Chris Cornell & Soundgarden:
Architects of Grunge
Biography
Christopher John Boyle was born July 20, 1964 in Seattle, Washington. He was the son of Ed Boyle (an Irish Catholic pharmacist) and Karen Cornell (a Jewish accountant). The world would come to know him better as Chris Cornell, one of the greatest hard rock and heavy metal vocalists of all time…
Chris was born and raised in Seattle. He attended Christ the King Catholic Elementary School, and Shorewood High School. He has 5 siblings: 2 older brothers named Peter and Patrick, and 3 younger sisters named Katy, Suzy, and Maggie. Most of these siblings are musically talented as well. Peter, Katy, and Suzy were in the 1990’s band Inflatable Soul. Peter currently fronts the band Black Market Radio, and Katy sings lead vocals for the Seattle band Happy Hour Hero.
When Chris was 9 years old, he found – and stole – a stash of old abandoned Beatles records in a neighbor’s basement, and listened to almost no other music besides the Beatles for the next 2 years. In his childhood, Chris experienced a high level of social anxiety, and kept to himself. At some point, though, he discovered that he could ease his anxiety with rock music, and that allowed him to come out of his shell.
Chris had taken piano lessons from a young age, but had always been bored with the instrument. He claims that his mom ‘saved his life’ when she bought him a snare drum. One week later, he had managed to find the money to buy a whole drum kit, and that was when he truly began to find himself in rock music.
As a teenager, Chris experimented a lot with drugs and alcohol. He had a major problem with authority, and this combined with his social anxieties made school very difficult for him. Due to the difficulties he was having, he dropped out at the age of 15. He also wanted to work to help his mother and provide support for his younger sisters. Chris worked at the popular Ray’s Boathouse in Seattle. He waited tables, was a seafood wholesaler, and for a time, a sous chef.
In the early eighties, Chris was a member of a cover band in Seattle called the Shemps. The Shemps also featured Hiro Yamamoto on bass. They performed around Seattle, but never made it big. Kim Thayil replaced Yamamoto as bass player when Hiro decided to leave the band. Eventually, due to disagreements about artistic direction, the Shemps disbanded. After the split, Cornell and Yamamoto would sometimes jam together, and eventually invited Thayil to join them.
These jam sessions eventually led to the formation of Soundgarden, in the mid-eighties. Cornell, Yamamoto, and Thayil founded Soundgarden in 1984. The band is named after a popular art installation in Seattle. They were originally a trio, with Chris on drums and vocals. In 1985, Scott Sundquist joined the group on drums, allowing Cornell to focus solely on vocals. Three of their earliest recordings appeared on a compilation for C/Z Records, entitled Deep Six.
In 1986, Sundquist would leave the band in order to spend more time with his family. He was replaced by the former Skin Yard drummer, Matt Cameron, who then became Soundgarden’s permanent drummer.
Soundgarden first signed with Sub Pop. They released the EP Screaming Life in 1987, followed by Fopp in 1988. The two albums were combined and released as Screaming Life/Fopp in 1990. The band was being scouted by major labels as early as 1988, but did not immediately strike a deal with the mainstream. Chris has said that they still felt like a local band, a garage band of sorts, and weren’t really prepared for the big time.
In 1988, they left Sub Pop and signed with SST Records. Later that same year, they released their debut album, Ultramega OK. In 1990, the album got them a Grammy nomination for Best Metal Performance. This led them to sign with A&M Records, and they were the first Seattle grunge band to sign to a major label.
Louder than Love (1989) was the first album they released under their new label. After this album was released, Yamamoto decided to leave the band to go back to school. He earned a Master’s in Physical Chemistry from Western Washington University. Yamamoto was replaced by Jason Everman, a former Nirvana guitarist. Everman toured with the band in support of ‘Louder than Love’, but was fired shortly after the tour ended. In 1990 Ben Shepard joined the group as their new bassist.
The early 1990’s saw a huge influx of grunge bands and style into the mainstream. The movement that had started in clubs in Seattle was now taking the world by storm. Everyone on the scene in Seattle knew who Chris Cornell was, and knew his band Soundgarden had layed the foundation for every other band to follow. Soon, the whole world would know who Soundgarden was, and would be transfixed by their lead vocalist.
