Chris Cornell

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Chris Cornell is a rock icon who thrives on
contradictions. An innovator who resists genre labels, he was
nonetheless the chief architect of the 90s grunge movement. Ranked as
“one of the best voices in music history,” he has successfully
maintained his own unique identity over more than two decades as a
multi-Grammy award winning musician, Golden Globe nominee and
universally acclaimed singer, songwriter and lyricist.

Seattle trailblazers Soundgarden were a law to themselves, edgy, dark
and deeply individual. Their savage soundscapes, coupled with Cornell’s
incisive lyrics and predatory roar, seduced audiences hungry for
musical depth and complexity while leading trends in street fashion and
iconic design. In 1989, they became the first Seattle band to sign to a
major label Their sound continued to change and evolve over the course
of five pioneering albums.

Celebrated side project Temple of the Dog had already shown Cornell’s
more soulful side and introduced future Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder
to the world. Later, Cornell shocked the business once again with
richly melodic, critically acclaimed solo album “Euphoria Morning,”
swiftly recognized for its alienation and despair. As the millennium
turned, he joined with three other musical pioneers from Rage Against
the Machine to create Audioslave, a multi-platinum, multi- Grammy
nominated supergroup. On May 6, 2005, Audioslave played a free show in
Havana, Cuba for over 50,000 people, becoming the first American rock
group to perform an open-air concert in the socialist republic of
Castro’s Cuba. Rather than making a political statement, the trip was
conceived

as a musical cultural exchange with the joint authorization of the
United States Department of Treasury and the Cuban Institute of Music.
Cornell commented: “Hopefully, this concert will help to open the
musical borders between our two countries.” Over three solo studio
albums, Cornell has continuously redefined his sound and vision
to encompass new music, new collaborations and new activities. Having
contributed solo songs to movie soundtracks for “Singles” and “Great
Expectations” to “Mission Impossible II,” he became the first and to
date, only American male artist to be commissioned to write, record and
perform the theme song for the James Bond franchise with “Casino
Royale.” At the royal reception and premiere in London, Cornell was
presented to Queen Elizabeth II. He has also had the honor to perform
at the Kennedy Center Honors Gala in Washington DC, as well as in front
of three United States

Presidents.

Soundgarden made a historic return to the live stage in 2010. The
band has since released retrospective album “Telephantasm” and “Live on
I5″, taken from archive recordings of their 1996 US tour and a new
studio album, ‘King Animal’ was released on November 13 last year to
rave reviews.

In January 2011, Cornell announced his solo acoustic Songbook tour,
following on from a series of acclaimed solo acoustic shows in Los
Angeles. The sold out tour of the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and
South America received universally positive reviews. As Jim Farber of
The New York Daily News observed, “sometimes you don’t recognize the
full power of a voice until you strip everything away from it.”
Performances from the tour feature on Cornell’s 2011 live
album, ”Songbook”.

As an innovator, Cornell forged the first-ever multimedia partnership
between an artist and a commercial airline, Virgin America. As he has
continued to evolve as an artist, Cornell has also evolved as a
humanitarian through his passion for philanthropy and community, saying:
“I’m in a fortunate position to use music to support important causes
that help foster change.” Cornell has been an active supporter of the
Make A Wish Foundation, Stuart House and MusiCares.

In 2010 Cornell became closely involved with the Fulfillment Fund, a
college-access and mentoring organization, and he and his wife have
helped draw a whole new generation of mentors and donors to this cause.
Chris’s Dream benefit concert was successful in raising much-needed
funds and the new Chris and Vicky Cornell Scholarship Fund will enable a
qualified student to be selected annually for a special educational
award.

In August 2011 Cornell helped raise awareness for Sam Childers’
Angels of East Africa children’s charity with his song “The Keeper,”
written for the Marc Forster directed film Machine Gun Preacher. For the
first 24 hours of release, the song was exclusively available as part
of the “Donate to Download” campaign and a portion of the proceeds
continue to go to the charity. The song is also the lead track on the
film’s soundtrack album and was nominated for a Golden Globe in
January 2012.

In 2012, Chris and Vicky created the Chris and Vicky Cornell
Foundation, which fights to protect the most vulnerable children. The
Foundation is currently developing projects and programs working with
leading charitable organizations and partners to raise awareness and
mobilize support for children facing tough challenges including
homelessness, poverty, abuse and/or neglect. For more information,
please email foundation@chriscornell.com. Only the most confident would
claim to predict exactly what comes next for Chris Cornell. Only
one thing’s for sure – he’ll continue to break rules, make history and
challenge expectations.