Chris Cornell

Artist Image: Chris Cornell
Attribution
Image Credit: gdcgraphics (https://www.flickr.com/photos/gdcgraphics/6664888181), CC BY-SA 2.0

Biography

Christopher John Cornell (né Boyle; July 20, 1964 – May 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician best known as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for the rock bands Soundgarden and Audioslave. He also had a solo career and contributed to soundtracks. Cornell was also the founder and frontman of Temple of the Dog, a one-off tribute band dedicated to his late friend Andrew Wood. Cornell is considered one of the key figures of the 1990s grunge movement, and is well known for his extensive catalog as a songwriter, his nearly four-octave vocal range, and his powerful vocal belting technique. He released four solo studio albums, Euphoria Morning (1999), Carry On (2007), Scream (2009), and Higher Truth (2015); the live album Songbook (2011); and two compilations, The Roads We Choose (2007) and Chris Cornell (2018), the latter released posthumously. He received a Golden Globe Award nomination for his song "The Keeper", which appeared in the 2011 film Machine Gun Preacher, and co-wrote and performed "You Know My Name", the theme song to the 2006 James Bond film Casino Royale. His last solo release before his death was the charity single "The Promise", written for the ending credits for the 2016 film of the same name. Across his entire catalog, Cornell sold 14.8 million albums, 8.8 million digital songs, and 300 million on-demand audio streams in the U.S. alone, as well as over 30 million records worldwide. He was nominated for 16 Grammy Awards, winning three. He was voted "Rock's Greatest Singer" by readers of Guitar World, and ranked No. 4 on the list of "Heavy Metal's All-Time Top 100 Vocalists" by Hit Parader, No. 9 on the list of "Best Lead Singers of All Time" by Rolling Stone, and No. 12 on MTV's "22 Greatest Voices in Music".

Details

Item Name Item Details
Year Formed 1984
Number of Albums 20
Record Label UMe
Website chriscornell.com
Wikipedia Chris Cornell on Wikipedia
Social Networks

Trivia

Soundgarden combined visceral punk attitude with what kind of depth?

artistic

...undgarden, whose wild soundscapes combined visceral punk attitude with artistic depth. Powerfully original, they were the first of their generation of...
In what year did Soundgarden sign to a major label?

1989

...e first of their generation of Seattle bands to sign to a major label in 1989 and their work continued to evolve over the course of seven groundbreaki...
How many groundbreaking albums did soundgarden release?

seven

...ajor label in 1989 and their work continued to evolve over the course of seven groundbreaking albums. Soundgarden made a historic return to the live s...
When did the band make a historic return to the live stage?

2010

...breaking albums. Soundgarden made a historic return to the live stage in 2010 and have since toured the world, releasing the allnew studio album, KING...
What was the name of the Seattle band that was the first of their generation to sign to major labels?

Soundgarden

...st, composer and lyricist. His career began with Seattle trailblazers Soundgarden , whose wild soundscapes combined visceral punk attitude with artisti...
What was the name of Cornell's new studio album?

KING ANIMAL

...0 and have since toured the world, releasing the allnew studio album, KING ANIMAL , to widespread acclaim. Cornell continually redefined his sound and ...
What band did Cornell collaborate with in 1990?

Pearl Jam

...m experiment with a more soulful style alongside the future members of Pearl Jam . Later in the decade, his critically acclaimed solo album EUPHORIA MO...
What was the name of his critically acclaimed solo album?

EUPHORIA MORNING

...earl Jam. Later in the decade, his critically acclaimed solo album EUPHORIA MORNING combined lush melody and instrumentation with lyrics which spoke o...
What supergroup did he join with three other musicians from Rage Against the Machine?

Audioslave

... and despair. And as the millennium turned, he joined with three other musical pioneers from Rage Against the Machine to create supergroup Audioslave ....
When did Cornell join Soundgarden?

