Chris Cornell: 10 definitive songs from Soundgarden to Audioslave

• Forming from the wreckage of early 80s Seattle punk band the Shemps, Soundgarden (who took their name from a wind sculpture near Seattle’s Magnuson Park) were a heavier proposition, as bassist Kim Thayil shifted to lead guitar and began laying down primal, Sabbath-esque riffage, tempered by a taut post-punk sensibility. Shemps drummer/singer Chris Cornell, meanwhile, left his kit behind and swiftly metamorphosed into the first defining frontman of the grunge era, matching Thayil’s dark guitar with a leonine howl that channelled the spirit of the great metal wailers – Plant, Osbourne, Gillan – without any of the hoary, macho baggage. Cornell’s roommate during Soundgarden’s early days was Andrew Wood, the flamboyant frontman with glammy Seattle rock band Mother Love Bone, who had just completed their debut album when Wood overdosed on heroin in 1990.