In Memoriam: Those We Have Lost from the Music Industry

[AntiBeeSpray]

On 12/26/2016 at 1:58 AM, Asp Burger said:

I was watching American Idol the night this was on, and it scared me. He looked frail and sounded short of breath, wore dark glasses, and it was obvious they were lighting him discreetly. Everyone talked, and I did too. We never would have thought he would make it another nearly nine years.

Now I watch it again and think that what I should have noticed was how heartfelt the performance was, and how those words from 1990 were more important than ever. They still are. 

That's one good performance. I snapped up the song via Freegal. Thank g_d for them. They go through libraries and are a nice option for any music fans who want to save some money.

[ebk57]

Prince's music is now available to stream - yay!!  And it's on Amazon Prime - yay again!! 

 

If anyone missed the Grammy tribute last night, you should look for it on YouTube or somewhere.  It was fab.

[MyAimIsTrue]

3 minutes ago, ebk57 said:

Prince's music is now available to stream - yay!!

OH EM GEE!  I had his music on Spotify at one point and then of course it was removed (this was before his passing) so if I can find the long intro version to "Raspberry Beret" once again I will be a seriously happy camper!

[Snowball II]

I'm a huge Prince fan, but I'm not impressed with Spotify.  Fifteen years of Prince's discography is missing.  Maybe I just need to give them more time before they have everything?  He did record A LOT.

[MyAimIsTrue]

At one point Spotify had a lot of Prince's material so I'm hoping it gets restored. 

[MyAimIsTrue]

Today is the greatest day ever as not only do pitchers and catchers report for spring training but all of the Prince songs I'd previously added to various Spotify playlists have been restored!

[UYI]

It snowed in April one year ago today. :'(

[cpcathy]

I watched a doc/re-enactment special on Reelz yesterday, the guy they got to impersonate Prince, wow, JUST like him, I bet this guy will be getting work re-enacting Price for a long time.

[elizacat]

Sad day for music with the loss of Grunge legend Chris Cornell.

One of my favourite singers, feel really lucky to have seen Soundgarden so many times early in the nineties and twice since their reunion.

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/may/18/chris-cornell-former-soundgarden-singer-dies-aged-52

[WendyCR72]

This one was a gut punch. Heard about it on the radio.  :-( While it's well known about his history of depression, I never really thought it would have come to this. RIP. Another from the famed grunge era is no more.  :-(

He did so many great songs, but two I liked were:

Right Turn with members of Alice In Chains, Mudhoney, and naturally, Chris from Soundgarden:

 

And Seasons from the Singles Soundtrack:

 

The man could sing. Ironically, the deluxe reissue of the Singles soundtrack is out as of this Friday with many songs by Cornell on it; seems like a fitting end point.

Edited May 18, 2017 by WendyCR72

[TattleTeeny]

Ugh, I'm just so sad. Closely following Mother Love Bone, Soundgarden has always been my favorite from back in my college years. I'm gonna go home and wear my falling-apart Soundgarden shirt from 1992...

although it's 95 degrees here and that thing is long-sleeved. I'ma do it for you, Chris!  

[Aquarius]

I'm very sad too.

My parents would not pay for cable.  I got married in late 1992 and it was the first time I had unlimited access to MTV.  My sister and I were addicted.  My husband would come home after working on Saturday and find us glued to the TV and he would just sigh, "Are you watching MTV AGAIN?"

The addiction lasted a few years.  Heavy on the rotation during that time was the video for "Black Hole Sun."  I already loved Soundgarden but that video made me fall in love with Chris Cornell (That line, that delivery, "Til you all just disappear").  I've loved him ever since.

I cried in the car when I heard this morning. 

[Enigma X]

I expressed my devastation over Chris in the "In Memoriam" thread. I am just paying my respects here.

Two days ago, for no reason at all, I searched for him on the internet. He was lovely to look at. Added to that, he wasn't just a pretty face. He had so much talent, and one of the best voices in music (not just rock). I heard he played Led Zeppelin's "In My Time of Dying" as his last song. Led Zeppelin is my favorite band ever, and Soundgarden are not far behind. Anyway, as I write this, I am reciting the lyrics to that song in my head. 

