I woke up to the terrible news that one of rock's all time icons had passed away. Chris was the lead singer of Soundgarden and Audioslave, and also had many great solo albums.
CNN first broke the news of Cornell's death:
A family friend called 911 around midnight Thursday after he went to check on Cornell and found the musician "unresponsive" on the bathroom floor at the MGM Grand hotel, spokesman Michael Woody said. Emergency medical personnel arrived, and Cornell was pronounced dead at the scene, he said.
"We are moving in the direction of a possible suicide but we are waiting on the Medical Examiner's Office to provide their report," Woody said. Cornell was in Detroit performing with Soundgarden on a US tour that kicked off last month. His passing was "sudden and unexpected," his representative, Brian Bumbery, said in a statement to CNN.
"His wife Vicky and family were shocked to learn of his sudden and unexpected passing, and they will be working closely with the medical examiner to determine the cause," the statement read. "They would like to thank his fans for their continuous love and loyalty and ask that their privacy be respected at this time."
I'll never forget listening to Soundgarden as a teenager, when one of my friends handed me a copy of Down On The Upside. I've said over the past couple of decades that Chris was one of my top 3 singers of all time, but honestly...I never knew who the other 2 were. Chris was always a constant.
May he Rest In Peace.