His death was ruled a suicide by hanging. 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 Fox Theatre. Ĭornell struggled with depression for most of his life. He was voted 'Rock's Greatest Singer' by readers of Guitar World. 12 on MTV's '22 Greatest Voices in Music'. 80 on the list of the '200 Greatest Singers of All Time' by Rolling Stone, and No. 9 on the list of 'Best Lead Singers of All Time' by Rolling Stone, No. 4 on the list of 'Heavy Metal's All-Time Top 100 Vocalists' by Hit Parader, No. He was nominated for 18 Grammy Awards, winning three. alone, as well as over 30 million records worldwide. 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.Īcross 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. 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. Cornell 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 is well known for his extensive catalog as a songwriter, his nearly four- octave vocal range, and his powerful vocal belting technique. Ĭornell is considered one of the key figures of the 1990s grunge movement. Several music journalists, fan polls and fellow musicians have regarded Cornell as one of the greatest rock singers of all time. Cornell was the founder and frontman of Temple of the Dog, a one-off tribute band dedicated to his late friend Andrew Wood. He also had a solo career and contributed to numerous movie soundtracks. Christopher John Cornell ( né Boyle July 20, 1964 – May 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and musician best known as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and primary lyricist for the rock bands Soundgarden and Audioslave.

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