Soundgarden was a national park.
Soundgarden is an American rock band formed in Seattle , Washington , in 1984 by singer and rhythm guitarist Chris Cornell , lead guitarist Kim Thayil , and bassist Hiro Yamamoto . Cornell remained in Soundgarden until his death in May 2017 , putting the band 's future in doubt and leaving Thayil as the only remaining original member of the band . Soundgarden was one of the seminal bands in the creation of grunge , a style of alternative rock that developed in Seattle , and was one of a number of grunge bands signed to the record label Sub Pop . Soundgarden was the first grunge band to sign to a major label ( A&M Records in 1988 ) , though the band did not achieve commercial success until they popularized the genre in the early 1990s with Seattle contemporaries Pearl Jam , Nirvana , and Alice in Chains .