Remembering Chris Cornell 5 Years Later

On May 18, 2017 Chris Cornell took his own life in his hotel room after one last performance with Soundgarden. He was 52 years old.

Today the band posted this image on social media, saying:

“Five years we have missed you.
You have love.
You have peace.
You have eternity.
Love and peace for all of Soundgarden’s brothers and sisters.
XOSG”

 

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Cornell is remembered by his wife Vicki and three children. You can read his wife’s statement from today, below.

 

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A post shared by Chris Cornell (@chriscornellofficial)

 

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A post shared by Toni Cornell (@tonicornell)

In the last 5 years, many questions have been raised surrounding his death. However, to this day we know that the autopsy report found both prescribed and not prescribed drugs in his system at the time of his death.

1984 was the beginning of something huge for Chris Cornell, when he formed Soundgarden with guitarist Kim Thayill and bassist Hiro Yamamoto. He was a man of many talents, even the drums. In an interview in 2018, Thayil said “He was a really good drummer. He’s not like Matt [Cameron] but he wrote great as a drummer. I think so much so that Hiro and I entertained the idea of getting another singer so that Chris continued to write with us on drums. But Chris really wanted to get up from behind the drum kit.”

Then in 1991, Cornell formed Temple of the Dog with future members of Pearl Jam. The supergroup only released one self-titled album, but it is well known.

Soundgarden’s Superunknown was released in 1994, skyrocketing their career. The album debuted at #1 on the Billboard charts and went five times platinum. It won two Grammys; Hard Rock Song for “Black Hole Sun” and Heavy Metal Song for “Spoonman”.

After Soundgarden broke up in 1997, Chris Cornell formed the supergroup Audioslave. Joining him in the group was Rage Against the Machine members Tom Morello, Brad Wilk and Tim Commerford. Audioslave did three albums, until 2007 when Cornell eventually left to work on his solo career. Although in 1999 he had released his solo album, Euphoria Morning.

In 2006 Cornell won several awards for “You Know My Name”, the theme for the James Bond movie Casino Royale. In 2010 Soundgarden reunited.

A few years after he passed away, in 2020, his estate shared his previously unreleased cover of Guns ‘N’ Roses’ “Patience” for what would’ve been his 56th birthday. The music video celebrated his life with a compilation of photos of the Cornell family.

Flash forward to today many artists and fans around the world continue to remember him. After he passed, his wife Vicki Cornell created a non-profit organization in his name, the Chris Cornell Music Therapy Program, which has continued on. The foundation is based in Seattle to help children and their families overcome the effects of trauma through music.

In 2018, a commemorative statue honouring Cornell was placed outside the Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle.The plaque at the bottom reads “His songs and voice ignited the alternative rock scene and helped put Seattle on the map as one of the world’s great music scenes. Cornell’s work…greatly impacted popular music and will continue to inspire future artists and bands for generations to come.”