Update on May 18 at 1:23 p.m.: A medical examiner determined Chris Cornell's death was a suicide by hanging, reports the Associated Press. It happened in Detroit.
BREAKING: Medical examiner determines Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell committed suicide by hanging in Detroit.
— The Associated Press (@AP) May 18, 2017
Original post:
Chris Cornell, an iconic rock voice as the lead singer for grunge pioneers Soundgarden, is dead at 52.
According to a statement released by the band, the cause of death is still unknown, pending results from the medical examiner. Soundgarden was scheduled to perform in Dallas on May 26 at the Bomb Factory in Deep Ellum. The concert has since been canceled and ticketholders will be refunded via Ticketfly, according to a statement from the Bomb Factory. (With questions, email info@thebombfactory.com.)
Cornell's rep Brian Bumbery called the death "sudden and unexpected," The New York Times says.
In a tweet sent just hours before his death, Cornell posted a photo of the Fox Theatre, announcing his group's arrival for the show.
#Detroit finally back to Rock City!!!! @soundgarden #nomorebullshit pic.twitter.com/BqXx9veFoD
— Chris Cornell (@chriscornell) May 18, 2017
Cornell and Soundgarden shot to fame in the early '90s as one of the three most prominent bands of the grunge explosion, along with Nirvana and Pearl Jam. Using arguably the greatest yell in modern rock music, Cornell was the voice behind some of the biggest hits of the late '90s, including "Black Hole Sun," "Outshined" and "Spoonman."
In 2001, following the breakup of Soundgarden, Cornell joined members of politically-charged rap-metal group Rage Against the Machine to form Audioslave, a group he would release three records with and extend his string of rock radio staples.
{"type":"video","title":"Dallas News Video","author_name":"Dallas News","_id":"s4ODE5YjE6OYSvdyPYAk-ocMgM7ZrHSv","provider_name":"Ooyala","html":"
","raw":"{\"type\":\"video\",\"title\":\"Dallas News Video\",\"author_name\":\"Dallas News\",\"_id\":\"s4ODE5YjE6OYSvdyPYAk-ocMgM7ZrHSv\",\"provider_name\":\"Ooyala\",\"html\":\"\\u003Cdiv class=\\\"oo-vid-container\\\" data-oo-content-id=\\\"s4ODE5YjE6OYSvdyPYAk-ocMgM7ZrHSv\\\"\\u003E\\u003C\\/div\\u003E\\u003Cscript defer src=\\\"https:\\/\\/www.dallasnews.com\\/resources\\/motif\\/dist\\/js\\/ooyala.js\\\"\\u003E\\u003C\\/script\\u003E\"}","providerType":"ooyala","providerLink":"https://www.dallasnews.com/oembed","embedType":"video"}
Soundgarden re-formed in 2010 and has stayed active in the recording studio and on the concert trail since, releasing King Animal in 2012 to favorable reviews, and headlining numerous festivals and world tours.
With the 1994 death of Nirvana's Kurt Cobain and the 2002 death of Layne Staley, Cornell's death leaves Pearl Jam lead singer Eddie Vedder as the only prominent voice of the revolutionary grunge movement of the 1990s left.