Anyway, I have wandered away from the original point I was trying to make. He looked rather sad in recent pictures that I saw on the internet. I know hindsight is 20/20, and this is one of those things people say after a tragedy. Still, I think I saw sadness. He committed suicide; so, regardless whether I saw it, it was there.

His family, especially his children, must be beside themselves.

Say hello to heaven Chris!

Edited May 19, 2017 by Enigma X

[MyAimIsTrue]

I was not a fan of grunge in general but I loved Chris Cornell's voice.  LOVED it.  He had such a beautiful clarity to his voice, second only to Stevie Wonder in my opinion. 

[TattleTeeny]

A million years ago, I was at a Soundgarden show--the Badmotorfinger era, so smack in the heart of the grungey times--and Chris had leapt off the stage and was crowdsurfing. Knowing I had a rabid crush on the man, my friend held him by his boot so he wouldn't float away before I got a good look at him. I touched an ab!

Edited May 19, 2017 by TattleTeeny

[Hanahope]

This is such a tragedy. Chris has such a wonderful voice and wrote great songs.  A true loss for everyone.  I'll always remember Kurt and Chris.

[Jeebus Cripes]

This is devastating. I can't even properly articulate my sorrow.

[elizacat]

On 19/05/2017 at 1:58 PM, TattleTeeny said:

A million years ago, I was at a Soundgarden show--the Badmotorfinger era, so smack in the heart of the grungey times--and Chris had leapt off the stage and was crowdsurfing. Knowing I had a rabid crush on the man, my friend held him by his boot so he wouldn't float away before I got a good look at him. I touched an ab!

LOL I sat opposite him on a sofa at an after party around that time - far to star struck to speak was concerned that I might drool!

[TVFan17]

Today is the funeral/memorial service (I am calling it both things, because I have seen it called both things by other people).  I found it curious that Chris grew up in Washington, lived in New York and in France, and yet the service and his final resting place is out here in Los Angeles.   Did he have a house in L.A. too?

I've read several different online articles about the memorial service attendees (as I am listening to the old interviews with Chris on the Howard Stern show), and Eddie Vedder was not mentioned in any of them.  I guess Eddie must have been unable to be there.   Chris said in one of his Stern Show interviews that Eddie was one of his closest or best friends at one point.

There was an interesting array of notable guests, though -- to the point where I was thinking, "Wow.  Chris knew all of these people?"

In attendance were:

Soundgarden bandmates (obviously)

Tom Morello

Perry Farrell

Dave Navarro

Dave Grohl (I am guessing that Taylor Hawkins was probably there too, but was not mentioned)

Krist Novoselic

Courtney Love

Jerry Cantrell of Alice in Chains

Lars Ulrich & James Hetfield from Metallica

Joe Walsh of The Eagles

Gavin Rossdale

Chester Bennington of Linkin Park

Pharrell

Nile Rogers

Brad Pitt

Jeremy Renner

Josh Brolin

Christian Bale

James Franco

Fred Armisen of Portlandia and Saturday Night Live

 

There are probably others who were there who have not been mentioned yet, but it was an interesting group.   This article has clear photos -- http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4546408/Rock-royalty-attend-funeral-Chris-Cornell.html

Edited May 27, 2017 by TVFan17
added in a couple of names and link

[TVFan17]

I should add, too, that I had listened to the Chris Cornell interviews on the Howard Stern show in the past, when they first aired, but had not listened to them again since then.  I just remembered Chris's great performances ("Thank You" by Led Zeppelin and "Imagine" among them) and him being a generally friendly, good-humored guy who seemed insightful and intelligent -- and sober as well.

So, today, listening to these interviews (one from 2007, one from 2011 and one was a phone interview from 2015, I think), I thought the exact same thing again.  Not only were the stripped down musical performances amazing in the studio, Chris gave a great interview each time.   He was forthcoming, engaging, interesting, had a good sense of humor, was talkative, was well-spoken, was upbeat -- not brooding and miserable and crass, as some might have expected him to be.  He talked about living in France and enjoying the fact that he didn't speak any French!  LOL   He talked about his wife and it was obvious that he was very smitten with her.   He talked about the issues he had with his parents, but didn't act angry and bitter about it.   He seemed like he had come to grips with it and had moved on.  He talked about his stalkers, and about his knack for attracting crazy girlfriends.   He talked about being clean and sober -- and, notably, he sounded completely sober and clean.  Some actors and musicians claim to be clean and sober in interviews, but you can hear in their voices that they are not, or you can tell by the way they answer questions that they are lying about being sober.  In Chris's case, he sounded completely clean and coherent and clear.   There was not even a question in my mind about it. 

