Reviewing a 2011 concert at the Prudential Center in Newark in The New York Times, Jon Pareles called Soundgarden “one reunited band that can pick up right where it left off.” In 2012, it released “King Animal,” its first album in 16 years, which Mr. Pareles said “sounds like four musicians live in a room, making music that clenches and unclenches like a fist.”

Mr. Cornell grew up in Seattle, the youngest of six children, and has said that he spent a lot of time in trouble as a child — he was kicked out of seventh grade once and eighth grade twice, he told Rolling Stone in a 1994 interview, and said that he struggled with drugs and then loneliness and depression. He dropped out of school at 14 after his parents’ divorce and got a job to help support his mother, he told Spin magazine in 1996.

Music became a refuge, and Mr. Cornell started to take it very seriously. He has said he was drawn to the harmonies of the Beatles early on, and started to play drums at 16. His first group was called the Jones Street Band (named after the street he lived on), and Mr. Cornell played the role of the singing drummer. After answering an ad to be a vocalist in another band, he met Mr. Thayil and Hiro Yamamoto, Soundgarden’s original bassist, and the trio quickly wrote a batch of songs.

He married Susan Silver, who managed Soundgarden and Alice in Chains, in 1990, and had a daughter, Lily; the couple split in 2004. Mr. Cornell is survived by Lily; his wife, Vicky Cornell, with whom he started a foundation to protect “vulnerable children”; and their two children, Christopher and Toni.

Mr. Cornell released five solo albums during and after his time with Soundgarden, starting with “Euphoria Morning” in 1999. His 2007 album “Carry On” featured an acoustic cover of Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean,” which was the inspiration for a well-received version of the song on “American Idol.”</s>Chris Cornell, vocalist for Soundgarden, Audioslave and an active participant in the Seattle music scene since the early ’80s died Wednesday night after a concert in Detroit. He was 52.

Michael Woody, Director of Media Relations for the Detriot Police Department, confirms to Radio.com that the death is being investigated as a possible suicide, but that the cause of death has not yet been determined by the medical examiner.

Soundgarden launched a North American tour on April 28 in Tampa Florida and were scheduled to remain on the road through May 27. In a statement to CNN, the band’s publicist, Brian Bumbery, called Cornell’s death “sudden and unexpected.”

“His wife Vicky and family were shocked to learn of his sudden and unexpected passing and they will be working closely with the medical examiner to determine the cause,” reads the statement. “They would like to thank his fans for their continuous love and loyalty and ask that their privacy be respected at this time.”

Cornell, who was known for his dynamic vocals, which ranged from a soft melodic croon to a window-shattering scream, started his career with the cover band the Shemps, which also featured bassist Hiro Yamamoto and later, guitarist Kim Thayil. When the band broke up, Cornell formed Soundgarden in 1984 with Thayil, Yamamoto and drummer Scott Sundquist. The band’s first single appeared on the 1986 CZ compilation, Deep Six, which is widely considered one of the first albums to feature Seattle’s “grunge” sound.

Soundgarden’s debut EPs Screaming Life came out in 1987 and was followed by the EP Fop. The band’s full-length debut, Ultramega OK, was released in 1990. The band followed with five more releases, including their 2012 album King Animal, which followed a 15-year hiatus. Cornell also released five solo albums and recorded three albums with Audioslave.</s>Chris Cornell gained fame as the lead singer to the grunge band Soundgarden and later with Audioslave.

Brian Bumbery, Cornell's representative, released a statement to NPR on the singer's death:



"Chris Cornell passed away late last night in Detroit, MI. His wife Vicky and family were shocked to learn of his sudden and unexpected passing, and they will be working closely with the medical examiner to determine the cause. They would like to thank his fans for their continuous love and loyalty and ask that their privacy be respected at this time."



Soundgarden was formed in 1984 by Cornell, guitarist Kim Thayil and Bassist Hiro Yamamoto — it went on to become one of the biggest bands of the 1990s grunge movement.

Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains were other bands to come out of the Northwestern grunge-rock scene at about the same time.

Soundgarden found a place 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.

Cornell pursued a solo career after Soundgarden broke up in 1997.

In 2001, Cornell joined Audioslave and the band released three albums — disbanding in 2007.

Later, Cornell and Soundgarden reunited and in 2012 released the band's sixth studio album, King Animal.

NPR's Rachel Martin talked to Cornell in 2015. At the time he had just released a solo album called Higher Truth.



In the interview that aired on Weekend Sunday, Martin noted Cornell was still recording with Soundgarden, and asked if he needed the band and the solo projects to make the whole? I would live without both parts, Cornell answered. "But it's a lot more satisfying to have them. It's great to still be having new experiences with the same group of guys — because we invented a band together, and kind of co-invented a genre of music. Being able to come back and experience being a band together at a different time in our lives has been really rewarding, but it's also just really nice to still share some part of my life with these people that have been so important to it."



