Vicky Cornell has stated that all of her late husband Chris Cornell’s unreleased music — including the Soundgarden songs he was working on before his death — will “see the light of day.” She made the confident declaration even though the rights to the unreleased Soundgarden tracks have been the subject of a legal dispute between Vicky and the surviving members of the band.
While speaking about the surprise new Chris Cornell covers album, No One Sings Like You Anymore, Vicky was asked by USA Today if more of Chris’ music would be released posthumously.
“Yes. All of Chris’ music, including Soundgarden, will see the light of day because there’s nothing in the world that lifts me most than sharing Chris’ gifts, having people speak his name, and having his music out there,” she responded. “He’s alive that way and his legacy lives on. So it’s the most important thing to me, seeing how much people love him, miss him, respect him, and how much we want more of his music out there. So everything will be released.”
It would appear that the surviving Soundgarden members would like to have a say in the matter, given that the rights to the band’s unreleased songs are at the core of a nasty legal dispute between its surviving members and Vicky.
Back in May, the band members countersued Vicky Cornell, alleging that she used funds from a 2019 benefit concert for her own “personal purposes,” and that she has taken over the band’s social media accounts without permission. They also disputed her claims over rights to unreleased songs they said were intended for a new Soundgarden album.
The countersuit came after Vicky sued Soundgarden, accusing the band of falsely claiming ownership of seven unreleased songs. The band, however, contends that she was aware that Chris’ vocal tracks were recorded for a new Soundgarden album, not a solo project. They claimed that her original suit had the “true purpose of extorting Soundgarden into conceding rights to which she is not legally entitled, and of coercing Soundgarden to prematurely distribute Soundgarden funds to her.”
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Regarding the new covers collection, No One Sings Like You Anymore, which was released this past Friday, Vicky said the album and Chris’ song selections reflect that the singer wasn’t depressed at the time of the recordings.
“A lot of people think Chris was suffering from depression,” Vicky explained. “He was not, and this album illustrates that. … Chris was a very happy man: a father and husband, and happy with his life. I think a lot of these songs, though, did resonate with him differently.”
She added, “The truth is, Chris wasn’t really dark. He had that childhood that was turbulent, which he spoke about, and he went through a lot in life, but it was always hope and light.”
Chris Cornell tragically died in May of 2017. His death was ruled suicide by hanging.
Listen to the new covers album below and purchase a copy here.
