Soundgarden's Final Recording May See Light, Says Cornell's Widow

On Monday, the iconic Grunge band Soundgarden and Chris Cornell's widow, Vicky Cornell settled their legal fight. This means that the final recordings of the band may see the light soon.

The official account of the late rockstar stated: “Soundgarden and Vicky Cornell, on behalf of the Estate of Chris Cornell, are happy to announce they have reached an amicable out of court resolution.” 

It added: “The reconciliation marks a new partnership between the two parties, which will allow Soundgarden fans around the world to hear the final songs that the band and Chris were working on."

Cornell, who passed away in 2017, was credited as the writer of seven songs the band worked on before the band's vocalist/composer's death.

He was also credited as the writer of all seven songs. He also received sole credit on two, “Cancer” and “Stone Age Mind.” 

He composed “Road Less Traveled,” “Orphans,” and “At Ophians Door” with Matt Cameron; “Ahead of the Dog” with Kim Thayil; and “Merrmas” with Ben Shepherd.

The dispute started in late 2019, when Vicky Cornell sued the other members of Soundgarden, accusing them of holding the final seven recordings made by her late husband away from her. 

The court claimed that Soundgarden's members “shamelessly conspired to wrongfully withhold hundreds of thousands of dollars indisputably owed to Chris’ widow and minor children in an unlawful attempt to strong-arm Chris’ Estate into turning over certain audio recordings created by Chris before he passed away.”

The widow claimed that Cornell made the seven recordings in his personal studio in Florida in 2017, and that there was no agreement that they were for Soundgarden, so, this made Chris Cornell (and his estate) the exclusive owner. 

She also highlighted that after Cornell’s death she agreed to share the recordings with Soundgarden, and asked to be informed about a possible marketing strategy.

Finally after years in a court: "The two parties are united and coming together to propel, honor and build upon Soundgarden’s incredible legacy as well as Chris’s indelible mark on music history — as one of the greatest songwriters and vocalists of all time,” the statement concluded.