Up For Appreciation: Chris Cornell
Today, something is not up for review. Instead, we appreciate the life of Chris Cornell and his contributions to the music industry and our lives. For those of us who knew and loved his music, we have fallen "on black days" as his race here in life is now finished. I will not entertain any of the rumors or the well covered stories of his struggles. This is not for that. This is simply to appreciate him and be a reminder of what was lost today.
Chris Cornell... a name that resonates across the music industry. He was the leading warrior for Soundgarden which lead the grunge rock movement in the US in the late 80s and into the 90s. He is also known for Temple of the Dog, Audioslave, and his solo works.
His vocal range was unrivaled and if you've ever been around a radio you've heard him belting out his hits in a super high octave. No one quite like him. He achieved so many accolades in his more >30 year career. In 2005, ranked 12th in MTV's "22 Greatest Voices in Music." In November 2006, Hit Parader showed him coming in at 4th on their list for "Heavy Metal's All-Time Top 100 Vocalists." Rolling Stone listed him 9th in "Best Lead Singers of All Time" (2011). In November 2013, he was voted "Rock's Greatest Singer" by Guitar World. He was truly up there with the best of them.
Seattle has always been a hot bed for music. In the 90s, it served home to the bands which would produce the sound of America for the time being -- Grunge Rock. Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, and Soundgarden were all lobbying for position as top band in the genre. Soundgarden was formed in 1985 and got their first big break in 1988 when they released Ultramega OK under the label SST Records. They became the first grunge rock band to sign with a major label in 1990 when they signed with A&M Records.
It wasn't until 1994 when Soundgarden finally broke through to the international scene when they released Superunknown. It debuted as #1 on the Billboard 200 and featured eternal hits such as "Black Hole Sun" and "Spoonman." Superunknown went quintuple platinum in the US, triple platinum in Canada, and gold in most of Europe. Both "Black Hole Sun" and "Spoon Man" would go on to win Grammy's. In 2008, Rolling Stone would rank the album #336/500 on its list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. In 1997, Soundgarden would breakup only to reunite with Cornell tweeting "The 12-year break is over and school is back in session. Sign up now. Knights of the Soundtable ride again!" They went on to headline Lollapalooza in 2010.
After their breakup in 1997, Cornell went on to release solo work and would eventually start up Audioslave. I have to admit this is when I started to love Chris Cornell and the music he brought to my life. I loved Rage Against the Machine and knew a few of Soundgarden's songs. So when I found out the boys of RATM (less Zack) and Chris were teaming up, I was pretty excited. I bought their self-titled album the day it released in November 2002 and to this day know every word to every song on the CD. The album would go on to reach triple platinum and be the anthem of most rock stations for much of 2003.
Today, we woke up to sad news. Last night in Detroit, Soundgarden played a sold out show and by all reviewer accounts did just as they normally did... completely rocked the house. Chris Cornell did what he loved until his final hours. Though he cannot release new music anymore, he will be eternalized through his music forever. Thank you, Chris. Thank you, forever.
Please help me by RETWEETING and SHARING THIS!
Chris Cornell... a name that resonates across the music industry. He was the leading warrior for Soundgarden which lead the grunge rock movement in the US in the late 80s and into the 90s. He is also known for Temple of the Dog, Audioslave, and his solo works.
His vocal range was unrivaled and if you've ever been around a radio you've heard him belting out his hits in a super high octave. No one quite like him. He achieved so many accolades in his more >30 year career. In 2005, ranked 12th in MTV's "22 Greatest Voices in Music." In November 2006, Hit Parader showed him coming in at 4th on their list for "Heavy Metal's All-Time Top 100 Vocalists." Rolling Stone listed him 9th in "Best Lead Singers of All Time" (2011). In November 2013, he was voted "Rock's Greatest Singer" by Guitar World. He was truly up there with the best of them.
Seattle has always been a hot bed for music. In the 90s, it served home to the bands which would produce the sound of America for the time being -- Grunge Rock. Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, and Soundgarden were all lobbying for position as top band in the genre. Soundgarden was formed in 1985 and got their first big break in 1988 when they released Ultramega OK under the label SST Records. They became the first grunge rock band to sign with a major label in 1990 when they signed with A&M Records.
It wasn't until 1994 when Soundgarden finally broke through to the international scene when they released Superunknown. It debuted as #1 on the Billboard 200 and featured eternal hits such as "Black Hole Sun" and "Spoonman." Superunknown went quintuple platinum in the US, triple platinum in Canada, and gold in most of Europe. Both "Black Hole Sun" and "Spoon Man" would go on to win Grammy's. In 2008, Rolling Stone would rank the album #336/500 on its list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. In 1997, Soundgarden would breakup only to reunite with Cornell tweeting "The 12-year break is over and school is back in session. Sign up now. Knights of the Soundtable ride again!" They went on to headline Lollapalooza in 2010.
After their breakup in 1997, Cornell went on to release solo work and would eventually start up Audioslave. I have to admit this is when I started to love Chris Cornell and the music he brought to my life. I loved Rage Against the Machine and knew a few of Soundgarden's songs. So when I found out the boys of RATM (less Zack) and Chris were teaming up, I was pretty excited. I bought their self-titled album the day it released in November 2002 and to this day know every word to every song on the CD. The album would go on to reach triple platinum and be the anthem of most rock stations for much of 2003.
Today, we woke up to sad news. Last night in Detroit, Soundgarden played a sold out show and by all reviewer accounts did just as they normally did... completely rocked the house. Chris Cornell did what he loved until his final hours. Though he cannot release new music anymore, he will be eternalized through his music forever. Thank you, Chris. Thank you, forever.
Please help me by RETWEETING and SHARING THIS!
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