Jill Kargman (of the TV show Odd Mom Out, and also a radio host on SiriusXM) was not only a huge Chris Cornell fan, but they lived on the same street in New York.  Last week she said on her radio show that she would often see him on their block, with his kids and carrying his Diet Coke, and he was totally sober, happy and normal.

This death is so perplexing, as well as being tragic.  While sometimes it does seem like there might have been a bit of planning to it and it was not a spur of the moment decision, on the other hand.... something just doesn't add up.  It just doesn't seem like this (what happened) was the exact plan... like maybe something went awry somewhere.    Chris seems to me like the kind of guy who wouldn't leave his kids in the first place, but if he did leave them he would probably leave some sort of note or something -- for his wife, if no one else.   And supposedly there was no note (at least, that's what I've read thus far).    Now, supposedly there are unconfirmed reports that there were track marks on his arm when he was found in his hotel room, implying that there was something more than Ativan involved.  Of course, the final toxicology reports will confirm or deny that, but, if it's true, it just adds even more questions to the mix.

Edited May 27, 2017 by TVFan17

[WendyCR72]

This is still so senseless to me. Any suicidal death is, of course. But this...was just so unexpected. Still, video of his final concert was posted on YT, and Cornell definitely seemed "off", with many commenting on the less than great performance unlike what he was by and large known for.

If track marks were indeed found, that just amps up the senseless factor. Still, one cannot read what was going on in his head, so - being forever a recovering addict - maybe something ate at him. But the end tragedy still remains: Three kids are without a father and a wife is without her husband.

Edited May 27, 2017 by WendyCR72

[wanderingstar]

I don't know why this particular death has hit me so hard. Maybe it's the suddenness of it, or the fact that hearing Chris Cornell's voice reminds me of my young days (Superunknown was my soundtrack for like 3 years straight in college. And there was a period about 7 years ago where Blow Up the Outside World was the anthem that got me through a particularly shitty job experience).

All I know is when I heard about his passing, my first thought was the world lost an amazing voice and a beautiful spirit. 

Rest in peace,  Chris.

Edited May 27, 2017 by Gillian Rosh

[WendyCR72]

4 hours ago, Gillian Rosh said:

And there was a period about 7 years ago where Blow Up the Outside World was the anthem that got me through a particularly shitty job experience).

The rock group, In Living Color (the band that had a hit with "Cult of Personality" in the late '80s), covered this song as a tribute to Chris Cornell.

Edited May 27, 2017 by WendyCR72

[TVFan17]

This was one of the early articles I saw yesterday, but it appears that Daily Mail revised it to add more photos of guests and info --

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4546408/Rock-royalty-attend-funeral-Chris-Cornell.html

[WendyCR72]

Gregg Allman has died, although no cause has been given. What a long career! I do recall one of his kids was with Cher, as well. May he RIP.

[ebk57]

Mr ebk mentioned that it was remarkable that he made it to 69.  I know he's been in poor health for the past couple of years.  

Thanks for all the great music, Gregg!

[WendyCR72]

21 minutes ago, TVFan17 said:

This was one of the early articles I saw yesterday, but it appears that Daily Mail revised it to add more photos of guests and info --

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4546408/Rock-royalty-attend-funeral-Chris-Cornell.html

I know it seems nitpicky, but while I have enormous sympathy for Cornell's wife and two younger kids, it's kind of sad that his eldest daughter with his first wife, Susan Silver (who managed Soundgarden at some point), was seemingly ignored entirely in the article. (Someone in the comments identified her in one of the pictures.)

Not the wife or younger kids' fault, obviously, but the media seems to only mention them, and another child lost him, too.

Sorry, it just rubs me the wrong way.

[UYI]

I'm crushed. Devastated. One of the biggest pioneers of Southern Rock. And even with all of his work with The Allman Brothers Band, he had some great solo songs as well:

[BizBuzz]

Saw him in the 80's in an amphitheater in Hawaii.  One of the best rock concerts I have ever been to.  RIP Greg, thanks for the music!

