Chris Cornell dead at 52

Chris Cornell 

(born Christopher John Boyle)

July 20, 1964 - May 17, 2017

Singer/songwriter Chris Cornell, lead singer for Soundgarden and Audioslave, died last night in Detroit, Michigan. According to his representative, Cornell died after performing a concert with Soundgarden. At this time, the cause of death is unknown. Cornell was 52. 

Cornell was born in Seattle, Washington. One of six children in his family, Cornell became interested in music after listening to the Beatles for a period of two years. Struggling with anxiety, rock music was an escape for Cornell. After dropping out of high school, Cornell took a few odd jobs before deciding to become a musician. Prior to forming Soundgarden, Cornell had been in the Shemps. It was in the Shemps that Cornell met bassist Hiro Yamamonto and guitarist Kim Thayil. In 1984, the trio had formed Soundgarden- although it wasn't until 1988 when the band released their debut album Ultramega OK. The band were at their peak when the line-up of Cornell, Thayil, bassist Ben Shepherd and drummer Matt Cameron came together around 1990 after Shepherd joined. This line-up would release two best-selling albums, Badmotorfinger in 1992 and Superunknown in 1994. Along with Nirvana and Alice in Chains, Soundgarden became one of the many successful grunge rock bands to come out of Seattle. Some of the band's best known songs include "Rusty Cage," "Outshined," "Spoonman" and "Black Hole Sun."  

Soundgarden broke up in 1997 but Cornell would quickly resurfaced in the supergroup Audioslave with Rage Against the Machine members Tom Morello, Tim Commerford and Brad Wilk.  From 2002 to 2006, the band would release three albums. In 2006, Cornell scored a solo hit single with "You Know My Name"- the theme tune to the 2006 James Bond movie Casino Royale. Cornell reunited with Soundgarden in 2010, which resulted in the band releasing a new studio album King Animal in 2012.  

In his life, Cornell was married twice. His first wife was Soundgarden manager Susan Silver. With Silver, Cornell had a daughter- Lillian (born 2000). The couple divorced in 2004. Cornell's second wife (and now widow) was publicist Vicky Karayiannis. With her, Cornell had another two children- Toni (born 2004) and Christopher (born 2005). 

It's a bummer to wake up and learn of Mr. Cornell's death. He was a great singer and he was fairly young. This is a surprise. Still, the guy left behind a whole catalog of music during his time here. 

RIP, Mr. Cornell.

Update (2:52 EDT): Wayne County Medical in Michigan have released a statement to the press- officially ruling Chris Cornell's death as a suicide-by-hanging. A full autopsy, however, has not been completed yet.

More details on Cornell's death have been revealed, with sources ranging from the Detroit Free Press to police statements. After his performance with Soundgarden Wednesday night, Cornell was checked in at the MGM Grand Casino in downtown Detroit. Sometime at midnight, a friend of Cornell's family had discovered Cornell his hotel bathroom. A 911 call was received over at the Detroit Police Department on soon after on Thursday morning, according to director Michael Woody. By the time units arrived, the officers were greeted by the family friend, after which the officers entered the hotel room and saw Cornell laying in the bathroom. Cornell was unresponsive and pronounced dead. It has been also been reported that when Cornell was discovered, he was found with a band around his neck. Other reports have said that at the end of Soundgarden's concert, Cornell sang part of "In My Time of Dying," a song best known by Led Zeppelin from their 1975 album Physical Graffiti. Cornell had inserted the song into the last song the band performed- "Slaves and Bulldozers."