Soundgarden was an American grunge band formed by singer and rhythm guitarist Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassist Hiro Yamamoto in the year 1984 in Seattle, Washington. The band released several albums, extended plays, and tracks such as Ultramega OK, Louder than Love, Flower, Badmotorfinger, Screaming Life, Down on the Upside, King Animal, Superunknown, Fopp, Before the Doors: Live on I-5 Soundcheck, and Room a Thousand Years Wide. Also, Soundgarden was placed at number #14 on the special “100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock” list curated by VH1.
Past Members
- Kim Thayil – Lead Guitar
- Chris Cornell – Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitar, Drums
- Hiro Yamamoto – Bass, Backing Vocals
- Scott Sundquist – Drums
- Matt Cameron – Drums, Backing Vocals
- Jason Everman – Bass
- Ben Shepherd – Bass, Backing Vocals
Origin
Seattle, Washington, United States
Genres
Grunge, Heavy Metal, Alternative Metal, Hard Rock, Alternative Rock
Labels
Sub Pop, SST Records, A&M Records, Interscope Records, Seven Four, Republic Records, Vertigo Records
Formation Year
1984
Singing Portfolio
- The band released its first EP, Screaming Life, on October 1, 1987, through Sub Pop Records. It comprised of songs such as Hunted Down, Hand of God, Entering, and Nothing to Say.
- On October 31, 1988, Soundgarden released its debut studio album, Ultramega OK, via SST Records and the album included tracks like Smokestack Lightning, Circle of Power, Flower, All Your Lies, One Minute of Silence, Beyond the Wheel, and Head Injury. It was ranked at number #8 on the US Vinyl Albums (Billboard) chart and at number #9 on the US Tastemaker Albums (Billboard) chart while also being nominated for the 1990 Grammy Award in the “Best Metal Performance” category.
Soundgarden Facts
- Soundgarden was the first grunge band to sign a deal with the record label Sub Pop.
- The band’s most successful album, Superunknown, was released on March 8, 1994, via A&M Records and included songs such as Fell on Black Days, My Wave, Black Hole Sun, The Day I Tried to Live, Spoonman, and 4th of July. The tracks Black Hole Sun and Spoonman won Grammy Awards and the album was also nominated for the 1995 Grammy Award for “Best Rock Album”. It was certified ‘5× Platinum’ by the United States (RIAA) and was ranked at number #9 on the “50 Greatest Grunge Albums” list issued by Rolling Stone in April 2019.
- Soundgarden dissolved in the year 1997 and then re-formed in 2010. Later, after Cornell’s suicide in 2017, Kim Thayil revealed in an October 2018 interview with Seattle Times that the remaining members would not continue as Soundgarden.
- As a tribute to Chris Cornell, the members reunited for a one-off concert in January 2019.
Featured Image by Musicisentropy / Flickr / CC BY-SA 2.0
