Chris Cornell‘s widow Vicky took to Instagram today (July 20) on what would have been the Soundgarden frontman’s 60th birthday, soundtracking her post with a snippet of a previously unreleased cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car.” Cornell died by suicide in 2017 hours after playing a show with Soundgarden in Detroit.
“Chris would have turned 60 today,” she wrote. “Although everyone that loved him is sad that he’s no longer here, it’s all of you, the fans, who made him, whose love has continued to keep his legacy alive. I’m so grateful to you all for that. While I remember him best as the wonderful husband, father and human being he was, I’d like to celebrate his whole life and everything he gave us. On his 60th we can all celebrate his genius as an artist who redefined music, but also the incredible man who touched and changed lives. He’s an icon, and he gave us all so much — his unique voice, his poetry, his creativity. His life was a gift to so many. And as you can hear — there’s more to come!!! Sharing this to thank you all for your love and support and come together in celebrating.”
Cornell is presumably alluding to the eventual commercial release of “Fast Car” and/or additional material from the artist’s vault. In late 2021, the first such project was released in the form of the 10-song collection No One Sings Like You Anymore, which featured Cornell’s interpretations of tracks popularized by John Lennon, Electric Light Orchestra and Janis Joplin.
In 2023, after years of unpleasant legal wrangling, Vicky Cornell and the surviving members of Soundgarden “reached an amicable out of court resolution” allowing for the release of “the final songs that the band and Chris were working on” prior to his death. No further update has been provided as to the status of that material.
