Song:Black Hole Sun
Album:Telephantasm: Deluxe Edition
Though today Soundgarden is considered to be one of the seminal bands of the grunge era, they had their greatest success in the mid-90s after the death of Nirvana's Kurt Cobain. Black Hole Sun is probably their signature song. Soundgarden was formed in Seattle in 1984 by lead singer and guitarist Chris Cornell, guitarist Kim Thayll and bassist Hiro Yamamoto. They named themselves after a sculpture. Originally Cornell played drums but a drummer was brought in so he could concentrate on vocals. Matt Cameron was the drummer for most of their run. They played local clubs and Soundgarden was a big part of the founding of Sub Pop Records as Sub Pop founder Bruce Pavitt was friends with Thayll and Yamamoto. Soundgarden released a couple of EPs on Sub Pop. They released the 1988 album Ultramega OK on SST Records. Though the album did well and Soundgarden toured to support it, they weren't happy with it and they signed with A&M Records and released the 1989 album Louder Than Love. As always seems to happen when popular cult bands sign with a major label, there was fan backlash over Soundgarden selling out to mainstream rock. And Yamamoto left just before the band's tour. He was unhappy because Cornell was writing most of the songs. A bassist was hired for the tour. Ben Shepherd was the permanent bassist as of the 1991 album Badmotorfinger. Soundgarden was doing OK but there's no question they took a back seat to Nirvana. The 1994 album Superunknown was released a month before Kurt Cobain's death. His death generated more interest in Soundgarden and Superunknown was certified 5XPlatinum. It would turn out to be their best selling album. Soundgarden was played mostly on rock radio. They never had a pop hit single. But Black Hole Sun is probably their most recognizable song. After this, Soundgarden seemed to burn out. They split up after the 1996 album Down on the Upside. This 2CD/1DVD comp covers their entire run and includes songs they recorded before signing with A&M. Cornell released a solo album in 1999 and then he formed Audioslave. Cameron joined Pearl Jam and he also led Wellwater Conspiracy which included Thayll and Shepherd. There were reunion rumours but Cornell said the band was discussing the release of Telephantasm. But Soundgarden did reunite in 2010. It was announced that Cameron would record with Soundgarden but tour with Pearl Jam. Soundgarden hired a drummer for touring. They are currently working on new music for a 2017 release. Here's the video for Black Hole Sun by Soundgarden.
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