Chris Cornell who provided the spell binding gift of voice to Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog, Audioslave and a solid solo career died unexpectedly today at age 52. Cornell who had just performed with Soundgarden on Wednesday night in Detroit eerily ended the show with an “In My Time of Dying” refrain in the middle of “Slaves & Bulldozers.”
Mr. Cornell died Wednesday night in Detroit, said his representative, Brian Bumbery, in a statement that called the death “sudden and unexpected” and that said the singer’s family would be “working closely with the medical examiner to determine the cause.” Later on Thursday the death was ruled death by suicide.
Mr. Cornell was born in 1964 in Seattle and helped form Soundgarden 20 years later. Sub Pop, then a fledgling record label, released the group’s first single, “Hunted Down,” in 1987, as well as two subsequent EPs. The group’s debut album, “Ultramega OK,” came a year later and a couple years later Cornell was one of the most pivotal figures of the then emerging grunge scene shortly after the release of 1991’s Badmotorfinger. Cornell went on to front Temple of the Dog (who had recently completed a tour), Audioslave for three albums and five solo albums. Stay tuned for more coverage….
