Chris Cornell, Soundgarden & Audioslave Lead Singer, Dies At 52

Chris Cornell, the lead singer for the bands Soundgarden and Audioslave, died at the age of 52 on Wednesday night. His death was “sudden and unexpected,” according to his representative, Brian Bumbery.

Cornell and his band were on tour and playing a show in Detroit on Wednesday at the Fox Theater. The singer was found dead after the show. Bumbery also mentioned that Cornell’s family would be “working closely with the medical examiner to determine the cause [of death].”

While the details of his death have yet to be released, Detroit police responded to an apparent suicide of a white male at the MGM Grand Casino. The anonymous victim and Cornell share the same birthday – July 20, 1964. Dontae Freeman, a spokesperson for the Detroit police would not confirm the death to be a suicide although he did say it was “apparent suicide.”

Soundgarden was one of several bands to help define the grunge rock sound of the early ’90s. Like Nirvana and Pearl Jam – two other bands that contributed greatly to the grunge scene –Soundgarden was formed in Seattle, Washington, Cornell’s birthplace.

The band released their first single, “Hunted Down,” in 1987. Ten years later, the group disbanded, but not before having three of their five studio albums go platinum.

In 2001, Cornell helped form the super-group, Audioslave, which also included Rage Against the Machine members, Tom Morello, Tim Commerford, and Brad Wilk. The band broke up in 2007.

Cornell and Soundgarden reformed in 2010 and began to tour together. In 2012, they released King Animal, their first full-length studio album since their 1996 release of Down on the Upside.

The band’s most popular album, Superunkown, was released in 1996 and included singles “Black Hole Sun,” and “Spoonman.” The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart that year.

“Spoonman”

“Black Hole Sun”