Rocker Chris Cornell dead at 52
Police, coroner investigating possible suicide
Rocker Chris Cornell, the lead singer of the bands Soundgarden and Audioslave, has died at age 52, and police said Thursday his death is being investigated as a possible suicide.
Cornell, who had been on tour, died Wednesday night in Detroit, said Cornell’s representative Brian Bumbery. Cornell had performed a concert with Soundgarden in Detroit that night.
Bumbery called the death “sudden and unexpected” and said his wife and family are in shock. He said the family would be working closely with the medical examiner to determine the cause and have asked for privacy.
Detroit police spokesman Michael Woody said Thursday morning he couldn’t release details about why police are investigating the death as a possible suicide, but noted that there were “basic things observed at the scene.”
The Detroit Free Press reported that Detroit police social media manager Dontae Freeman said Cornell was found dead in a hotel room at the MGM Grand Detroit hotel with “a band around his neck.” The Detroit News cited Freeman in a similar report.
But Woody said he could not confirm that Cornell died with a band around his neck and that the investigation into his death continues.
Woody said Cornell’s wife had called a family friend and asked him to check on Cornell. The friend forced open a hotel room door and found Cornell on the bathroom floor.
The Wayne County Medical Examiner’s Office will make an official determination about the cause of death. An autopsy is being conducted Thursday and some information from it was expected to be released later in the day, Wayne County spokeswoman Lisa Croff said.
News of Cornell’s death prompted scores of tweets expressing sadness. Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry tweeted: “Very sad news about Chris Cornell today. A sad loss of a great talent to the world, his friends and family. Rest In Peace.”
Cornell was born July 20, 1964 and raised in Seattle, Wash. With his powerful, nearly four-octave vocal range, Cornell was one of the leading voices of the 1990s grunge movement with Soundgarden, which emerged as one of the biggest bands out of Seattle’s emerging music scene, joining the likes of Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains.
Formed in 1984 by Cornell, guitarist Kim Thayil and bassist Hiro Yamamoto, Soundgarden’s third studio album, Badmotorfinger, in 1991 spawned popular singles
Jesus Christ Pose, Rusty Cage and Outshined that received regular play on alternative rock radio stations.
Cornell also collaborated with members of what would become Pearl Jam to form Temple of the Dog, which produced a self-titled album in 1991 in tribute to friend Andrew Wood, former frontman of Mother Love Bone.
Three years later, Soundgarden broke through on mainstream radio with the album Superunknown, which debuted at No. 1 on the
Billboard 200 and was nominated for a Grammy for best rock record in 1995. It includes hit singles Spoonman, Fell on Black Days, Black Hole Sun, My Wave and The Day I Tried to Live. Soundgarden disbanded in 1997 due to tensions in the band, and Cornell pursued a solo career. In 2001, he joined Audioslave, a supergroup that included former Rage Against the Machine members Tom Morello, Brad Wilk and Tim Commerford. The band released three albums in six years and also performed at a concert billed as Cuba’s first outdoor rock concert by a U.S. band, though some Cuban artists have disputed that claim. Audioslave disbanded in 2007, but Cornell and Soundgarden reunited in 2010 and released the band’s sixth studio album, King Animal in 2012. Cornell also released four solo studio albums and a solo live album. He released the single The Promise in March on iTunes, with all proceeds going to the International Rescue Committee, a global humanitarian aid, relief, and development non-governmental organization.
In addition to his music, Cornell also became involved in philanthropy and started the Chris and Vicky Cornell Foundation to support children facing challenges, including homelessness, poverty, abuse and neglect.