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Soundgarden Frontman Chris Cornell Found Dead at 52
The singer was touring in Detroit with his iconic Seattle band.
By Michael Rietmulder May 18, 2017
Seattle rock icon Chris Cornell has died at age 52. The revered singer was touring with his pioneering grunge band Soundgarden and was found in his hotel room after a Wednesday concert in Detroit, according to the Associated Press.
The Wayne County Medical Examiner’s office has yet to determine his cause of death, but Detroit police are investigating it as a possible suicide.
A Detroit police spokesman told the AP that a friend went to check on Cornell after receiving a call from the singer’s wife. The friend forced open the door to Cornell’s room at the MGM Grand Detroit and discovered Cornell on the bathroom floor.
Billboard described Cornell as being in “fine form and spirits” during Soundgarden’s show last night. The magazine writes: “Though there’s now a macabre irony in the frontman’s choice to slip a bit of Led Zeppelin’s ‘In My Time of Dying’ into the closing ‘Slaves & Bulldozers.’ Cornell was nothing less than ebullient through the night, in good voice – hitting all the expected screams – and fist-bumping with fans in the pit in front of the stage.”
Cornell was an influential part of Seattle’s legendary rock scene during the 1990s. Along with Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains, Soundgarden helped spur the grunge movement that captured a generation. He later went on to form Audioslave with members of Rage Against the Machine.
Videos of Cornell’s final performance last night surfaced online Thursday morning. Watch clips from his last concert here.
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