The legendary Grunge band Soundgarden often sang of sadness, misery, and despondency — topics
the group's members – such as the late Chris Cornell – knew all too well.
Here's a look into the tragic real-life story of Soundgarden.
Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell fought a lifelong battle with drugs and alcohol.
He started young, too, growing up in a tough Seattle neighborhood.
He told Rolling Stone,
"We were all selling drugs by the time we were 12, or doing them.
I went from being a daily drug user at 13 to having bad drug experiences and quitting
drugs by the time I was 14."
He told Spin that he quit due to a bad trip that deeply affected him.
"I had a bad PCP experience when I was 14 and I got a panic disorder.
[...] I became more or less agoraphobic because I'd have flashbacks.
From 14 to 16, I didn't have any friends.
I stayed home most of the time."
Though he dropped drugs, Cornell still struggled with addiction, becoming an alcoholic.
And he continued to deal with depression and anxiety.
He told Men's Health,
"I always had one foot in this very dark, lonely, isolated world.
I got very dark and there was a ton of isolation.
I had to do a lot of things I didn't want to do.
Like I had to admit that I made all the mistakes I assumed I would never make.
I changed pretty much everything you can change."
Though he himself had managed to kick drugs, Cornell's friends weren't all so lucky.
In 1990, as many Seattle and grunge bands were on the verge of breaking through to mainstream
success, Cornell's friend and roommate Andrew Wood passed away due to a heroin overdose,
just before the release of the first album from his band Mother Love Bone.
Cornell had written several unused songs for Wood, so as a tribute he and Soundgarden drummer
Matt Cameron — who had played on Mother Love Bone's demos — decided to do a tribute
album in Wood's memory.
They joined with former Mother Love Bone members Jeff Ament and Stone Gossard, who also brought
along two recruits for their new band Pearl Jam — Mike McCready and Eddie Vedder.
Together, they recorded the album as the now legendary super group Temple of the Dog.
After more than a decade together, and all the stress that comes with being one of the
biggest bands in the world, Soundgarden finally imploded in a very public way on February
9, 1997.
During the final stop of a long tour, bassist Ben Shepherd flipped out on stage, apparently
upset by an equipment malfunction.
Besides kicking in a stage light, making profane gestures at the crowd, and spitting at his
bandmates, he also threw his bass in the air and stormed off stage.
Two months later, the band officially announced it was breaking up.
It would be the last show they played together for 13 years.
After Soundgarden broke up, most of the members quickly moved on.
Chris Cornell launched a successful solo career, guitarist Kim Thayil played with several bands
including the Presidents of the United States of America, and Matt Cameron became Pearl
Jam's drummer.
But bassist Ben Shepherd told Spin that after the band split,
"My whole life seemed over."
Not only did Soundgarden dissolve, but so did Shepherd's side band.
As if that weren't bad enough, his fiancée ended their relationship, and then he broke
three ribs in an accident.
In short order after that, he found himself drinking heavily and addicted to pain pills,
and at one point, he overdosed on morphine.
He said,
"I was laid out in my house for five days, and no one knew it."
Though he eventually recovered, things didn't necessarily get any easier.
After another breakup, he ended up homeless, having spent all his money trying to record
a solo album.
And in 2008, he lost a number of guitars when Soundgarden's storage facility was robbed.
The incident left him so depressed he quit music for two years.
Thankfully, Soundgarden chose to reunite in 2010, helping him get back on his feet again.
He told Spin the reunion was long overdue.
"We should've just relaxed for a while and lived.
I've just been waiting for these old geezers to snap out of it."
Guitarist Jason Everman endured an abusive childhood to become a rising star in the Seattle
rock scene.
But all that got him was the chance to become the answer to a trivia question: who was the
only person to be fired by both Nirvana and Soundgarden?
Yes, Everman joined Nirvana in 1989, but after reportedly becoming depressed and withdrawn,
the band fired him.
Luckily, Soundgarden needed a new bass player.
Everman was hired, and played with the group for over a year, but they eventually decided
he just didn't fit in and fired him as well.
Just a few months later, both bands would be catapulted to superstardom with the release
of Nirvana's album Nevermind and Soundgarden's Badmotorfinger.
After reuniting in 2010, Soundgarden continued playing together, even releasing a new album
at the end of 2012.
In 2015, they began work on another new album, but the band came to a shocking and tragic
end in 2017 when lead singer Chris Cornell suddenly passed away on May 17.
After playing a show with Soundgarden in Detroit, Cornell reportedly went back to his hotel
room and called his wife, Vicki Cornell.
She realized immediately something was wrong, and called the band's bodyguard for help.
He broke down the door and discovered Cornell's body; the authorities later ruled that he
had taken his own life.
Speaking with Good Morning America, Vicki Cornell revealed that after being sober for
nearly 14 years, Chris Cornell had suffered a relapse as a result of being given a powerful
prescription tranquilizer for shoulder pain.
She believes that had he been in his right mind, he never would have taken his own life.
"he loved his life, he would never have ever left this world."
"I don't think that he could make any decisions because of the level of impairment."
In 2018, guitarist Kim Thayil announced that Soundgarden would not continue without Cornell,
though they hope to eventually release the album they had been working on at the time
of his passing.
If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide
Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).