Chris Cornell facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids Chris Cornell
Cornell at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival
Born	Christopher John Boyle (1964-07-20)July 20, 1964 Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Died	May 17, 2017(2017-05-17) (aged 52) Detroit, Michigan
Resting place	Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, California, United States
Occupation	Musician singer songwriter
Years active	1984–2017
Spouse(s)	Susan Silver (m. 1990; div. 2004) Vicky Karayiannis (m. 2004; ~~his death~~ 2017)
Children	3
Parent(s)	Ed Boyle Karen Cornell
Relatives	Peter Boyle, Patrick Boyle, Katy Boyle, Suzy Boyle
Musical career
Genres	Alternative metal heavy metal grunge alternative rock hard rock
Instruments	Vocals
Labels	SST Sub Pop A&M Epic Suretone Interscope Mosley
Associated acts	Soundgarden Audioslave Temple of the Dog Center for Disease Control Boys Eleven Alice Cooper Mad Season Zac Brown Band

Chris Cornell (born Christopher John Boyle; July 20, 1964 – May 17, 2017) was an American singer. He was best known as the lead singer for the grunge band Soundgarden. Many people think Cornell was one of the best singers in rock music history.

About Chris Cornell's Early Life
- Chris Cornell's Musical Beginnings
Chris Cornell's Music Career
Chris Cornell's Death
Chris Cornell's Personal Life
Chris Cornell's Legacy
Discography
Awards and Nominations
Images for kids
See also

About Chris Cornell's Early Life

Chris Cornell was born Christopher John Boyle on July 20, 1964. He grew up in Seattle, Washington. His father, Edward F. Boyle, was a pharmacist, and his mother, Karen Boyle, was an accountant. Chris was one of six children. He had two older brothers and three younger sisters.

When Chris and his siblings were teenagers, their parents divorced. After that, they all started using their mother's last name, Cornell.

Chris Cornell's Musical Beginnings

Chris Cornell said he was inspired by Little Richard and The Beatles. When he was about nine to eleven years old, he found a big collection of Beatles records. He listened to them all the time for two years.

Chris described himself as a loner when he was young. Rock music helped him feel less anxious around other people. As a teenager, he went through a very tough time. He left school and almost never left his house.

Chris took piano and guitar lessons when he was a child. He said his mother saved his life by buying him a snare drum. This was the first instrument he played on his way to becoming a rock musician. Before he became a famous musician, Chris worked many jobs. He was a busboy, a dishwasher, a fishmonger, and a sous-chef at a restaurant in Seattle.

Chris Cornell's Music Career

In the early 1980s, Chris Cornell was in a cover band called The Shemps in Seattle. The band included bassist Hiro Yamamoto. After Yamamoto left, the band got guitarist Kim Thayil. Chris and Yamamoto stayed friends. After The Shemps broke up, Chris and Hiro started playing music together. Soon, Thayil joined them.

Soundgarden: The Early Years

Soundgarden was formed in 1984 by Chris Cornell, Kim Thayil, and Hiro Yamamoto. Chris first played drums and sang. In 1988, they released their first album, Ultramega OK. It was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1990 for Best Metal Performance.

In 1989, Soundgarden released their second album, Louder Than Love. This was their first album with a major record label. After this album, Yamamoto left the band to finish his college degree. Jason Everman, a former guitarist for Nirvana, replaced him for a short time. In 1990, Ben Shepherd joined as the new bassist.

Soundgarden's Rise to Fame

With Ben Shepherd, the band recorded Badmotorfinger in 1991. This album made the band much more popular. It came out when the Seattle music scene was getting a lot of attention. Badmotorfinger was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1992. It was also named one of the greatest guitar albums of all time by Guitar World magazine.

Soundgarden's fourth album, Superunknown, came out in 1994. This album was a huge success for the band. When it was released in March 1994, Superunknown went straight to number one on the Billboard 200 chart. The album had many popular songs, like "Spoonman" and "Black Hole Sun". It made the band famous around the world. Superunknown sold millions of copies in the United States and other countries.

