July 20, 1964 - May 17, 2017
One of my favorite rock vocalists of the 90's has died, Chris Cornell, lead singer of seminal grunge band Soundgarden as well as Audioslave and Temple of the Dog.
In the mid to late 80's I listened to hard rock, classic rock and heavy metal. Hair bands were the rage during the late 80's when I was in college. Towards the late 80's, the music started to get a little darker with more serious and introspective lyrics. I was not into the lighthearted dance, pop, or New Jack Swing that was popular at the time. I liked my music dark, heavy and aggressive.
A classmate of mine in guitar class introduced me to the thrash bands that he liked, Metallica, Megadeth and Anthrax (I was more of a fan of the first of the three). One day while hanging out before class, we were talking about music and swapping mix tapes. One of the songs on the tapes I borrowed from him had a band with a heavier and dirtier sound. The lead singer's voice was amazing and powerful. The band was Soundgarden. The song was "Full on Kevin's Mom" (although another attention grabbing song on the tape and also from the same album was "Big Dumb Sex", which was the main reason why this album got a Parental Advisory Sticker on it due to the lyrics, a parody of hairband sex bragging song). I ended up buying the album as soon as I could from the now defunct Tower Records.
Soundgarden was from Seattle and was part of the burgeoning "grunge movement" along with Nirvana (who didn't have "Nevermind" back then?), Alice in Chains, and Stone Temple Pilots. Early videos of the band with their original lineup showed an Indian dude with super long hair on lead guitar, Kim Thayil along with an Asian bassist, Hiro Yamamoto (later replaced by Ben Shepherd). Not only did this band have a killer lead singer, but they had Asian musicians in them. That was pretty cool in my mind back then.
Memories of my post-college years where grunge music was part of the soundtrack of my life. I used to wear ripped jeans and tied plaid shirts around my waist (I was not your typical girly girl). This was right before I was hired as an educator.
His vocals were amazing with his side project, Temple of the Dog:
So many memories listening to this again. His voice was so expressive and dynamic (4-octave range!).
I was just listening to Soundgarden the other day in my car and how much I listened to "Louder than Love" and "Badmotorfinger" in college as well as "Superunknown", which came out the year I was engaged. I have "Louder than Love" on vinyl somewhere in the garage. I need to dig it out.
He even had a small cameo in the 90's movie, "Singles" (released in 1992 and directed by Cameron Crowe, of "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" fame). The movie was about 20-something Gen X'ers in Seattle; I believe the movie capitalized on the grunge movement.
Check out the fake long hair on Matt Dillon. Chris Cornell's hair was real, ha ha.
Years later Chris Cornell even sang the theme song for the James Bond movie, "Casino Royale", "You Know My Name"...
I was surprised that Chris Cornell of all people was tapped to do a Bond theme. Nothing can really top "Live or Let Die" by Paul McCartney, but with Chris Cornell singing, that's a different story and would be among my top Bond themes.
Louder than Love (full album)
"Bad Motorfinger" (full album):
"Superunkown" (full album):
Although I have not kept up with Soundgarden, or even when Chris Cornell went solo, I hold a fond spot for Soundgarden. They were one of the first "new" bands that I actually really listened to and enjoyed in the 90's, which to me were a wasteland in terms of music (other than a select few bands that I cared for).
Such a tremendous talent.
Here is an article about Chris Cornell's last performance with Soundgarden at the Fox Theater in Detroit:
"Chris Cornell's final show: A fan's perspective" Yahoo Music, May 18, 2017
It's a shame he felt so badly about himself that he decided to end his own life. The rock world has lost a legend.
*"Say Hello 2 Heaven" references a song by Temple of the Dog
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