The ongoing legal battle between Vicky Cornell, and Soundgarden has revealed new development regarding the passing of her late husband and the band’s former frontman Chris Cornell. According to a recent court motion filed by Soundgarden, the surviving band members learned about Cornell’s death on social media, following his final live performance in Detroit, Michigan.
Their legal motion claims that the band’s drummer Matt Cameron discovered the news on Facebook first, when he saw an item which stated “RIP: Chris Cornell.” Cameron then told the band’s guitarist Kim Thayil, who then notified the band’s bassist Ben Shepherd, before the news was confirmed by their tour manager.
Cornell had stayed behind at a hotel in Detroit, while the band members had taken tour buses to their next stop in Columbus, Ohio. This practice was normal for Cornell, as he typically flew to each venue due to his inability to sleep on tour buses.
“As their buses were headed to Columbus in the early morning of May 18, the Surviving Band Members learned that Cornell had been found dead in his hotel room in Detroit after midnight (tragically, Cameron first saw a “RIP: Chris Cornell” item on his Facebook page, called Thayil who was on the other bus, who then woke Shepherd, and they and their crew frantically searched news, social media and called friends and family, until they received the awful confirmation from their tour manager),” the motion filed by the band explains.
Soundgarden and Vicky Cornell are currently in a legal dispute over the ownership of unreleased material recorded by the late frontman. Vicky Cornell alleged that the recordings were made in her late husband’s home studio, which made her the sole owner of the material, however Soundgarden has disputed this claim. Cornell also alleged that the band withheld royalties, which the group has also vehemently denied.
Photo Credit: Raymond Flotat
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