When a music legend dies, their peers come out to celebrate their fallen brother or sister in the only way they know how: performing. Since Soundgardan frontman Chris Cornell committed suicide on May 18th 2017, artists everywhere continue to dedicate their live performances to him in the form of touching tributes.
Chris Cornell performing in Manchester
Here are just a few of the best Chris Cornell tributes so far:
1. Guns ‘n’ Roses – Rock fans of all kinds united as GNR performed a sensational cover of Soundgarden’s greatest hit ‘Black Hole Sun’ last night (May 27th 2017) during a show at Slane Castle in Dublin, where they were kicking off the European leg of their ‘Not In This Lifetime’ tour. It was an emotional moment for the sold-out crowd.
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2. Live – On their 2017 reunion tour, Live took to the Rock on the Range weekend in Ohio to express their sadness at the passing of the frontman of one of their major influences. But it wasn’t Soundgarden they played; they decided to pay tribute to Chris Cornell’s later band Audioslave with a cover of their 2003 single ‘I Am The Highway’.
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3. Norah Jones – Perhaps a rather unusual one to pay tribute was Norah Jones with a humble piano rendition of ‘Black Hole Sun’ at the Detroit Fox Theatre – where Chris’ last performance took place and not far from the MGM Grand where he passed away. You probably won’t hear a more haunting or tear-jerking version of this song anywhere.
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4. Stone Sour – Corey Taylor gave an emotional speech about Chris Cornell before his band paid tribute with a cover of 1991 single ‘Outshined’ from Soundgarden’s breakthrough album ‘Badmotorfinger’. The band learnt the song on the very day they performed it at Express Live! in Columbus, Ohio during Rock on the Range festival.
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5. U2 – On their Joshua Tree 2017 Tour, U2 played their song ‘Running To Stand Still’ from their tour’s namesake 1987 album, dedicating it to Chris whom Bono described as a ‘beautiful, sweet soul’. Needless to say, the crowd at the Rose Bowl Stadium in LA loved it and heartily sang along.
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6. Aerosmith – Steven Tyler touched hearts when he walked out on stage to ‘Black Hole Sun’ during his show in Batumi, Georgia, and he prayed for his friend Chris Cornell as he dedicated to him a soaring rendition of the 1973 Aerosmith song ‘Dream On’. The pair had performed and supported each other numerous times live.
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More: Aerosmith perform ‘Dream On’ for Chris Cornell
7. Metallica – This heavy metal group dedicated a performance of their song ‘Fade To Black’, from their 1984 second album ‘Ride the Lightning’. It took place just a day after Chris passed away, at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts.
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