Watch Chris Cornell's Final Performance with Soundgarden
As reported earlier today, Soundgarden and Audioslave frontman Chris Cornell died last night, May 17, in Detroit, just hours after a Soundgarden show at the Fox Theatre.
He was 52, and his death was sudden and a complete shock to friends, family—and the rest of the world.
Below, we've provided clips from his final performance. Soundgarden's Fox Theatre set was packed with favorites, including "Rusty Cage," "Spoonman" and "Outshined," and you can watch fan-filmed videos of all three below.
Soundgarden split in 1997 and regrouped in 2010. They released a solid new album, King Animal, in 2012. During the band's 13-year break, Cornell was admitted to rehab for alcohol addiction. In a 2012 interview, he said he would have ended up there anyway.
"It’s something that would have happened even if Soundgarden had stayed together," he said. "It was a long slow slide and then a long slow recovery, but there was self-discovery too. For me it was mostly alcohol—from my late teens until my late thirties."
No details have been released, and the family is asking for privacy at this time.
Get The Pick Newsletter
All the latest guitar news, interviews, lessons, reviews, deals and more, direct to your inbox!
Thank you for reading 5 articles this month**
Join now for unlimited access
US pricing $3.99 per month or $39.00 per year
UK pricing £2.99 per month or £29.00 per year
Europe pricing €3.49 per month or €34.00 per year
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Damian is Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine. In past lives, he was GW’s managing editor and online managing editor. He's written liner notes for major-label releases, including Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'The Complete Epic Recordings Collection' (Sony Legacy) and has interviewed everyone from Yngwie Malmsteen to Kevin Bacon (with a few memorable Eric Clapton chats thrown into the mix). Damian, a former member of Brooklyn's The Gas House Gorillas, was the sole guitarist in Mister Neutron, a trio that toured the U.S. and released three albums. He now plays in two NYC-area bands.
“Rhythm guitar is the apex of guitar playing. Just look at Keith Richards or Steve Cropper. It’s not the solos, it’s the character in the chords. Most people can solo quite easily”: The Heavy Heavy have bottled rock ‘n’ roll soul – ready to shake up 2025
“Mustangs are sick. They can take quite a beating when you’re literally chucking yourselves around”: Meet Lambrini Girls, the noise-punks starting a riot with blunt punk and scathing social commentary