Chris Cornell Dead at 52

Chris Cornell, the Soundgarden and Audioslave frontman, died last night at the age of 52, the Associated Press reports. Cornell’s death was “sudden and unexpected,” his representative Brian Bumbery said in a statement. He had played a concert with Soundgarden at Detroit’s Fox Theater earlier yesterday evening. Police spokesman Michael Woody told the AP that Cornell was found dead on the bathroom floor of his hotel room at the MGM Grand Detroit by a family friend. Cornell’s wife Vicky had called the friend “and asked him to check on Cornell.” Police told the New York Times that a white man whose birthday matches Cornell’s was found on a bathroom floor at MGM Grand with a band around his neck. The Wayne County Medical Examiner determined that Cornell committed suicide by hanging.

Cornell helped form Soundgarden in 1984. Alongside Nirvana and Pearl Jam, they shaped Seattle’s grunge movement as it ascended in the early 1990s. Their 1994 album, Superunknown, propelled them to enormous commercial and critical success, including Grammys for the singles “Spoonman” and “Black Hole Sun.” In 2002, Cornell released the first of three Audioslave albums, with members of Rage Against the Machine.

Cornell also steered a handful of other projects, notably Temple of the Dog. In 1990, he formed the group with Mother Love Bone members after the death of their vocalist, Andrew Wood, who had been a close friend of Cornell. Cornell’s solo career includes 2009’s Scream, produced by Timbaland, and soundtrack contributions such as a Golden Globe-nominated song for the film Machine Gun Preacher. Soundgarden reformed in 2010, Temple of the Dog in 2016, and Audioslave reunited earlier this year to perform at an event protesting Trump’s inauguration.

Read “Chris Cornell’s Greatest Vocal Performances” on the Pitch.

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