The band's fifth album was Down on the Upside, released in 1996. The band produced this album themselves. It had popular songs like "Burden in My Hand" and "Blow Up the Outside World". However, there were some disagreements within the band while making the album. Thayil and Cornell reportedly argued because Cornell wanted to make music that was less focused on heavy guitar riffs. Even though the album got good reviews, it did not sell as well as Superunknown.

In 1997, Soundgarden received another Grammy nomination for their song "Pretty Noose". As disagreements grew, Soundgarden announced they were breaking up on April 9, 1997. In an interview, Thayil said it was clear that everyone was unhappy with the band's direction.

Chris Cornell's Solo Work

Chris Cornell released his first solo album, Euphoria Morning, in September 1999. It did not sell many copies, but the song "Can't Change Me" was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2000.

On June 5, 2007, Cornell released his second solo album, Carry On. It was produced by Steve Lillywhite. The album reached number 17 on the American Billboard charts.

His last studio album, Higher Truth, was released on September 18, 2015. Before he passed away, Chris released a charity song called "The Promise". He wrote it for a movie about a historical event where many people suffered. Chris gave all the money from this song to help refugees and children in need.

Audioslave: A Supergroup

In 2001, Chris Cornell started a new band called Audioslave. The other members were from the band Rage Against the Machine. Chris was working on his second solo album, but he decided to join Audioslave instead. The band members felt they had a special connection from the very first moment they played together. They wrote 21 songs in just 19 days and started recording in May 2001.

Their first album, Audioslave, came out in November 2002. It had hit songs like "Cochise", "Like a Stone", and "Show Me How to Live". The album sold millions of copies in the United States. The band toured throughout 2003.

Cornell performing with Audioslave in 2003

Audioslave's second album, Out of Exile, was released in May 2005. It went straight to number one on the U.S. charts and also sold millions of copies. This album included the songs "Out of Exile", "Be Yourself", "Your Time Has Come", and "Doesn't Remind Me". Chris said he wrote his most personal songs for this album. He felt inspired by the good changes in his life since 2002. He also said this album had more variety than their first one.

In early 2006, the band recorded their third album, Revelations, which was released in September 2006. This album was inspired by funk and R&B music from the 1960s and 1970s. Chris Cornell wrote all the lyrics for Audioslave's songs. All four band members worked together to write the music.

On February 15, 2007, Chris Cornell announced he was leaving Audioslave. He said it was because of disagreements about personalities and music. The other three members were busy with a reunion of Rage Against the Machine. Chris and Tom Morello had also released solo albums. Because of all this, Audioslave officially broke up.

Chris Cornell's Death

Chris Cornell passed away in his hotel room in Detroit, Michigan, on May 17, 2017. He was 52 years old. This happened shortly after he performed a concert.

Chris Cornell's Personal Life

Chris Cornell was first married to Susan Silver. She was the manager for the bands Alice in Chains and Soundgarden. They had a daughter named Lillian Jean in June 2000. Chris and Susan divorced in 2004. In 2008, Chris said he finally got back his collection of 15 guitars after a four-year court case with Susan.

He then married Vicky Karayiannis. She is an American publicist with Greek heritage. They had a daughter named Toni in September 2004, and a son named Christopher Nicholas in December 2005. Chris became a member of the Greek Orthodox Church because of Vicky's faith.

Chris Cornell's Legacy

After hearing about Chris Cornell's death, musician Alice Cooper said that Chris was known as 'The Voice' because he had the best voice in rock and roll. He said that Chris's death was a shock and that his song "Black Hole Sun" would always be a classic.

After Chris Cornell's death, his music became much more popular. Sales and streams of his songs went up by more than 550% in the week after he passed away. On music platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, and Pandora, his songs were streamed 32.5 million times that week. The week before, they were played 5 million times. Also, 38,000 copies of his albums were sold, which was a huge increase from the 2,000 copies sold the week before.

On August 10, 2020, a company called Hipgnosis Songs Fund bought all the rights to Chris Cornell's songs. This included 241 songs, including those from Soundgarden.