Crash Course on Chris Cornell Trivia Quiz

Answer: drummer

Soundgarden formed in 1984 with Chris Cornell on drums and vocals, Hiro Yamamoto on bass and Kim Thayil on guitar. The line-up underwent several changes over the years with Cornell ending up on vocals and rhythm guitar.

Cornell also plays bass guitar, piano, harmonica, banjo and mandolin.

Answer: He opened up his first bar in London .

Together with his wife and brother-in-law, Chris Cornell opened up his first restaurant in his home town of Paris, called Black Calavados, in 2006. Black Calavados has notable history from its earlier days when it was called Calavados and where celebrities such as Orson Welles frequented and Eartha Kitt sang.

Cornell worked as a sous-chef for a restaurant called Ray's Boathouse in Seattle while he was a struggling musician.

Director Cameron Crowe shot the movie "Singles" in Seattle during the uprising of the grunge movement. He invited musicians from the Seattle music scene to do cameos in the film. Cornell, in a non-speaking part, shares a scene with Matt Dillon and Bridget Fonda.

John Varvatos, looking for a rock icon instead of a traditional model, hired Chris Cornell for his 2006 Spring Advertising Campaign. The photos were taken in New York City, and captured an authentic approach Varvatos says his customers look for.

Answer: Jeff Buckley

Jeff Buckley and Chris Cornell were good friends until Buckley's untimely death in 1997. They used to compete with each other to see who could write the best song. Buckley is well known for his pure and heartfelt rendition of "Hallelujah".

Jeff Buckley's mother enlisted Cornell to oversee the production of the album "Sketches For My Sweetheart The Drunk", after her son's death.

Answer: Can't Change Me

"Can't Change Me" peaked at number five on the U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks and number seven on the U.S. Billboard Modern Rock Tracks in 1999.

The 1999 release of "Euphoria Morning" won critical acclaim, but had less success commercially. Rolling Stone magazine rated it 3.5/5 stars, calling it passionate and complex and commenting, "Nobody does lamentation and melancholia more furiously than Cornell..."

Answer: These are all true.

Chris Cornell has a vocal range from a D2 to B-flat5 note. You can hear him hit the high notes in many songs, like "Say Hello to Heaven" and, most notably, "Smokestack Lightning" where he hits the infamous B-flat5.

During Soundgarden's 13 years as a band there was no denying his trademark screaming as heard in such songs as "Jesus Christ Pose" and "Slaves and Bulldozers". On the other end of the spectrum, in 1997 he recorded "Ave Maria" for "A Very Special Christmas 3" by various artists.

MTV and "Blender" Magazine rated Cornell at number 12 on the 22 Greatest Voices in Music. "Hit Parader" listed Cornell at number four on the Top 100 Metal Vocalists of All Time.

Answer: Alice Cooper

Chris Cornell wrote "Unholy War" for Alice Cooper's 1994 concept album "Last Temptation", and collaborated with Cooper on the song "Stolen Prayer". He also contributed vocals to both songs.

Cooper was a fan of Cornell and asked him if he would contribute to the album.

Answer: He wrote the theme song to the movie.

Chris Cornell wrote "You Know My Name" with David Arnold, the soundtrack composer, for the 2006 movie "Casino Royale". The song appears on his 2007 album "Carry On".

Producers of the film wanted a singer who was both "soulful and tough" to complement their new take on James Bond. He was the first American male to sing the theme song to a James Bond movie.

Answer: Billie Jean

Calling it a "fun experiment", Chris Cornell wanted to prove to his wife how reinventing a song could be art. He picked the most unlikely person he could think of doing a cover on, Michael Jackson. Slowing it down to a time signature of 6/8, Cornell reworked the 1983 pop song, "Billie Jean", into a mournful ballad.

2008 "American Idol" winner, David Cook, sang Cornell's version during the competition and received both a standing ovation and accolades from the judges. Cornell later told Ryan Seacrest that he thought Cook did a great job. Cornell has also co-written with Brian Howes, "Light On", the first single released off David Cook's debut album.

Answer: Projekt Revolution hosted by Linkin Park

Chris Cornell toured in July and August of 2008 with Projekt Revolution sharing the stage with hosts Linkin Park and other renowned acts. Chester Bennington, vocalist for Linkin Park, sang with Cornell on the song "Hunger Strike", a hit song originally sung by Cornell and Eddie Vedder.

Cornell's set included hits from his days with Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog and Audioslave, his solo releases and from his 2009 album "Scream".

Linkin Park surprised Cornell on stage for his birthday by bringing out a cake and balloons and singing "Happy Birthday" to him in front of the crowd.

Answer: All of these.

On the suggestion of his brother-in-law, a former DJ, Chris Cornell approached Timbaland to remix some songs for him. Timbaland wanted to create an entire album instead, and so the collaboration began. Timbaland was already a fan of Cornell, even reciting lyrics from his first solo album, "Euphoria Morning", during their first conversation.

The album "Scream" is a departure from Cornell's previous work with its electronic music, futuristic sound and new vocal rhythms to Timbaland's beats. Interesting to note is the song "Watch Out", which contains a hidden track called "Two Drink Minimum".

Listen for Justin Timberlake's vocals on the song, "Take Me Alive".

Upon completion of the album Timbaland went as far to say that collaborating with Cornell was the best work he has done in his career.


Thanks for taking the quiz! I hope you learned something about rock icon, Chris Cornell.