Who will replace Chris Cornell in the soundgarden at the Hall of Fame?

Chris Cornell would have been enthusiastic about the entry of the Soundgarden into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Kim Thayil says so in an interview with Billboard After yesterday's news. The guitarist remembers having talked about the Hall of Fame with the singer before the death of the latter took place in 2017, sometimes as a bullshit with friends, sometimes more seriously. “We joked by asking us:” If we ever had to enter the rock hall, what would we do special? Who would we want to make the introduction speech? “. We pulled out ideas of all kinds, some were furious, others series ».

The soundgarden come from a rock subculture that has never appreciated the Hall of Fame, explains Thayil, but the perception of that institution changed after Cornell has kept the introduction speech for the Heart in 2013 and after they joined the rock hall other bands of Seattle such as Nirvana and Pearl Jam. “Chris said that the enthusiasm of the fans opened his eyes” on the importance of the institution and therefore would have been “enthusiastic” for yesterday's news. “I think it would be grateful to me of all the people who believed in him, who believed in his and our work.”

In addition to saying happy that in Rock Hall there will be not only classical formation but also the first bassist Hiro Yamamoto, Thayil thinks about who could perform in Cornell's place during the ceremony to be held on November 8 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles and which is traditionally a trial bench for bands that have lost a fundamental member, such as the soundgarden, or who are divided by conflicts.

«The bar is very high from a technical and emotional point of view. At stake there are not only respect for a brother and founder of the group that has disappeared, but also for the legacy, work and creativity of Chris, for ourselves collectively and one for the other. Some proposals emerged, I am not ready to share them, I just say that the bar is higher than the usual mix of guitarists and drummers or singers ».

Candidates on paper are not lacking. Like the friend Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam, who has sung several times with Cornell starting from the Temple of the Dog (the two bands also share the drummer Matt Cameron) and Acui could be entrusted with the speech: it would be the closure of a circle. Or Brandi Carlile, also originally from Seattle who with Soundgarden published a single with new versions of 2020 for the 2020 record store Black Hole Sun And Searching with My Good Eye Closed.

Alternatively, they could do like the Nirvana, who in 2014 transformed the performance of the rock hall into a sort of tribute with the participation of artists of various generations such as St. Vincent, Joan Jett, Kim Gordon, gross. In the past, Soundgarden played as Nuddragons with Shaina Shepherd. Various singers participated in the tribute to Chris Cornell in 2019, from Miley Cyrus to Taylor Momsen.

The question of the unpublished seven of the group is also open whose publication was stopped by the legal dispute between the widow Vicky Cornell and the musicians of the band, a dispute that was resolved in 2023. The catalog, says Thayil, was “put aside for a few years”, but it is a question that will be addressed before or more.

In the meantime, Vicky Cornell also greeted in a joint post with Soundgarden but signed by her the entrance of the band into the rock hall thanking the fans for voting the group and for the love that keeps the memory of her husband alive. “There is always something bittersweet, but Chris would be honored, it's a due and more deserved recognition! On behalf of Chris and our family, thanks !!! Loud Love ».