[23][17] Cornell attended Christ the King, a Catholic elementary school,[25] where he performed for the first time in front of a crowd, singing the 1960s anti-war song "One Tin Soldier".

[67] Soundgarden had continued to tour worldwide, and guitarist Kim Thayil mentioned in several interviews that the band was to begin work on material for their seventh album.

[68] Following Cornell's death, the surviving members of Soundgarden discussed the possibility of moving on with a replacement for him,[69][70][71] but Thayil confirmed in an October 2018 interview with Seattle Times that the band had once again dissolved.

Euphoria Morning proved commercially unsuccessful, selling 393,000 copies in the U.S.;[75] however, the album's single "Can't Change Me" was nominated for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance at the 2000 Grammy Awards.

Cornell described his touring band—comprising guitarists Yogi Lonich and Peter Thorn, bassist Corey McCormick and drummer Jason Sutter—as "musicians that could get the whole picture", playing music by Soundgarden and Audioslave, as well as his solo material.

[90] While touring with the band, he teamed up with lead vocalist Chester Bennington to perform Temple of the Dog's "Hunger Strike", and with Street Drum Corps for a number of Soundgarden tracks.

The first leg of the sold-out tour began on April 1, 2011, and continued through the U.S. and Canada until May 6, resuming in October and visiting New Zealand, Australia, South America and the U.S. again before ending on December 17.

Cornell was in the writing process of a second solo album, but decided to shelve that and pursue the opportunity to work with Tom Morello, Tim Commerford and Brad Wilk when they approached him.

[112][113] Their debut album, Audioslave, released in November 2002, spawned hits such as "Cochise", "Like a Stone" and "Show Me How to Live", and has reached triple platinum status in the United States.

[114] In a San Diego CityBeat article, Cornell explained that he went through "a horrible personal crisis" during the making of the first record, staying in rehab for two months and separating from his wife.

The album was received more favorably than Audioslave's debut; critics noted Cornell's stronger vocals, likely the result of quitting smoking and drinking,[121] and pointed out that Out of Exile is "the sound of a band coming into its own".

They went into hiatus to allow Cornell to complete "You Know My Name", the theme song for the 2006 James Bond film, Casino Royale, and Morello to pursue his own solo work under the moniker of the Nightwatchman.

"[139] As the other three members were busy with the Rage Against the Machine reunion with de la Rocha coming back, and Morello and Cornell had each released solo albums in 2007, Audioslave officially disbanded.

Jeff Ament and Stone Gossard of Mother Love Bone teamed up with Mike McCready, new vocalist Eddie Vedder, and drummer Dave Krusen in 1990, forming Pearl Jam.

[155] On January 30, 2015, Pearl Jam bandmates (minus Vedder) Stone Gossard, Jeff Ament, and Matt Cameron joined Chris Cornell and Mike McCready during the Mad Season Sonic Evolution Concert at Benaroya Hall with the Seattle Symphony.

(McCready, Ament, Cameron, Cornell), recording the song "Hey Baby (New Rising Sun)"[161] for the 1993 album, Stone Free: A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix.

[186] Cornell also joined fellow Seattle musicians Jerry Cantrell and Mike McCready to play guitar for Heart's hit song "Barracuda" alongside Ann and Nancy Wilson at the ceremony.

A prominent example is "Black Hole Sun", which not only involves many kinds of open chords and several key changes in short sequences, but also unique melody phrases with large-interval jumps.

In addition to singing rock and metal mainly with Soundgarden and Audioslave, Cornell sang blues,[216] neo soul[30] and stripped-down acoustic numbers.

[36]In May 2007, Cornell was honored with the Stevie Ray Vaughan Award for "his dedication and support of the MusiCares MAP Fund and his devotion to helping other addicts with the recovery process.

[259]In a 2011 interview, Cornell said the major change when Soundgarden re-formed was a lack of alcohol: "The biggest difference I noticed... and we haven't even really talked about it: there are no bottles of Jack Daniel's around or beers.

"[260] Around 12:15 a.m. on May 18, 2017,[261] Cornell's bodyguard found him unconscious in the bathroom of his hotel room, 1136, at the MGM Grand in Detroit, Michigan, after performing at a show with Soundgarden at the Fox Theatre on May 17.

[265] Only prescription medications in therapeutic doses were found in Cornell's system:[266] the sedative Butalbital (5.4 μg/mL), commonly prescribed for the treatment of headache; four doses (41 ng/mL) of the anti-anxiety medication lorazepam (also known as Ativan); the decongestant pseudoephedrine (170 ng/mL) and its metabolite norpseudoephedrine (10 ng/mL); caffeine (from No-Doz tablets that Cornell had ingested);[266][267] and naloxone (used to reverse opioid overdoses), which was reportedly administered by emergency personnel upon their arrival at the scene.

[280] On May 15, 2018, Vicky Cornell told The Detroit News that she was dissatisfied with the autopsy report, stating it was incomplete and giving rise to conspiracy theorists of which she and her family were victims.

[305] During his solo concert in London on June 6, 2017, Eddie Vedder talked for the first time about Cornell since his death, saying "he wasn't just a friend, he was someone I looked up to like my older brother" and "I will live with those memories in my heart and I will love him forever.

"[306] Cornell's former Audioslave bandmates paid tribute to him during a Prophets of Rage concert in Berlin on June 7, playing an instrumental version of "Like a Stone" with a single spotlight shining down on an empty mic at center stage as the audience filled in on vocals.

[315] On April 14, 2018, Cornell's longtime friends Ann Wilson and Jerry Cantrell paid tribute to him during the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony with a rendition of Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun".

[318] On the first anniversary of Cornell's death on May 18, 2018, Alice in Chains paid tribute to him by covering two Soundgarden songs, "Hunted Down" and "Boot Camp", respectively, closing their headlining set at the Rock on the Range festival in Columbus, Ohio.

[326] On January 16, 2019, a five-hour tribute concert to Cornell named "I Am The Highway" was held at The Forum in Inglewood, CA and featured Foo Fighters, Metallica, Melvins, as well as members of Soundgarden, Audioslave and Temple of the Dog performing Cornell's songs alongside artists such as Fiona Apple, Jerry Cantrell, William DuVall, Miguel, Nikka Costa, Adam Levine, Jesse Carmichael, Jack Black, Geezer Butler, Ryan Adams, Taylor Momsen, Brandi Carlile, Perry Farrell, Juliette Lewis, Josh Homme, Miley Cyrus, Alain Johannes, Wayne Kramer, Peter Frampton and Ziggy Marley.

Decker recalled the other deaths of musicians who had risen from Seattle's grunge scene in the early 1990s and called on Cornell's fans to remember that he, too, was a human being who might still be alive if he had gotten the help he needed.