Soundgarden

Soundgarden was an American musical group of grunge that originated in Seattle, Washington, in 1984. The band was founded by the vocalist Chris Cornell, the bassist Hiro Yamamoto and the guitarist Kim Thayil. In 1986, Matt Cameron joined as a permanent drummer, and in 1990, Ben Shepherd replaced Yamamoto on bass. Cornell remained in the band until his death in May 2017.Soundgarden was one of the pioneering bands of grunge, a musical style that emerged from alternative rock in Seattle. It was the first band of this genre to sign with a major record label, A&M Records, in 1988. However, they did not achieve commercial success until the early 1990s, when grunge became popular along with other Seattle bands such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains.The album Superunknown, released in 1994, was their biggest success, achieving worldwide recognition thanks to the singles «Black Hole Sun» and «Spoonman», both awarded Grammy awards.

In 1997, the group disbanded due to internal differences regarding musical direction. After more than ten years in which its members pursued other projects, Soundgarden reunited in 2010 and definitively split in January 2019, after a final concert at a tribute event to Cornell.Soundgarden sold over 12 million records in the United States and approximately 35 million worldwide.In 2025, the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, with a special performance by Toni Cornell, Chris's daughter, who performed the song «Fell on Black Days» in honor of her father.The beginnings of Soundgarden date back to the early 1980s, when Chris Cornell and Hiro Yamamoto played in a band called The Shemps.