The last time Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell visited Q104.3 New York, he was cheerful and in good spirits.
Cornell looked back on Soundgarden's seminal Superunknown album 20 years after its release on "Out of the Box" with Jonathan Clarke. He said the album was a defining moment for Soundgarden with the band's unique song-craft and its team's innovative production.
While Cornell acknowledged Soundgarden's influence on rock music, he says it's interesting how artists that cite the band as inspiration sound nothing like Soundgarden.
The height of the band's popularity, in the mid-'90s, came as a surprise to Cornell and his band mates. He says they never expected to take off the way they did. Their biggest hit, "Black Hole Sun," to Cornell is as perplexing a hit as any.
"'Black Hole Sun' to me isn't a real obvious candidate for a hit song. I think it's still a mystery as to why it was. It was -- you can't argue that point. But why is a question that is maybe even unanswerable. I couldn't even tell you what it's about."
Maybe he knows now.
#RIPChrisCornell
His music will be with us forever, but his voice will always be missed.