Chris Cornell was found dead in a hotel room in Detroit last night, hours after he performed with Soundgarden at the Fox Theatre. The cause of death was being treated as a suspected suicide.
The singer was the founder, lead vocalist, principal songwriter and rhythm guitarist for Seattle rock band Soundgarden since the group’s formation in 1984.
Their breakthrough album “Superunknown” debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and featured a string of radio smashes including “Spoonman” and “Black hole sun” both of which won Grammy Awards in 1995.
Soundgarden disbanded in 1997, and Cornell went on to form Audioslave in 2001, alongside Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello, Tim Commerford, and Brad Wilk.
The band released three commercially successful albums in six years and also performed at a concert billed as Cuba’s first outdoor rock concert by an American band.
Cornell also sang the theme song “You know my name” to the James Bond movie “Casino Royale” and released five solo albums.
In recent years, he seemed to be enjoying a career resurgence, reuniting with all his former bands and becoming a frequent presence at charity concerts.
The last solo release prior to his death, was the charity single “The Promise“.