Cornell, who was on tour in Detroit at the time of his death, was 52.</s>Chris Cornell, the 52-year-old frontman of Soundgarden and AudioSlave, died the evening of Wednesday, May 17, hours after performing at Detroit's Fox Theatre, reported multiple outlets Thursday. Soundgarden was slated to play Denver's Fillmore Auditorium on Monday, May 22. ABC reports Detroit police are investigating his death as a suicide.

Born and raised in Seattle, Cornell was one of a handful of musicians who defined the Seattle sound and turned a relatively obscure style of punk into a national sensation. Like some other grunge pioneers, Cornell was known for brooding moods and drug use that started in his youth and continued off and on throughout his career.

He was working at a restaurant in Seattle when he launched Soundgarden in 1984, and the outfit played together until 1997, when it broke up. After that, he recorded several solo projects. Soundgarden came back together in 2010 and has been touring regularly since.

"I get more elder-statesman-of-rock offers than I used to, simply because I'm older and I'm still around," Cornell told Westword's Michael Roberts in 2007. The singer added, "I spent years in Soundgarden basically taking steps back out of the limelight so that we appeared to be a band. And I did a really good job of it, because to this day, most people don’t know that I wrote pretty much every radio single we ever had entirely by myself."

Read Roberts's full interview with Cornell here. See images of Soundgarden playing Colorado's 1STBANK Center here and Red Rocks here.

In the following statement, concert promoter Live Nation announced the Monday Soundgarden show will be cancelled.

Due to the untimely passing of Chris Cornell, Live Nation announced that Monday’s scheduled Soundgarden show at the Fillmore Auditorium is cancelled. Refunds will be available at point of purchase. Our thoughts and prayers are with the entire Soundgarden family during this difficult time.</s>Rock singer Chris Cornell, who gained fame as the frontman of Soundgarden and Audioslave, has died at the age of 52, according to his representative.

In a statement to the Associated Press, Brian Bumbery said Cornell died on Wednesday night in Detroit.

Mr Bumbery called the death "sudden and unexpected" and said his wife and family were shocked.

The statement said the family would be working closely with the medical examiner to determine the cause and asked for privacy.

As the lead singer for Seattle-based Soundgarden, Cornell helped inspire the 90s grunge rock movement.

He was also a Grammy award-winning, Golden Globe-nominated singer, songwriter, guitarist, composer and lyricist.

He later became involved in philanthropy and started the Chris and Vicky Cornell Foundation to support children facing challenges, including homelessness, poverty, abuse and neglect.</s>Singer Chris Cornell, who has been in tour with his band Soundgarden, has died at the age of 52 shortly after playing a concert in Detroit.

Cornell, who also was the Audioslave singer, and as a solo performed “You Know My Name,” the theme to the 2006 Casino Royale James Bond movie. It was the first time an American artist had written and sung a Bond theme.

Soundgarden had more shows scheduled and Cornell’s representative Brian Bumbery said the death was “sudden and unexpected” with medical examiners determining the cause.

Soundgarden formed in 1984 and developed the Seattle grunge sound along with Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains and others. It reunited last year with plans to record and tour. On Twitter, Cornell last night enthusiastically posted about the show at the Fox Theatre, saying he was “finally back to rock city.” Tributes have been coming in on Twitter from Sir Elton John, Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page and Billy Idol. John said Cornell was “a great singer, songwriter and the loveliest man.” Page said Cornell was “incredibly talented, incredibly young and incredibly missed.”

Soundgarden has sold more than 10 million albums in the U.S. alone as as many as 23 million across the world. Cornell has struggled with addiction to drugs and alcohol. He said he checked into rehab in 2003 and had been sober since.

The Soundgarden Spring 2017 tour had 18 dates across America. The band had been due to move on to play Columbus, Maryland Heights, Denver, Houston, Dallas and Pryor.

I'm the author of books including All You Need is Rock, collecting my rock criticism for Bloomberg. I'm now editor of Dante magazine and write for ArtInfo and Forbes. Follow me @Mark_Beech</s>DETROIT (CBS SF/AP) – Rocker Chris Cornell, who gained fame as the lead singer of the bands Soundgarden and later Audioslave, has died at age 52, according to his representative.

Cornell, who had been on tour, died Wednesday night in Detroit, Brian Bumbery said in a statement to The Associated Press.

Bumbery called the death “sudden and unexpected” and said his wife and family were shocked by it. The statement said the family would be working closely with the medical examiner to determine the cause and asked for privacy.

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 enormously 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 for 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 included 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 an American band, though some Cuban artists have disputed that claim.

Audioslave disbanded in 2007, but Cornell and Soundgarden reunited in 2012 and released the band’s sixth studio album, “King Animal” in 2012.

