Grunge fans, unite! Soundgarden is finally getting inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame! Along with big names like Cyndi Lauper, Joe Cocker, and Bad Company, Soundgarden will be formally honored by the Rock Hall in 2025. And according to Soundgarden’s founding guitarist, Kim Thayil, their late great frontman Chris Cornell would have “definitely been stoked” about the band getting recognition from the Hall of Fame.
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Cornell tragically passed away in 2017 at the age of only 52 years old, following a long battle with depression. Soundgarden, which was formed by Cornell in 1984, promptly disbanded. The remaining three members of the grunge band only reunited once in 2019 for a children’s hospital benefit concert. Outside of that performance, Soundgarden ended with Cornell’s passing.
“He’s the one who convinced me how appreciative the fans and our peers and the Soundgarden community — that includes the people that we work with and work for us — would be about it,” Thayil said in a recent interview with Billboard.
“He realized how important that was, and he understood that would be important to us,” Thayil continued. “Because it’s important to people who cared about us and helped us and supported us all along. That’s how I believe Chris would respond to this.”
Chris Cornell Would Have Been Thrilled About the Hall of Fame Induction, but That Sentiment Hasn’t Always Been Held by the Band
Thayil, Matt Cameron (drums), Ben Shepherd (bassist), and Hiro Yamamoto (original bassist) are all quite happy about the news that Soundgarden will be recognized by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. It’s safe to assume that Cornell would be thrilled as well. However, the band didn’t always see the importance of being recognized by the Rock Hall.
“I kinda came from a subculture of rock that didn’t quite get what all the fuss is about,” Thayil continued in the interview. “Back in the 80s, 90s, when the Hall started, I probably was not alone in being part of a punk rock or indie metal scene that had an aversion to the idea.”
Thayil went on to say that he couldn’t wrap his head around “both a qualitative appraisal and a quantitative assessment.”
He changed his mind when Cornell inducted icons Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Heart into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame before his death. According to Thayil, Cornell said that “the enthusiasm of the fans was eye-opening for him.”
Congrats to Soundgarden for that validation. I wish Cornell could be here to see it.
Photo by Peter Wafzig/Redferns via Getty Images
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