1984

...is teenage years, he mostly spent his time, playing drums and guitar. In 1984 , Cornell joined Soundgarden, serving as the band's lead singer and songw...
How many studio albums did Soundgarden release?

five

...r and songwriter. With this band, he released two compilation albums and five studio records, one of which made them nominated as Best Metal Performan...
How many compilation albums did the group have?

two

...ing as the band's lead singer and songwriter. With this band, he released two compilation albums and five studio records, one of which made them nomin...
Which album did Cornell release in 1997?

Euphoria Morning

...leaving Soundgarden, Cornell released a solo studio album entitled Euphoria Morning . He was also signed to score music for movie Mission: Impossible I...
What movie did Cornell score music for?

Mission: Impossible II

...d Euphoria Morning. He was also signed to score music for movie Mission: Impossible II , crafting a song called Mission 2000. After releasing Euphoria ...
How many studio albums did Cornell drop as a result of his role as the band's rhythm guitarist and vocalist?

three

...ng double duties as the band's rhythm guitarist and vocalist, he dropped three studio albums with Audioslave. All lyrics in the three albums of Audios...
What was Chris' mother's ancestry?

Canada

...and Norwegian ancestry, with many of his mother's ancestors coming from Canada . His parents divorced when Chris was in his early teens, and Chris and ...
What did Chris experiment with as an adolescent?

drugs and stealing

...his mother pulled him out. As an adolescent, he experimented with drugs and stealing . Though his parents had given him piano lessons from early on, Ch...
What instrument did Chris say his mother saved his life when she bought him?

snare drum

... early on, Chris said his mother saved his life when she bought him a snare drum . A week later he bought himself an entire drum kit and thus began his...
How old was Cornell when he dropped out of school?

15

... his forage into rock n roll. Cornell dropped out of school at the age of 15 for two reasons: one was because he had problems with authority, the othe...
Who is considered one of the key figures of the 1990s grunge movement?

Cornell

...He also had a solo career and contributed to soundtracks. Cornell is considered one of the key figures of the 1990s grunge movement, and is well known...
What was the theme song to the 2006 James Bond film Casino Royale?

You Know My Name

...d in the 2011 film Machine Gun Preacher, and cowrote and performed You Know My Name , the theme song to the 2006 James Bond film Casino Royale. His las...
In what film did The keeper appear?

Machine Gun Preacher

...ination for his song The Keeper, which appeared in the 2011 film Machine Gun Preacher , and cowrote and performed You Know My Name, the theme song to t...
Whose song was featured in the film Machine Gun Preacher?

The Keeper

...g technique. He received a Golden Globe Award nomination for his song The Keeper , which appeared in the 2011 film Machine Gun Preacher, and cowrote an...
How many albums did Cornell sell across his entire catalog?

14.8 million

... 2016 film of the same name. Across his entire catalog, Cornell sold 14.8 million albums, 8.8 million digital songs, and 300 million ondemand audio st...
What was the name of the charity single Cornell released for the 2016 film of the same name?

The Promise

...Royale. His last solo release before his death was the charity single The Promise , written for the ending credits for the 2016 film of the same name. ...
How many digital songs did Cornell have in the U.S.?

8.8 million

...me name. Across his entire catalog, Cornell sold 14.8 million albums, 8.8 million digital songs, and 300 million ondemand audio streams in the U.S. al...
How many ondemand audio streams did Cornell create?

300 million

...log, Cornell sold 14.8 million albums, 8.8 million digital songs, and 300 million ondemand audio streams in the U.S. alone, as well as over 30 million...
Who voted Cornell Rock's Greatest Singer?

readers of Guitar World

...llion records worldwide. He was voted Rock's Greatest Singer by readers of Guitar World , and ranked No. Cornell struggled with depression for most of ...
On what date was he found dead in his Detroit hotel room?

May 18, 2017

...e. He was found dead in his Detroit hotel room in the early hours of May 18, 2017 , after performing at a Soundgarden concert an hour earlier at the Fo...
By what means did he commit suicide?

hanging

...rt an hour earlier at the Fox Theatre. His death was ruled a suicide by hanging . His parents are Edward F. Boyle, a pharmacist of Irish Catholic desce...
What is Edward Boyle's religion?

