Soundgarden's Kim Thayil on Inventing Grunge and Losing Chris Cornell and Kurt Cobain

The Formation of Soundgarden and the Grunge Movement

Kim Thayil, guitarist of Soundgarden, has always felt like an outsider. Born to Indian parents, Thayil grew up in a suburb of Chicago and later moved to Seattle, where he co-founded Soundgarden in 1984 with bassist Hiro Yamamoto. The band's early sound was influenced by heavy rock and post-punk, and they quickly gained a following in Seattle's music scene.

The Evolution of Soundgarden's Sound

Thayil's gateway to heavy rock was Kiss, but he was turned off by the hair metal that dominated the 80s. Instead, Soundgarden embraced the might of heavy rock while rejecting the genre's retrograde sexism, defining the grunge movement. The band's breakthrough hit, 'Black Hole Sun,' transcended their gnarly milieu to become an enduring anthem.

The Impact of Chris Cornell's Vocal Power

Thayil and Yamamoto hailed from Park Forest, a suburb of Chicago, and grew up as immigrants and outsiders. This distance wasn't entirely a bad thing, especially when he got into weird, heavy music. Chris Cornell, the band's vocalist, was initially deemed 'competent and workmanlike' by Thayil, but he quickly developed a fearsome range that would make him a legend.

The Loss of Chris Cornell and Kurt Cobain

Soundgarden had been the first grungers to sign to a major label, but their greatest commercial achievement came with the release of 'Badmotorfinger,' which went double platinum. However, the mainstream acceptance their peers enjoyed seemed likely to elude Soundgarden without a big crossover song. When 'Black Hole Sun' arrived, Thayil was initially hesitant, but it won Soundgarden their first Grammy and helped their 1994 masterpiece 'Superunknown' sell over 7m copies worldwide. Just as Soundgarden were breaking through, the vibe turned dark with the loss of Chris Cornell and Kurt Cobain.

The Legacy of Soundgarden

Thayil remembers when the group played festivals such as Lollapalooza: 'We'd play our songs, with their tricky time signatures, and the kids would start jumping up and down, but by the first verse they'd all be out of sync.' Despite the challenges, Soundgarden's music continues to endure, and their legacy as pioneers of grunge remains unchallenged.