Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell given a star-studded send-off
Some of the biggest names in music and film turn out for the influential singer’s Hollywood funeral
Music’s elite and Hollywood stars remembered Chris Cornell at a sombre memorial service on Friday that focused on the Soundgarden frontman’s love of family and friends as much as it did on his musical achievements as one of rock’s leading voices.
“Chris was as melodic as The Beatles, as heavy as Sabbath and as haunting as Edgar Allan Poe,” Tom Morello, Cornell’s Audioslave bandmate, said during his eulogy.
“The demons he wrestled with were real, but he harnessed those demons and rode them like a mother-flipping chariot of lightning strapped with Marshall stacks to make some of the greatest rock ‘n’ roll of all time.”
Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington and guitarist Brad Delson performed Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah for the crowd of mourners, including Brad Pitt, Pharrell Williams, James Franco, Christian Bale and numerous members of rock royalty, many of whom were moved to tears.
