Chris Cornell To Be Honored With Statue In Seattle

Three months after rock legend Chris Cornell passed away at the age of 52, a statue in his likeness is being crafted at the request of his widow, Vicky Cornell.

Cornell has commissioned artist and sculptor Wayne Toth to craft the statue of the Soundgarden lead singer and frontman, according to The Seattle Times. Toth created the famous Johnny Ramone statue that sits atop the rocker’s grave in Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles.

“He has already given me a design and the children and I love it,” Cornell told the paper.

The statue is expected to take about seven months to sculpt.

While an exact location for the statue has yet to be picked, Cornell says that it will be placed somewhere in Seattle, her husband’s birthplace and home to the grunge rock movement he helped define in the 1990s.

“He is Seattle’s son and we will be bringing him home and honoring him, I hope, with all of you, your love and support,” she said.

Cornell and her two children, Toni, 12, and Christopher, 11, live in Los Angeles but have been eager to give back to Seattle after the outpour of support from the city.

As such, Cornell has promised to donate $100,000 towards the newly minted Chris Cornell Music Therapy Program at Childhaven, a local nonprofit that offers services to abused or neglected children.

“Chris was always interested in protecting traumatized children who had suffered physical or psychological abuse,” said Cornell. “He always felt music was a way to heal even neurological and emotional conditions.”

The rockstar committed much of his charity work to children while he was alive.

“My vow is to keep his promise, and what better way to honor Chris and his hometown than by creating a music program to help these babies heal.”

 

Cornell died on May 17 by hanging after performing a show with his band in Detroit.

Earlier this week, his daughter Toni, performed a tribute to her father alongside OneRepublic on Good Morning America.