Cornell’s Widow Says Final Songs Will Come Out

Vicky Cornell, the widow of Chris Cornell, says that the final recordings he did with Soundgarden will eventually get released.

Cornell told USA Today, “All of Chris’s music, including Soundgarden, will see the light of day because there’s nothing in the world that lifts me most than sharing Chris’s gifts, having people speak his name, and having his music out there. He’s alive that way and his legacy lives on.”

Those final Soundgarden tracks have been the subject of many legal maneuvers in the past year. In December 2019 Vicky filed suit against Kim Thayil, Ben Shephard and Matt Cameron, claiming that they were withholding royalties in order to get her to turn over seven unreleased tracks that were the sole property of the estate.

The band members responded that they were also owed royalties, but nothing would be paid until the expenses of the band could be paid and the remaining funds distributed among their partnership. They added that they’d been working with Cornell on the tracks for three years before his death, and when they’d talked to Vicky about the songs, she’d admitted they were the band’s property and not just Chris’s solo work. The case is still in court.