Catholic

...ide by hanging. His parents are Edward F. Boyle, a pharmacist of Irish Catholic descent, and Karen Cornell, an accountant of Jewish background and sel...
Who is Cornell's band's lead guitarist?

Kim Thayil

...nge band Soundgarden. He started the band in 1984 with lead guitarist Kim Thayil , and bassist Hiro Yamamoto. Cornell is regarded as one of the greates...
In what month and year did Cornell release Euphoria Morning?

September 1999

... greatest vocalists in rock history. He released his debut album in September 1999 , Euphoria Morning. Later, in 2001, he began the supergroup Audiosla...
In what year did Cornell break up his band?

2007

...ed three albums as Audioslave's singer until the band's breakup in early 2007 . His second solo album Carry On was released to mixed commercial success...
Which album was released to mixed media?

Carry On

...s singer until the band's breakup in early 2007. His second solo album Carry On was released to mixed commercial success in June 2007. Cornell was als...
What was the cause of death determined to be?

suicide by hanging

...ndrew Wood, who had died. The cause of death was determined to be suicide by hanging . Personal life change source Cornell was born in Seattle to Ed Bo...
Where was Cornell born?

Seattle

...ed. The cause of death was determined to be suicide by hanging. Personal life change source Cornell was born in Seattle to Ed Boyle and Karen Cornell....
Who was Cornell's mother?

Karen Cornell

...ed. The cause of death was determined to be suicide by hanging. Personal life change source Cornell was born in Seattle to Ed Boyle and Karen Cornell ....
What is Chris Cornell's real name?

Christopher John Boyle

...Biography Christopher John Boyle , better known as Chris Cornell, was an American guitarist and singer known for his participation as a vocalist in the...
When was Chris Cornell born?

Seattle, Washington

...udioslave and Temple of the Dog. He was born on July 20, 1964, in Seattle, Washington and is the son of Ed Boyle and Karen Cornell. At the age of 7, C...
Who is Chris Boyle's father?

Ed Boyle

...He was born on July 20, 1964, in Seattle, Washington and is the son of Ed Boyle and Karen Cornell. At the age of 7, Chris would begin to take piano le...
What was Chris's condition as a young man?

depression

...tles, and Alice Cooper. As a young man, he had an episode of absolute depression , due to the separation of his parents, time in which he abandoned his...
What was Chris's first job after his depression?

kitchen assistant

... playing guitar and drums. After his depression, Chris worked as a kitchen assistant and formed his first band called The Jones Street Band which made...
What was his first band called?

The Jones Street Band

...s worked as a kitchen assistant and formed his first band called The Jones Street Band which made covers of bands like Sex Pistols, AC DC, The Ramones...
What band did he join in 1982?

The Shemps

..., AC DC, The Ramones and Rush. In 1982, he left home to join the band The Shemps , directed by Matt Dentino, where he participated in several presentat...
Who directed the band The Shemps?

Matt Dentino

...Rush. In 1982, he left home to join the band The Shemps, directed by Matt Dentino , where he participated in several presentations. However, after a wh...
What was the name of the first LP of the band?

Ultramega OK

...ason why Chris Cornell happened to be the vocalist. The first LP of the band was Ultramega OK including songs like Beyond the wheel and All your lies....
What year did Soundguarden break up?

1997

...s Cornell also forged his own career after the band's initial breakup in 1997 . Soundgarden had rightfully become one of rock's most popular bands on t...
What was Scream?

2009

... was in the singersongwriter mold, but he also pursued true pop music on 2009 's Scream, with help from producer Timbaland. Cornell also joined forces ...
Who helped Cornell with Scream on 2009?

Timbaland

... also pursued true pop music on 2009's Scream, with help from producer Timbaland . Cornell also joined forces with former Rage Against the Machine memb...
When was he born in Seattle?

July 20, 1964

...his legacy as a powerful and expressive vocalist. Born in Seattle on July 20, 1964 , his music career didn't take shape until he was a teenager when he...