In 1991, the band recorded Badmotorfinger, the album that propelled them to new heights both commercially, and influentially. The album included the singles, ‘Outshined’, ‘Rusty Cage’, and ‘Jesus Christ Pose’, all of which garnered a lot of airtime on rock and alternative radio stations. ‘Jesus Christ Pose’ was the subject of a lot of controversy, and therefore did not get played on MTV like the others. Badmotorfinger earned the band a second Grammy nod for Best Metal Performance in 1992.
Superunknown was released in 1994, and would become the band’s true breakthrough album, taking them from grunge and alternative rock stars to mainstream rock superstars. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. Superunknown spawned the hit singles ‘Black Hole Sun’ and ‘Spoonman’ – both of which won Grammies – and the album got a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Album in 1995. Superunknown also left its mark internationally when it achieved quintuple platinum status in the United States, triple platinum status in Canada, and gold status in the United Kingdom, Sweden, and the Netherlands.
Soundgarden’s final album was Down on the Upside, which the band produced themselves. The singles from this album include ‘Burden in My Hand’, ‘Pretty Noose’, and ‘Blow Up The Outside World’. Although the album did not do as well as the others, it still got a Grammy nomination for the single ‘Pretty Noose’.
Throughout 1996 and into ’97, there was a lot of tension and disagreement in the band. Cornell and Thayil had many disagreements over the creative direction of the band, as well as artistic visions for various songs. Soundgarden disbanded in April 1997.
Following the break-up of the band, Chris went on to pursue a solo career, from ’98-’00. In 2001, Cornell joined with members of Rage Against the Machine to form Audioslave. Their self-titled debut was released in 2002, spawning the hits ‘Cochise’, ‘Show me How to Live’, and ‘Like a Stone’. It achieved Platinum status.
Audioslave’s second album came out in 2005. It was titled Out of Exile, and produced a hit by the same name, as well as the singles ‘Doesn’t Remind Me’, ‘Be Yourself’, and ‘Your Time Has Come’.
They followed this up with their last album featuring Cornell as vocalist, releasing Revelations in 2006, which sparked the singles ‘Revelations’ and ‘Original Fire’. Cornell would depart the group shortly after the album’s release due to tension between bandmates, and some misunderstandings that lead the public to believe that Chris (who had been sober for years) was using alcohol and drugs again. He was not.
In 2007, Cornell went back to his solo career. He has done several songs for movies, as well as a cd/dvd/digital download concert release called Chris Cornell: Unplugged in Sweden.
In 2010, Soundgarden reunited, and has been playing live shows – they headlined Lollapalooza 2010 – and making television appearances since. They have also released 2 retrospective albums, called Live on I5 and Telephantasm. Chris temporarily broke from the band in the spring of 2011 to go on a US solo tour, and has now joined back up with the rest of the guys for a Soundgarden summer tour.
Style Characteristics
Chris Cornell has an incredible vocal range, from B1-G5 in full voice, and up to E6 in falsetto. He is known for his growling, screaming delivery, and for his high-pitched wails. He can have a gravel edge to his voice, or have a very smooth crispness.
His bands have typically been known for loud guitars and pounding, driving drums. Some songs are slowed down and softer, more ballad-like, but most are hard-driven grunge and metal. One characteristic that Soundgarden, Audioslave, and solo Cornell songs all share are strongly poetic lyrics. All lyrics are written or co-written by Cornell, and he is a master.
Listening Selection
The song I chose for my listening selection is ‘Rusty Cage’, from the 1991 album Badmotorfinger. I chose this song because it showcases almost all of the many characteristics that make Soundgarden unique. Chris Cornell delivers a widely varied vocal performance, showing off his range as well as his ability to deliver different vocal styles, and transition between them smoothly.
As for the band, this song shows off their hard-hitting guitar and bass riffs, and incredible drumming from Matt Cameron. There is a ‘breakdown’ midway through the song, and this change in tempo and style was common in Soundgarden songs. It was just one of the many things that make Soundgarden great. Love them or hate them, they are an incredibly talented band, and ruled rock and roll for a number of years. Most would argue (correctly) that Chris Cornell’s vocals are what made the Soundgarden sound, and his reign as King of Grunge Metal has lasted through his time with Audioslave, and into the reunion of Soundgarden. LONG LIVE THE KING!
