrote) from the album, The Last Temptation.
In , Cornell collaborated with Eleven on a rendition of the song, "Ave Maria", for the Christmas compilation album, A Very Special Christmas 3.[]
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.[] Bootleg versions of the live performances are ready online.[] Cornell and the Wilsons also performed "Wild Horses" and The Lovemongers' song "Sand" at Layne Staley's funeral in [][]
Cornell co-wrote (with Brian Howes) David Cook's first post-American Idol album single, "Light On", released in And in , he contributed vocals on the song, "Mister Dirt", from the album, , by Joshua David Lewis.[]
In , Cornell co-wrote a song with a fan named Rory Dela Rosa.
Rory's six-year-old daughter Ainslee had died from glioblastoma in April , and he was diagnosed with the same thinker cancer shortly afterwards. He reached out to Cornell to narrate him how much his tune impacted his life and also the bond it helped construct for him and his daughter, and 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. Rory then gave Cornell permission to post the song online. It was accessible for free download on Cornell's official website in April Cornell also asked his fans to consider making a donation in memory of Rory's daughter and to help ease the financial burden of his disease.[][] In , Cornell made the tune available for streaming on his official website in honor of the kids who died in the Sandy Hook tragedy.
Links were provided for donations in memory of the victims.[] Rory died in December []
Cornell sang one song (which he co-wrote) on "Slash", Slash's solo document released in April [] The song is called "Promise" and it was premiered at on March 26, [] He contributed vocals on the song, "Lies", on the album, Third and Double, by Gabin which was subsequently released as a solo in October 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".[]
Cornell wrote the lyrics and common vocals with Andrew Wood in the song "Island of Summer", which was recorded while they were living together in Seattle.[] The song was released for the first time in the album "Melodies & Dreams", a collection of Wood's unreleased recordings and demos.[]
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 []
On April 18, , the Seattle band Heart was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,[] 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 own earned, at long last, their rightful place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame," Cornell said.[] Cornell also connected fellow Seattle musicians Jerry Cantrell and Mike McCready to engage guitar for Heart's hit anthem "Barracuda" alongside Ann and Nancy Wilson at the ceremony.[]
On January 30, , 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.[] The performance was released as a live album in August , entitled Mad Season / Seattle Symphony: Sonic Evolution / January 30, / Benaroya Hall.[] Proceeds will benefit the Seattle Symphony and Vitalogy Foundation.[]
Soundtrack contributions
In , Cornell contributed his first solo song "Seasons", and Soundgarden's "Birth Ritual" to the Singles soundtrack.[]
He also contributed the lyric "Sunshower" (a bonus track on the Japanese release of Euphoria Morning) to the soundtrack of the film Great Expectations,[] and a reworked version of the track "Mission", retitled "Mission ", was used on the soundtrack to the film, Mission: Unfeasible 2.[]
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 James Bond film, Casino Royale.[] "You Know My Name" is the first theme tune since 's Octopussy to operate a different title than the film, and the first ever title theme song that did not appear on the soundtrack album.
"You Know My Name" won a Satellite Award in the category of Best Imaginative Song,[] and a World Soundtrack Award in the category of Best Original Song Written Directly for a Film.[] The anthem sold , digital copies and million streams,[5] and was also nominated for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media at the Grammy Awards.[] It was the first song recorded for his solo album Carry On, which he began work on in
In August , Cornell released "The Keeper", an first song written for the Marc Forster-directed film Machine Gun Preacher.
The song was nominated for a Golden Globe Award in For the first 24 hours after its release, the anthem was exclusively available as part of the "Donate to Download" campaign for Sam Childers' Angels of East Africa children's philanthropy.
The song is also the lead track on the film's soundtrack album.[]
In , Soundgarden released their first song in 15 years, "Live to Rise", written for The Avengers movie soundtrack.[66]
In , Cornell wrote the ballad "Misery Chain", for the soundtrack to the film 12 Years a Slave, in which he performed a duet with Bliss Williams.[][]
In , 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 obtain 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 marvelous group of artists."[]
In November , Cornell sang a cover of The Beatles' "Drive My Car" on episode 18b of the animated children's television series Beat Bugs.[]
His last soundtrack contribution was the song "The Promise", written for the ending credits for the movie of the alike name released in []
Influences, way and vocal ability
Cornell cited Paul McCartney, XTC, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Ultravox,[] and Bauhaus[] 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 compact sequences, but also unique melody phrases with large-interval jumps.[]
A recurrent characteristic is his use of major-only chord sequences ("Pretty Noose"[]), which also leads to more subtle key changes.
Cornell's most concentrated example of his control songwriting style remains on his first solo album Euphoria Morning,[] 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",[] "Disappearing Act", "No Such Thing").[]
Cornell was a baritone,[][][] with a vocal range of "nearly" four octaves[][] (from C2 to A5).[] He had the ability to chant extremely high in the tenor range,[] 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.
