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01
Lead vocalist, songwriter, guitarist and co-founder of the alt rock band Soundgarden; he was originally the drummer before Matt Cameron joined and Cornell switched to vocals. Soundgarden was formed in 1984 and was the first Grunge band to sign with a major record label, A&M Records, releasing their first album, Louder Than Love, in 1989.
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02
Wrote the song Wave Goodbye about the death of his friend, musician Jeff Buckley.
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03
Was an avid reader who enjoyed books on philosophy and eastern culture; he counted Sylvia Plath among his favorite authors.
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04
Wrote Jesus Christ Pose as a parody of Jane’s Addiction singer Perry Farrell, criticizing how public figures use religious imagery to portray themselves as martyrs.
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05
He dropped out of school due to his struggles with depression and almost never left the house.
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06
He was a two-time Grammy winner, with a total of 14 nominations. He sold over 22.5 million records worldwide with Soundgarden, over 1 million copies of Temple of the Dog, over 300,000 copies of his solo debut Euphoria Morning which earned a Grammy nomination, and with Audioslave his three albums sold 8 million records worldwide. By 2017, his entire catalog sold over 30 million records.
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07
Used to sign records and merchandise with the words be nice to pets.
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08
Left Audioslave in 2007 due to growing differences with the other members; they later reestablished Rage Against the Machine with Zack De La Rocha, while Cornell returned to his solo career.
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09
Enjoyed snowboarding and mountain biking in his leisure.
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10
Shaved his head in 1993 and mailed his hair to his then-wife Susan Silver; the story appeared in TIME magazine.
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11
Worked as a cook, including as a sous-chef at Ray’s Boathouse in Seattle.
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12
Became a father for the first time at age 36 when daughter Lillian Jean Cornell-Silver was born on June 28, 2000 to Susan Silver.
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13
His first girlfriend stabbed him through the hand for no particular reason.
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14
Became a father for the second time at age 40 when his second wife, Vicky Cornell, gave birth to daughter Toni Cornell on September 18, 2004.
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15
Wore a fork necklace given to him by Blind Melon’s lead singer Shannon Hoon; he wore it in the music video for Soundgarden’s Black Hole Sun but stopped after Hoon’s death in 1995, and later lost it.
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16
Became a father for the third time at age 41 when son Christopher Nicholas Cornell was born in December 2005.
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17
Was considered the Godfather of Grunge.
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18
He had struggled with depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts since his teenage years.
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19
Dropped out of school at age fifteen.
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20
Owned a rock-themed restaurant in Paris called Black Calavados.
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21
Gave Jim Carrey the guitar he used the night they both performed on Saturday Night Live in 1996.
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22
Was friends with Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder, Alice in Chains’ Layne Staley and Jerry Cantrell, Blind Melon’s Shannon Hoon, and others.
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23
Lived in Seattle, Los Angeles, Paris, Rome, Miami, and New York; New York was his last residence.
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24
November 19, 2002 release of Audioslave’s debut album.
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25
Performed with Audioslave on the 2003 revival of Lollapalooza; he had also played Lollapalooza with Soundgarden in the 90s.
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26
Was considered for lead singer of Faith No More after Chuck Mosley left in 1988; Mike Patton joined instead.
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27
Left Audioslave citing irresolvable personality conflicts as well as musical differences.
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28
He died on the same day May 18 and in the same manner suicide by hanging as Ian Curtis of Joy Division, 37 years later.
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29
Rode a Harley Davidson FXR.
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30
Taught himself to play guitar.
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31
Began self-medicating with alcohol, LSD and prescription drugs at age twelve and used them regularly by thirteen before quitting to focus on music.
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32
His maternal great-great-grandfather, Henry Robert Emmerson, was Premier of New Brunswick from 1897 to 1900.
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33
He had five siblings: older brothers Peter and Patrick, and younger sisters Katy, Suzy, and Maggie. Peter, Katy, and Suzy performed in the band Inflatable Soule in the 1990s.
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34
His ancestry included Norwegian, Irish, English, Scottish, Northern Irish, Welsh, German, French, and remote Manx and Swiss-German.
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35
His nickname used to be Frisbee; there was a Chris A and a Chris B at the restaurant where he worked, and someone misheard Chris B as Frisbee.
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36
Was friends with Tom Morello and Brad Pitt.
