PW's Song Of The Week: SONG OF THE WEEK: 11-1-2026

SONG: "I Am The Highway" (Audioslave cover)

ARTIST: Chris Cornell

ALBUM: "Songbook"

YEAR: 2011

PLACE OF ORIGIN: Seattle, Washington

YEARS ACTIVE: 1983 - 2017

WHAT I THINK THE SONG IS ABOUT:

The central meaning of the Audioslave song "I Am The Highway"—written and sung by Chris Cornell—is a powerful assertion of self-worth, autonomy, and independence after being taken for granted or controlled in a relationship.

CHRIS CORNELL DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):

1999 - Euphoria Morning (A&M Records)

* Peaked at #18 on the Billboard 200

2007 - Carry On (Interscope/Suretone Records)

* Peaked at #17 on the Billboard 200

2009 - Scream (Interscope/Suretone Records)

* Peaked at #10 on the Billboard 200

2011 - Songbook (Universal Music Enterprises)

* Peaked at #69 on the Billboard 200

2015 - Higher Truth (Universal Music Enterprises)

* Peaked at #19 on the Billboard 200

2020 - No One Sings Like You Anymore, Vol. 1 (Universal Music Enterprises)

* Peaked at #78 on the Billboard 200

MY THOUGHTS ON CHRIS CORNELL:

Chris Cornell, of course, was the legendary rock vocalist, most notably of Seattle legends Soundgarden, but also of Temple Of The Dog, Audioslave and what I'm focusing on for my song of the week, his solo career. His start in music dates back to 1983. From the years 1984 till 1997, he was the voice of the mighty Soundgarden. While Soundgarden helped form the foundation of the Seattle sound, once Nirvana broke through in 1991, Soundgarden quickly followed suit, becoming one of the most successful rock acts of all time. When Soundgarden disbanded in 1997, Cornell focused on a solo career. His first solo release would be 1999's "Euphoria Morning". This album marked a clear distinction from his work with Soundgarden. It was more acoustic based and not nearly as heavy. It was an exploration of other genres and sounds for sure. The one sure connection was Cornell's powerful vocals. Shortly after touring to support this album, Cornell hooked up with the three remaining members of Rage Against The Machine when their vocalist Zack de la Rocha left their band. The newly formed supergroup would be called Audioslave. From 2001 to 2007, Audioslave was a juggernaut, both with their albums and their touring. In 2007, they disbanded due to some differences. Cornell would turn his focus back to his solo career at this point. In 2009, he released his sophomore album, "Carry On". In 2009, Cornell teamed up with R&B producer Timbaland to release "Scream". This was a real departure for Cornell as the album was pretty much a total R&B album, though Cornell did re-record some tracks as rock songs later on. Even though it was Cornell's highest charting album, it was mostly panned by critics and not heavily favored by fans. 2011 saw Cornell drop the live acoustic album "Songbook". This is a fantastic album. Just Chris, an acoustic guitar and his powerful voice. The album spans tracks from his entire career, solo, Temple Of The Dog, Soundgarden and Audioslave, as well as some covers, most notably his fantastic take on the Led Zeppelin classic "Thank You". This started becoming a very busy time for Cornell. Soundgarden had gotten back together in 2010 and they would put out new music and tour extensively. Cornell managed to release another solo album, 2015's "Higher Truth". In 2016, he along with Temple Of The Dog bandmates Stone Gossard, Jeff Ament, Mike McCready and Matt Cameron toured in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Temple Of The Dog album. They not only played Temple classics, they also played songs from Mother Love Bone and Mad Season as well as other cover songs, most notably Black Sabbath's "War Pigs", which they really need to release a great quality version of, just saying! On May 18, 2017, after performing a show with Soundgarden in Detroit, Cornell was found dead in his hotel room, dying of an apparent suicide. As if there wasn't enough darkness and depression that surrounded the Seattle scene from the deaths of Kurt Cobain, Layne Staley and Andrew Wood, losing Cornell was just devastating. The 90's Seattle explosion meant so much to me. I started to lose touch with rock music in the 80's when I was a kid and band's like Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Nirvana and Alice In Chains brought me back big time. I always liked music before grunge, but after grunge I became consumed by it. I couldn't get enough and to this day, I'm constantly seeking out new bands while following older ones. My favorite band is Pearl Jam but even though I love Eddie, no one can sing like Chris Cornell. His range was crazy and like I said earlier, do yourself a favor and listen to his live acoustic "Songbook" album really loud! It's just amazing and so powerful. Cornell's family released a posthumous album in 2020 titled "No One Sings Like You Anymore, Vol. 1". This album features all cover songs that Chris completed before his death. His family has also confirmed that their will be a Vol. 2 to that as well. The songs are not as complete but there is enough there to make something out of it. It would be awesome if they can bring in Eddie Vedder and Jerry Cantrell to help finish some of the songs. Who knows? Maybe he had a verse or two of a cover song and maybe Eddie can complete the missing verse or whatever. That would be epic! Soundgarden has also finished an album which will feature some of the last vocals Cornell had on tape so I can't wait for that for sure. I'll just end this with saying Chris Cornell is a legend. I'm so happy that there will be some new music with him but I wish there would be so much more.

SIMILAR ARTISTS:

Soundgarden

Audioslave

Temple Of The Dog

Pearl Jam

Mad Season

TEN CHRIS CORNELL SONGS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT:

1. Sunshower

2. Seasons

3. Nothing Compares 2 U (Prince cover)

4. The Keeper

5. Thank You (Led Zeppelin cover)