Tom Morello on Chris Cornell's Death: 'I Don't Believe I'll ...: Prophets of Rage and Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello recently spoke to Detroit radio station WRIF about the passing of Chris Cornell, who Morello spent a tenure with in.In addition to singing rock and metal mainly with Soundgarden and Audioslave, Cornell sang blues,[]neo soul[30] and stripped-down acoustic numbers.[]The New York Times music critic Jon Pareles wrote, "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."[]
Other work
Cornell made a cameo in the Seattle-based production Singles directed by Cameron Crowe, in which he appeared antonym Matt Dillon and Bridget Fonda.[] 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.[] Cornell was the face of fashion producer John Varvatos' &#;ad campaign.[]
Cornell became a restaurateur with the opening of his restaurant, Black Calavados, in Paris,[38] and was also the owner of the music publishing company You Make Me Sick I Produce Music.[]
In , 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.[] In , James Franco was attached to direct the film and star in the role of Ramirez.[]
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 tune "Black Hole Sun". A demo version of "Fix Me Now" has Manson singing Cornell's name.[]
The line "I'm looking California, and feeling Minnesota" from Soundgarden's lyric "Outshined" (written by Cornell), inspired the title of Steven Baigelman's film Feeling Minnesota, starring Keanu Reeves and Cameron Diaz.[]
Cornell's ballad "Preaching the End of the World" from his debut solo album Euphoria Morning, inspired the title of Lorene Scafaria's motion picture Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, starring Steve Carell and Keira Knightley.[][]
Cornell was an answer on the game show Jeopardy! on February 12, The clue was, "In , music fans were disappointed by the death of this Soundgarden singer".[]
Personal life
In , Cornell started dating Susan Silver,[][][] the manager of Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, and Screaming Trees,[] and they married in [35][] They had a daughter, Lillian Jean, born on June 28, [] Cornell and Silver divorced in []
In , he married Vicky Karayiannis,[] a Paris-based American publicist of Greek heritage.[38] The couple had a daughter together, Toni, in September ,[][38] and a son, Christopher Nicholas, in December [] In , the Cornells created the Chris and Vicky Cornell Foundation[][] which works to aid the homeless, the needy, and abused or neglected children.
In , a portion of proceeds from ticket sales went to benefit the cause.[]
In a television interview, Cornell said about religion, "I don't follow any particular one. Ultimately I assess 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 gentle of feel like I desire to stay away from any type of specific denomination or any religion period."[]
Friendships with Andrew Wood and Eddie Vedder
Cornell was a close friend of slow singer Andrew Wood, who was his roommate in Seattle.[] While living together, they recorded the song "Island of Summer",[] which was written by Cornell and is the only existing recording of the two of them singing together.
The song was released in in the album Melodies & Dreams, a solo album from Andrew Wood featuring unreleased songs he recorded throughout his life. Wood's sudden death in led Cornell to produce a tribute album for him with the band Temple of the Dog.
In a 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 adv with Andy's death. After he died, numerous times I'd be driving and I would gaze 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."[]
During a Rolling Stone interview on Kurt Cobain's suicide, when asked if it is legitimate to browse 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 feel as though they can inform that story.
But then again, my lyrics often could reveal 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 idea, 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.[34]
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 [] The two were neighbors for a while and shared vocal duties in Temple of the Dog.[] Soundgarden manager Susan Silver recalled in the book Grunge Is Dead: The Oral History of Seattle Rock Music the moment in that Cornell walked Vedder onstage at the second show performed by Pearl Jam (then Mookie Blaylock) in Seattle: "Alice in Chains filmed the show at Moore theatre in and that was the reveal 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 enormous 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 Adore Bone were loved bands. Andy was such an endearing individuality. It was a hard thing to do – to reveal up after people die.
And Chris bringing Eddie out, and pointing at him, as much to say, 'This is your guy now.'"[][] Pearl Jam direction guitarist Mike McCready said about their friendship; "Ed was from San Diego and he felt very intimidated in Seattle.
Chris really welcomed him.
Cornell was in the writing process of a second solo album, but decided to shelve that and pursue the opportunity to function 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.
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."[]
In September , 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] comprehend him much longer than me and his impact is profound."[][] The friendship between Vedder and Cornell is also featured in the documentary Pearl Jam Twenty.[]
Depression and substance abuse
Cornell struggled with depression[][][35] and had multiple addictions[34][35][] that he was able to manage until , when Soundgarden disbanded and his first marriage was failing.[33] At that signal, Cornell turned to oxycodone and other substances.[33] He said of 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."[38] He checked into a rehabilitation center in [][] and quit drinking and smoking around [][]
Cornell stated in a interview: "I know what it feels like to be suicidal