Mike McCready of Pearl Jam recently did an interview in which he lauded the late Soundgarden leader Chris Cornell and stated his feelings towards his former Temple of the Dog bandmate Chris. Mike expressed his admiration for Cornell not only as a friend but also as a musician, and he described the new music project he’s been working on with Chris in his mind: “I look at him as one of the greatest singers and songwriters of all time, aside from being a friend. I love Chris and I’m working on a little project about the Seattle scene and a musical kind of rock opera thing. It’s just from my experience in the Seattle music scene, and he’s part of it.” He went on to outline the project’s specifics: “I’m right in the thick of it. I’m writing a story and working on roughly 18 songs, all of which I’m singing.
It’s been a long road.” Chris offered a poignant eulogy for his friend in January 2018, following his tragic death in 2017. In the post, he stressed Chris’s success and the strength of their friendship: “Chris was unquestionably one of the greatest singer-songwriters of all time.” When he initially appeared on the scene, everyone thought, ‘God, that guy’s good-looking, AND he can play drums, AND he can play bass, AND he can sing like no one else?!’ But, more importantly, Chris had a great heart and spirit and was an amazing and encouraging friend, as I rapidly discovered.” He also cited Temple of the Dog, to which he contributed, and expressed gratitude to Chris for his contributions to Pearl Jam’s style: “I’ll always be grateful to Chris for giving me a chance so early on and allowing me to play leads on the Temple of the Dog album.” He gave me the hope of actually getting to perform on fantastic songs and inspired how I would play on future Pearl Jam releases.”
