The life expectancy of the Seattle grunge scene’s leading men is sadly below the national average. Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell had all the trappings that afflicted contemporaries like Kurt Cobain and Layne Staley, who both met early demises. But Cornell somehow hung in there. He married, became a father, and even launched a solo career. It looked like he’d survived where others hadn’t. And then, at 51 years of age, it all came tumbling down.





