Just after midnight on May 18th, 2017, Chris Cornell was found dead in his hotel room following a performance with Soundgarden at Detroit's Fox Theatre that night. In the wake of the terrible news, fans that attended the show shared video footage and reports from the concert.
Below, you can watch fan-filmed footage of Cornell's stage banter from the evening as well as Soundgarden performing their hits "Black Hole Sun," "Spoonman" and the concluding song of the set, Badmotorfinger's heaviest offering, "Slaves and Bulldozers." Cornell followed up the final song with a blazing solo and a reprisal from "In My Time of Dying," a gospel song from the 1920s that was made famous by Led Zeppelin. The videos offer a bittersweet testament to the late, great Seattle-born singer's remarkable talent.
Soundgarden, of course, helped pioneer the grunge sound. The group broke up in 1997 after releasing seminal records including Badmotorfinger and Superunknown, but reunited in 2010 and recorded the acclaimed comeback album King Animal.
At the time of Cornell's death, Soundgarden were reportedly at work on a new record. In April, the singer reported to Billboard that the band was "halfway through writing the new album," but he noted, "We're not on a schedule." He also talked about what he enjoyed the most about working with the group. "What I look forward to the most — because I tour so much, especially the last couple of years, by myself — is the camaraderie," he said. "It's what we missed when we weren't a band. When I do solo tours, I'm really kind of alone all the time, so that's the best thing about it."
If you are experiencing suicidal thoughts, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 (TALK) or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for a list of resources.
