Died On This Date (May 17, 2017) Chris Cornell / Soundgarden, Audioslave, Temple of the Dog

Chris Cornell (Born Christopher Boyle)
July 20, 1964 – May 17, 2017

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Chris Cornell was Seattle singer, songwriter and guitarist who will forever be remembered as one of the primary architects of grunge, a sub-genre or alternative rock.  If a singer is lucky, she or he will find critical acclaim and commercial success by fronting just one band. But Cornell achieved that three times, with Soundgarden, Audioslave and early on, with Temple of the Dog, a one-off tribute to his friend, Mother Love Bone‘s Andrew Wood, who died of an overdose in 1990, just as the Seattle scene was about to change pop music forever. Born and raised in Seattle, Cornell found himself drawn to the Beatles as a child, reportedly spending most of his days between 9 and 11 years old, devouring a collection of Beatle records he found in a neighbor’s basement.  After learning to play the guitar and drums, Cornell joined a local cover band called the Shemps during the early ’80s.  It was with the Shemps that he forged his musical relationship with Kim Thayil and Hiro Yamamoto, which lead to the formation of Soundgarden in 1984.  The band went on to release six studio albums, with 1994’s Superunknown debuting at #1 and going on to sell over 9 million copies worldwide.  In all, Soundgarden sold upwards of 25 million albums.  With Audioslave, which Cornell co-founded with Tom Morello, Tim Commerford and Brad Wilk of Rage Against the Machine, Cornell and the band moved more toward a ’70s rock vibe.  The band released three albums which sold more than 4.5 million albums in the US alone.  As a solo artist, Cornell achieved success with four releases and had the rare opportunity to record the theme song for a James Bond film, 2006’s Casino Royale.  The single, “You Know My Name,” charted in several places, most notably, the UK, where it peaked at #7.  After initially disbanding in 1997, Soundgarden reformed in 2010 and released  King Animal in 2012.  It was their first album in 16 years and debuted at #5 on the Billboard charts. It was while on tour with Soundgarden in 2017 that Chris Cornell passed away. Found deceased in his hotel room following a May 17th performance in Detroit, the local Medical Examiner ruled his death a suicide by hanging. He was 52.

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Died On This Date (March 31, 2011) Don Hill / Iconic New York Nightclub Owner

Don Hill
DOB Unknown – March 31, 2011

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Don Hill was a popular New York City club manager and owner who helped make the Cat Club, and later his own Don Hill’s nightclub THE places to be seen for rock stars and celebrities of every stripe.  Born and raised in New Jersey, Hill was just 18 when landed his first Manhattan job at Kenny’s Castaways.   In 1985, he took over management of the Cat Club and began booking talent like G.G. Allin, Poison, Soundgarden and L.A. Guns – it was the first place most New Yorkers caught a glimpse of these acts.  The Cat Club stage also played host to David Bowie and Peter Frampton during the ’80s.  In 1993, he opened Don Hill’s which again, became and still is, the hangout of choice for many of rock’s elite.  Don Hill was 66 when he passed away on March 31, 2011.  Cause of death was not immediately released.

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Died On This Date (April 5, 2002) Layne Staley / Alice In Chains

Layne Staley
August 22, 1967 – April 5, 2002

layne-staleyLayne Staley was the lead singer of hair band killers, Alice In Chains.  The band was part of a new musical movement that exploded out of Seattle in the early ’90s.  It was called Grunge and Alice In Chains ruled alongside Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Nirvana.  It married the best elements of metal with punk and spoke to millions of disaffected teens of that era.  Staley’s voice separated them from the pack.  It was metal but it was also rock god.  On stage, he quickly became one of the generations most captivating front men.  Sadly, as the band’s success soared in the mid ’90s, so did Staley drug habits.   And it only got worse in 1996 when his fiance died of drug abuse.  As the decade came to a close, Staley was mostly invisible to fans of Alice In Chains, making sporadic contributions to soundtracks and such.  On April 19, 2002, Staley’s lifeless body was found in his condo by his mother and step father.  He was surrounded by various drugs and paraphernalia.   The autopsy concluded that he had died of a deadly dose of heroin and cocaine, or “speedball.”  The coroner determined the official date of death as April 5, 2002, two weeks before he had been found.  It was amazingly eight years to the day after Kurt Cobain died just as tragically.

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Died On This Date (March 19, 1990) Andrew Wood / Mother Love Bone

Andrew Wood
January 6, 1966 – March 19, 1990

Andrew Wood is best remembered as the lead singer of influential Seattle grunge band, Mother Love Bone.  Formed in 1988, Mother Love Bone was quickly embraced by the area youth thanks, in part, to Wood’s Robert Plant-like vocals and wildly charismatic presence on stage.  But before  Mother Love Bone could get its chance to likely become the biggest band of the grunge scene, Andrew Wood died of a heroin overdose and cerebral hemorrhage on the eve of their debut album.  He was just 24 years old.  Former band mates Jeff Ament and Stone Gossard went on to form Pearl Jam.  Bands like Soundgarden, Stone Temple Pilots, Faster Pussycat and the Cult have since paid tribute to Wood on various recordings.

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Died On This Date (October 21, 1995) Shannon Hoon / Blind Melon

Richard Shannon Hoon
September 26, 1967 – October 21, 1995

Shannon Hoon was the lead singer of ’90s alternative rock band, Blind Melon.  The band formed in Los Angeles in 1991 and were quickly awarded a recording contract with Capitol Records.  Meanwhile, Hoon was raising his profile on the Los Angeles scene by befriending Axl Rose, and subsequently singing back up on Guns N Roses’ Use Your Illusion albums and making a cameo in their “Dont Cry” video.  This helped spark a frenzy for Blind Melon by the time their debut self-titled album dropped in September of 1992.  The album eventually became a hit thanks to the hit song “No Rain” and the video that made a pop icon out of its “Bee Girl” character.  The band were now touring with the likes of Lenny Kravitz, Soundgarden and Ozzy Osbourne while Blind Melon was on it’s way to multi-platinum status.  Unfortunately, Hoon’s actions were becoming more and more erratic  due to his heavy drug usage.  After the release of their second album, Soup, in 1995, Blind Melon once again,  hit the road.  Hoon had been attempting to rehab at that time, but fell beck into his bad habits while on the tour.  He died of a cocaine overdose on the band’s tour bus following a show in Houston.  He was 28 years old.

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