![](https://cdn.statically.io/img/static01.nyt.com/packages/flash/multimedia/ICONS/transparent.png)
Chris Cornell in 2015. As a frontman for Soundgarden and Audioslave, he used his formidable vocal talents to question rather than exult.
Casey Curry/Invision, via Associated Press; thumbnail, Roger Kisby/Getty Images, 2010
Chris Cornell
Died on May 17, 2017 at age 52
Mr. Cornell was a powerful, dynamic singer whose band Soundgarden was one of the architects of grunge music. After Soundgarden broke up, he released solo albums and became the lead singer of Audioslave, a band that included former members of Rage Against the Machine.
Notable Deaths 2017
Remembering Mary Tyler Moore, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lewis, David Rockefeller, Trisha Brown, Glen Campbell, Dick Gregory, Edith Windsor, Sam Shepard, Tom Petty and many others who died this year.