[TVFan17]

3 hours ago, WendyCR72 said:

I know it seems nitpicky, but while I have enormous sympathy for Cornell's wife and two younger kids, it's kind of sad that his eldest daughter with his first wife, Susan Silver (who managed Soundgarden at some point), was seemingly ignored entirely in the article. (Someone in the comments identified her in one of the pictures.)

Not the wife or younger kids' fault, obviously, but the media seems to only mention them, and another child lost him, too.

Sorry, it just rubs me the wrong way.

Yes, you're right.  I've noticed that the older daughter has barely been mentioned in most of the coverage of the death, except for the common references to Chris having 3 kids.  She gets grouped in as one of his kids, but she is hardly ever addressed individually, by name. 

I was just reading another article on, I think, Yahoo (I stumbled upon in in passing, trying to quickly get to something else, so I didn't think to copy the link) dated yesterday or the day before.  Initially I almost ignored it because I assumed it contained the same details I already knew about this incident, but decided to take a peek and see if there was anything new in it.   There were a few new (to me) bits of info. 

We all know by now that Vicky Cornell talked to her husband not long after the Soundgarden concert was over, and not long before he was found by the bodyguard.  What I didn't know until I read this other article today was that Vicky was already noticing that something was strange even before Chris called her.  The lights at their home were flickering on and off right before he called.  (Chris had the ability to control the lights from his phone.)  When he finally called her she asked him if he had just been tinkering with the lights at their house and he said no, but that he had done it about one hour ago.  Vicky was instantly suspicious because she knew he had been onstage one hour before. 

Then they proceeded to talk, and Chris was very riled up and agitated about the stage or sound crew messing up, and how Chris couldn't hear during the concert because of it, and how he blew out his voice, etc.  Vicky said he became very aggressive and cocky about the situation (she remembered this demeanor from when he was abusing drugs many years ago), and then he would change the subject to things that didn't make any sense.

I guess Vicky asked Chris what he took, and that's when he told her he took Ativan.  He indicated he had to take it to help him calm down (since he was angry).  She suspected that there was more than Ativan involved, or something else instead of Ativan.  She asked him what else he took and said she forgave him (if he did take anything else), but he admitted to nothing.   For some reason she hung up (I don't think Chris hung up on her, but maybe they just mutually decided to end the conversation?), which is when she called the bodyguard.  About 30 minutes passed from when she called the bodyguard to when he found Chris in the hotel room.   She also said that she was with Chris in New York earlier that same day, and there were no track marks on his arms (he was wearing a T-shirt).

So, IF it's true that there were track marks on his arms when he was found, who gave Chris the drugs, and when did they get to him?  Wasn't he doing a sound check earlier?  And he was with his wife in New York even before that.  I mean, I suppose someone could have gotten to him backstage, before the concert, but it doesn't seem like there was really a lot of time to spare in between the flight from New York to Detroit, the sound check, the concert and the events that took place after.  And the only person known to have gone to Chris's room after the concert was the bodyguard, to fix the laptop or whatever. 

[WendyCR72]

Obviously, Chris was not thinking rationally. But I wonder, after reading this, if perhaps Chris was also angry with himself for slipping and fucking up, using drugs again after years of sobriety, and felt shamed enough [not blaming his wife, trying to maybe understand what he was thinking about himself here] to punish himself in such a brutal way and killed himself?

God, I hope not. And I guess we'll never know. But it's a theory.

[Jeebus Cripes]

The way in which he died is haunting me. He was and is my absolute all around favorite musician/singer/lyricist. His gift got me through a lot of dark times, and I was under the impression that we both managed to find our way out of the darkness. His life from the outside looking in seemed to be happy and he appeared to be thriving. It's so devastating that his life would end this way. Not to sound too overly dramatic, but I feel like this is going to haunt me forever.

[SunnyBeBe]

I came by to give my salute to Gregg Allman.  OMG.  I feel so out of sorts.How can this be happening.  We are losing so many it seems.

  I have attended so many Allman Brother Band's concerts.  Oh the wonderful memories.  I had a friend who knew some people and we got backstage some of the time.  I will cherish my memories.  Thank you so much Gregg.  I'm listening to my favorites today. 