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.

TM and © Copyright 2017 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten. The Associated Press contributed to this report.</s>DETROIT — Rocker Chris Cornell, who gained fame as the lead singer of the bands Soundgarden and later Audioslave, has died at age 52, according to his representative.

Cornell, who had been on tour, died Wednesday night in Detroit, Brian Bumbery said in a statement to The Associated Press. Cornell had performed a Detroit concert with Soundgarden that night.

Bumbery called the death “sudden and unexpected” and said his wife and family were shocked by it. The statement said the family would be working closely with the medical examiner to determine the cause and asked for privacy.

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.”

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 for 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 included 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 an American band, though some Cuban artists have disputed that claim.

Audioslave disbanded in 2007, but Cornell and Soundgarden reunited in 2012 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 also 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.</s>(CNN) — Chris Cornell, lead singer of Soundgarden and Audioslave, died Wednesday night, his representative told CNN.

Cornell, 52, was in Detroit performing with Soundgarden, which had embarked on a US tour in April. Brian Bumbery, his representative, called Cornell’s passing “sudden and unexpected” in a statement to CNN.

“His wife Vicky and family were shocked to learn of his sudden and unexpected passing, and they will be working closely with the medical examiner to determine the cause,” the statement read. “They would like to thank his fans for their continuous love and loyalty and ask that their privacy be respected at this time.”

The Grammy-winning rocker had performed Wednesday night at the Fox Theatre in Detroit.

Cornell began his career in the Seattle rock scene forming the band Soundgarden in 1984, which was influential in the 1990s grunge movement.

Cornell became another in a line of lead singers from major grunge rock bands to pass away. Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain was found dead in his Seattle home in 1994. His death was ruled a suicide. Alice in Chains’ original singer, Layne Staley, died from a drug overdose in 2002. Scott Weiland of Stone Temple Pilots died of an accidental overdose in 2015.

In interviews, Cornell discussed his past struggles with alcohol and the impact of his friends’ deaths from substance abuse.

“I’ve lost a lot of young, brilliant friends, people that I thought were very inspired,” he told Rolling Stone in 2015.

“They’re all young and these guys all had limitless potential in their lives in front of them.”

Soundgarden predated both grunge pioneers Nirvana and Pearl Jam, but it wasn’t an overnight success.

The group hit its commercial peak with its breakout album, “Superunknown” in 1994, which was nominated for a Grammy Award for best rock album. Songs from that album, “Black Hole Sun” won best the Grammy for best hard rock performance, and the song “Spoonman” won for best metal performance that year.

The group disbanded in 1997 and released a greatest hits compilation the same year.

The breakup wasn’t anything unusual, Cornell told CNN in 2012. “It was just time for a break,” he said.

In 2001, Cornell joined with three former members of Rage Against the Machine to form Audioslave. Their most successful single, “Like a Stone” released in 2003.

The group’s defining moment was a 2005 concert in Cuba, which at the time was billed as the country’s first outdoor rock concert by an American band.

As the charismatic frontman, Cornell was known for his raw and soulful voice.

He also sang the theme song to the James Bond movie “Casino Royale” and released five solo albums

Soundgarden came back on stage in 2010 for festival performances and had recently started touring again. The band tweeted Wednesday night a quote from Cornell: “What I look forward to the most…is the camaraderie. It’s what we missed when we weren’t a band.”

Rocker Dave Navarro mourned the loss of Cornell, tweeting: “Such a terrible and sad loss! Thinking of his family tonight! RIP.”

Cornell said he offered minimal explanation for his songs, because he wanted fans to come up with their own meanings.

“If I write a song and put it out there, it’s not mine anymore,” he told CNN. “It takes on a life of its own, and when you listen to it, it becomes your song. And over the course of generations, those meanings will change.”</s>According to his representative, rocker Chris Cornell, who gained fame as the lead singer of Soundgarden and later Audioslave, has died at age 52.

 

 In a statement to The Associated Press, Brian Bumbery says Cornell died Wednesday night in Detroit.

 

 Bumbery called the death "sudden and unexpected" and said his wife and family were shocked by it. The statement said the family would be working closely with the medical examiner to determine the cause and asked for privacy.

As the lead singer for Seattle-based Soundgarden, Cornell helped architect the 90’s grunge rock movement. He was also a Grammy award-winning, Golden Globe nominated singer, songwriter, guitarist, composer and lyricist.

In addition, Cornell became involved in philanthropy and started the Chris and Vicky Cornell Foundation to support children facing challenges, including homelessness, poverty, abuse and neglect.

Several artists have tweeted their respects to Cornell:
Chris Cornell, the lead vocalist for the Seattle rock band Soundgarden, dies after a concert at the age of 52.