Posted on 05/19/2017 5:35:13 AM PDT by Drew68
DETROIT — Chris Cornell, one of the most lauded and respected contemporary lead singers in rock music with his bands Soundgarden and Audioslave, hanged himself Wednesday in a Detroit hotel room, according to the city’s medical examiner. He was 52.
The Wayne County Medical Examiner’s Office said Thursday it completed the preliminary autopsy on Cornell, but that “a full autopsy report has not yet been completed.” A police spokesman told two Detroit newspapers that the singer was found with a band around his neck.
Cornell’s death stunned his family and his die-hard fans, who Cornell just performed for hours earlier at a show in Detroit. Soundgarden’s current tour kicked off in late April and was planned to run through May 27. He was found dead at the MGM Grand Detroit hotel by a family friend who went to his room after Cornell’s wife asked him to check on the singer, police said.
Cornell was a leader of the grunge movement with Seattle-based Soundgarden — with whom he gained critical and commercial acclaim — but also found success outside the band with other projects, including Audioslave, Temple of the Dog as well as solo albums. He was widely respected in the music industry: He reached success in every band lineup he was part of it, his voice was memorable and powerful, and he was a skilled songwriter, even collaborating on a number of film soundtracks, including the James Bond theme song for 2006′s “Casino Royale” and “The Keeper” from the film “Machine Gun Preacher,” which earned Cornell a Golden Globe nomination.
“To create the intimacy of an acoustic performance there needed to be real stories. They need to be kind of real and they need to have a beginning, middle and an end,” Cornell said of songwriting in a 2015 interview...
(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.com ...
RIP Chris. I remember it was late 1989, walking into an independent record store in Ft. Collins, Colorado and buying "Louder Than Love" only because I thought the album cover and the previously unheard of band name looked cool. I would not be disappointed.
Sad. I liked SoundGarden and I grew-up in the 70’s [FWIW].
I would ^suspect^...auto-erotica.
All I can say is WHO
Like any music: what’s it about? Odes to darkness won’t invite light. An anti rock snob I will not be. But the medium has a choice of what to embrace as subject matter.
Performing Black Hole Sun for the 100,000 time in Detroit could get a guy down.
“I would ^suspect^...auto-erotica.”
Revenge of the choked chicken.
Out of all the grunge Soundgarden probably had the most talented musicians. Wgat a depressing genre. I’ll take my hair metal over that depressing garbage....I liked it at first but it got old quick, the constant drum beat of woe is me.
Cornell had the best voice of all of them. Maybe one of my favorite rock voices.
Really sad.
Too bad the Spoonman couldn’t save Chris, which he requested in one of SG’s greatest songs.
RIP Chris!
One surmises the grimfaced band (which was tight) chewed his ass after the show, he made tracks back to the MGM Detroit penthouse, texted the wife and did the deed.
A real shame - was a big fan of Soundgarden in the ‘90s, and while I hadn’t kept up with Cornell’s efforts in Audioslave or the Soundgarden reunion, it was good to know they were still out there making music. Pretty tragic track record for the lead singers of the ‘90s Seattle bands - Kurt Cobain, Layne Staley and now Cornell.
I don't think it was accidental. I think he intentionally hung himself. He had a long history of depression and substance abuse, much of which is all coming to light now.
Attendees at the Detroit show are posting that he seemed "off" and was mumbling incoherently into the microphone from time to time.
Incredible talent. Cornell could sing anything. He will be missed.
“Like any music: what’s it about? Odes to darkness won’t invite light. An anti rock snob I will not be. But the medium has a choice of what to embrace as subject matter.”
VERY well said!
Yup there’s a lot of difference between sympathy and a continual ode to down.
That was my first thought, having known a few departed that had addictions. They realized that they had relapsed and felt that there were no more options. And its sad, they are always killing the wrong person.
“Cornell had the best voice of all of them. Maybe one of my favorite rock voices”
Chris and Eddie trading vocals on Hunger Strike is amazing. Great Song IMO.
I liked grunge as well because I liked the loud guitars and the unpretentiousness of the performers. I would turn 21 at the end of '89, a child of the MTV suburbs in flyover country, I was tired of the pretty boy hair bands and their needle-needle guitar solos. Grunge was a welcome change.
But, yes, it did get old fast. Eventually, all the bands sounded like the same sludge. It's strange to think that for many, grunge was the defining music of the 1990s. In truth, it had peaked by '93 and by 1994 nobody wanted anything to do with it. Us white kids were listening to the Beastie Boys and 311 by then, upbeat and funky, prefect for the growing optimism of the times.
Of all the grunge acts, only Pearl Jam was able to stay relevant through changing musical tastes, primarily because they didn't allow themselves to be defined by one particular genre.
Chris Cornell suffered from depression for years. I would believe his suicide was akin to Robin Williams’. Anyone can put on a happy visage to hide the sadness.
Big Obozo supporter, think he played at his inauguration and campaign rallies. Heard him ramble on at some interview years ago about how we should look to France as our political & healthcare model. Talented musician but typical clueless lib.
So RIP is about nicest thing I can say about him.
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