Rocker Chris Cornell Has Died at Age 52

[aggie49]

Rocker Chris Cornell, who gained fame as the lead singer of the bands Soundgarden and later Audioslave, has died at age 52, according to his representative.

Cornell, who had been on tour, died Wednesday night in Detroit, Brian Bumbery said in a statement to The Associated Press. Cornell had performed a Detroit concert with Soundgarden that night.

Bumbery called the death "sudden and unexpected" and said his wife and family were shocked by it. The statement said the family would be working closely with the medical examiner to determine the cause and asked for privacy.

News of Cornell's death prompted scores of tweets expressing sadness. Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry tweeted: "Very sad news about Chris Cornell today. A sad loss of a great talent to the world, his friends and family. Rest In Peace."

With his powerful, nearly four-octave vocal range, Cornell was one of the leading voices of the 1990s grunge movement with Soundgarden, which emerged as one of the biggest bands out of Seattle's emerging music scene, joining the likes of Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains.

Formed in 1984 by Cornell, guitarist Kim Thayil and bassist Hiro Yamamoto, Soundgarden's third studio album, "Badmotorfinger," in 1991 spawned popular singles "Jesus Christ Pose," ''Rusty Cage" and "Outshined" that received regular play on alternative rock radio stations.

[sak4kat]

I read the name on Yahoo this morning and couldn't put my finger on who he was.  My husband said he was one of his favorite artists... It was until I started to read your post that I knew he was from Soundgarden/Audioslave.  I'll have to listen to some of the hits to see if I recognize any of the music.  I never followed grunge much to begin with.  A sad day for his family, friends and fans.

[aflyingmonkey]

This breaks my heart. 
One of my favorite of all time singers with an incredible voice.  Very spiritual & religious, and if you didn't know that he was singing for God often in his songs you couldn't tell.  But when you knew, it was crystal clear. 
Sad days, hopefully it wasn't suicide due to depression.

[luvh8tragedy87]

So sad and shocking. I have read multiple articles that he hung himself. He definitely had a powerful voice, he's going to be missed.

[taj75657]

Rest in Peace Mr. Cornell and deep sympathies to his family as well as his fans.

[ktheodos]

wow...sad...so young

[yikes77]

Such a sad and horrible loss to music.

[kingozzy]

He was maybe the best singer of my generation, his music over the decades has helped me through my own dark times.  He was in my top five singers ever, I am so bummed out over this I cannot concentrate.  My heart hurts