Soundgarden and Audioslave Frontman Chris Cornell Dead at 52

He played a show in Detroit last night.

May 18, 2017

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Chris Cornell, Soundgarden and Audioslave lead singer, has died, according to reports from the Associated Press. He was 52.

Cornell died the night of May 17 following a Soundgarden concert in Detroit. His representative Brian Bumbery described it as "sudden and unexpected." The Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office ruled that the cause of death was suicide.

The Seattle-born rocker was a key player in the early 1990s grunge scene, alongside Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Alice in Chains. Soundgarden were the first grunge act to sign with a major, and they went on to win Grammy Awards for hit singles "Spoonman" and "Black Hole Sun."

Cornell also wrote music for and had a cameo in Cameron Crowe's 1992 grunge rom-com Singles. Its soundtrack is scheduled for reissue on Friday, May 19, and features songs from Cornell and Soundgarden, as well as Mudhoney and Paul Westerberg.

Soundgarden disbanded in 1997, and Cornell went on to form the rock supergroup Audioslave with members of Rage Against the Machine.

Soundgarden reunited in 2010. Cornell recently said they were working on a new album.

Editor's note: This post has been updated from its original version with new information.

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