 

Edited May 28, 2017 by SunnyBeBe

[wanderingstar]

Quote

The way in which he died is haunting me. 

Me too! I keep trying to reconcile the picture of Chris in the last few years (happy, healthy, excited about life and of course loving his family) with the reports from the night of his death, and it is just not computing for me. Maybe, like WendyCR72 says we will never really know.

Just read this Rolling Stone article, "Chris Cornell: Inside Soundgarden, Audioslave Singer's Final Days". Jerry Cantrell summed up how I'm feeling about this death: "It's never going to make sense. It's never going to feel right. And it's always going to hurt."

Been listening to lots of Soundgarden, some Audioslave and some of Chris' solo work ("Nearly Forgot My Broken Heart" really is lovely). Man, his was a once-in-a-lifetime voice.

[Enigma X]

Chris' voice was the best in the business and his songwriting skills were superb. Chris was my first teenage crush and Soundgarden was my second concert.

[WendyCR72]

I was just coming to post the link to that article, no lie. What a great, yet bittersweet, article. Also interesting was Jerry Cantrell being interviewed, as the look on his face in the memorial pictures was haunting. But then again, Chris' passing also likely reopened old similar wounds as when his AIC bandmate Layne Staley died. But his sentiments - as well as those of Tom Morello, Cameron Crowe, and others in the article - really seemed to make this even more incomprehensible to me.

Since he sounded so "together".

Still, as Jerry Cantrell said, this one will always hurt. Sigh.

[MyAimIsTrue]

I saw the Allman Brothers live in the 1980's and while I don't remember much about the show (it was the same week I saw The Who and those memories overshadow the Allman's concert) I was thrilled to hear them perform a great jam of what is probably my favorite AB song, "Jessica."

RIP, Gregg.

[Hanahope]

[wanderingstar]

Read Eddie Vedder's Moving Tribute to 'Older Brother' Chris Cornell

[nicepebbles]

I was listening to Soundgarden after I found out he'd died. I jokingly told my husband hearing his music coming out my stereo confirmed for my mom just how white I was. Lol. As a black girl going up in the burbs in the 90s, I loved Chris Cornell. I can't believe it.

[BW Manilowe]

David Bowie 11-CD boxed set spanning 1977-1982 due September 29th

[WendyCR72]

While I only liked some select songs, this is just too sad. Apparently, Bennington was found dead today via hanging, per report. Ironically, today is Chris Cornell's birthday.

I had read they were friends or friendly, so it makes for eerie irony.

I hope Chester has found peace.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

[Enigma X]

Linkin Park was a phenomenal band and a lot of that was due to Chester. They created their own sound distinct from any other acts, seamlessly interweaving other genres into their music without sounding untrue to their core. Another band that helped me through rough times; although, one of their members could not hold on. Depression is a bitch!

[BetterButter]

[WendyCR72]

Today would have been Chris Cornell's 53rd birthday [no, not a stalker; it has been stated in connection to the tragic suicide of Chester Bennington of Linkin Park today, who was friends with Cornell and even sang "Hallelujah" at his funeral]. Hard to believe. Hope wherever he is that there is one heck of a birthday celebration going on...

[GaT]

4 hours ago, WendyCR72 said:

I had read they were friends or friendly, so it makes for eerie irony.

 

Chester sang "Hallelujah" at Chris' funeral, they were very good friends.

[WendyCR72]

3 minutes ago, GaT said:

Chester sang "Hallelujah" at Chris' funeral, they were very good friends.

After I wrote my initial post, I read that elsewhere. So, based on that and what @BetterButter posted, I guess they were close. Which makes this all the more eerie, tragic, and ironic.

Age 41 is just too damned young to die.

[UYI]

I'm wondering if his dying today was on purpose on his part--I mean, we KNOW he committed suicide, but that this being Chris Cornell's birthday was an intentional choice, and not just a coincidence. Given their friendship, I wouldn't be surprised.

How many teens in the early 2000's got their angsty side out to this song? I certainly remember being 13 in 2002 and hearing it constantly.

[ketchuplover]

If there's a rock and roll heaven you know they've got a helluva band.  RIP young man