Saturday, February 22, 2020

Chris Cornell


American singer, songwriter, musician 
July 20, 1964 - May 18, 2017



I imagine that most of us have heard the iconic vocals of legendary singer, Chris Cornell, who can be heard in Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog, and Audioslave. Gone before his time, Chris Cornell touched the hearts of millions of people around the world, partially due to his disheveled, yet classically charming blue-eyed look. Along with his alluring appearance, Chris Cornell had some killer vocals, which I would describe as being soulful and melodic. He was also the world's first introduction to grunge music. Most notably to Chris's singing would be his four-octave vocal range, which can be heard in every one of his songs. Chris Cornell started his prosperous career in the early 80's with his first band, Soundgarden. Early in their career, Soundgarden achieved global recognition after the release of singles, "Black Hole Sun" and "Spoonman." Whilst in Soundgarden, Chris Cornell partnered with Pearl Jam to release a single album called Temple of the Dog. This album reached great success with the partnership of Chris Cornell and lead Pearl Jam vocalist, Eddie Vedder. From Temple of the Dog, songs such as "Say Hello 2 Heaven" and "Hunger Strike" were most popular upon release. Soundgarden rocked the nation between the years 1984 and 1997, when the group split up due to tension between the members. This wasn't the end of Chris Cornell's career though, as he was contacted by Zack de la Rocha from Rage Against the Machine, in the hopes that Chris would consider forming a new group with him. Only a few years later, Audioslave released its first album, with incredible success and recognition from the vocals of Chris Cornell. From this 2002 album, songs such as "Like a Stone," "Cochise," and "Show Me How to Live" launched Audioslave into triple-platinum status in the United States. Audioslave remained a group from 2001-2007, when the band split and Chris Cornell was yet again, left to himself. Of course this wasn't the end of Chris's career, as he went onto do soloist work until his untimely death in 2017. The death of legendary vocalist, Chris Cornell, was a massive loss to the rock music industry. Unsurprisingly, Chris Cornell's music is still played by millions of people around the world. A year after Chris's death, Vicky Karayiannis, Chris's wife, collaborated with his bandmates and friends to create the tribute album, Chris Cornell, to highlight the legend's work over the years. 

I would highly recommend anyone who has an appreciation for rock music, to check out Chris Cornell's work if unfamiliar with it! Part of my love for Chris Cornell comes from childhood memories of my parents playing his music from Soundgarden and Audioslave. Since gaining a greater appreciation for music, I have sought after many songs of Chris Cornell, because not only are they nostalgic, they are just fun to rock out to. I could, without shame, blast Chris Cornell in the car with all windows down. Down below are links to Chris's most notable albums, and other resources to learn more about his life and music career.


This is a link to Soundgarden's album, Superunknown, released in 1994. Most notable on this album are "Black Hole Sun" and "Spoonman." 

This is a link to Temple of the Dog released in 1991. Chris Cornell's partnership with Pearl Jam to create Temple of the Dog happened during his Soundgarden career. Most notable from this album are "Say Hello 2 Heaven" and "Hunger Strike."
This is a link to Audioslave's first album, Audioslave, released in 2002. This is personally my favorite album of Chris Cornell. Most notable from this album are "Like a Stone," "Cochise," and "Show Me How to Live."

This is a link of Chris Cornell, released in 2018. This album was created by Vicky Karayiannis, Chris Cornell's wife. She partnered with Chris's band mates and friends to create a tribute album of the legendary works of Chris Cornell. 

This is a compilation of Chris Cornell's interviews over the course of his career, I would view this video as both an educational documentary and an amusing way of getting to know Chris Cornell as he describes his musical inspiration.

This is a biography about Chris Cornell's life. It touches on his upbringing and childhood, as well as his early music career, eventually launched into a legendary world-renowned career. It also talks about foundations created by Chris to raise awareness for underprivileged children around the world. Not only was Chris Cornell a rock-and-roll legend, he put his earnings into foundations and charities, doing his best to help as many people as possible.