Chris Cornell Death — MGM Grand Detroit

Chris Cornell, the vocalist of Soundgarden and Audioslave, was found dead in his room at the MGM Grand Detroit on May 18, 2017, following a Soundgarden concert at the Fox Theatre. He was 52 years old. The Wayne County Medical Examiner ruled his death a suicide by hanging. His family disputed the ruling, suggesting that the anti-anxiety medication Ativan may have impaired his judgement. He had performed a full concert earlier that evening, and bandmates reported nothing unusual about his behaviour.

Chris Cornell possessed one of the most extraordinary voices in rock — a four-octave range that could shift from a whisper to a scream within a single phrase. He was a founding member of Soundgarden, whose albums Badmotorfinger (1991) and Superunknown (1994) were pillars of the Seattle grunge scene, and later fronted Audioslave with former members of Rage Against the Machine. His solo career produced further acclaimed work, and his acoustic version of 'Black Hole Sun' became a fan favourite. Songs like 'Fell on Black Days,' 'Like a Stone,' and 'The Day I Tried to Live' revealed a songwriter of unusual depth and darkness.

The MGM Grand Detroit (now the BetMGM Hotel) is located at 1777 Third Avenue in downtown Detroit. Chris Cornell is buried at Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles, where his grave has become a pilgrimage site for fans. A statue of Cornell was erected outside the Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle in 2018.