Seattle grunge band marks their place in music history
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame recently announced the 2025 lineup of inductees, including the legendary band Soundgarden.
By Michael Doyle
On April 27, The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame announced in a press release that Soundgarden, one of grunge’s biggest superstars, would be inducted into the 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame along with six other performers.
Formed in 1984 in Seattle, Soundgarden paved the way for grunge to take over the music scene. Originally consisting of Drummer and Vocalist Chris Cornell, Bassist Hiro Yamamoto and Guitarist Kim Thayil, the band would undergo lineup and label changes before entering mainstream success in the early 1990s.
The band began to rise in popularity in Seattle following their addition to the 1986 “Deep Six” compilation album. The album displayed Seattle’s combination of punk and metal that would soon become internationally known as grunge. The album also featured Green River, Skin Yard, Malfunkshun, the U-Men and the Melvins, all of which influenced the grunge genre in the coming decade.
In 1987, Soundgarden signed to Sup Pop records and released their first single “Hunted Down.” The year also marked Soundgarden performing at the legendary Crescent Ballroom in Tacoma, a venue that also hosted Nirvana and Alice in Chains during the ballroom’s lifespan.
After first signing to A&M Records in 1989 and finalizing their lineup in 1990, the band now consists of Cornell, Thayil, Drummer Matt Cameron and Bassist Ben Shepherd. The band’s debut major-label album “Louder Than Love” charted on the Billboard 200 and their EP “Ultramega OK” was nominated for Best Metal Performance at the 1990 Grammy Awards.
Their 1991 album “Badmotorfinger,” released weeks after Nirvana’s “Nevermind” and Pearl Jam’s “Ten,” helped shift mainstream media’s focus to Seattle, elevating grunge to new heights. Singles “Jesus Christ Pose,” “Outshined” and “Rusty Cage” showcase the band’s technical skills while still emphasizing their sludgy tendencies that separated them from contemporaries like unique tunings and complex musical structures.
Grunge continued to grow in popularity as Alice in Chains’ “Dirt,” “Sap” and “Jar of Flies” came out in the coming years, along with Nirvana’s “In Utero” and Pearl Jam’s “Vs.” This was when Soundgarden released the critically acclaimed album “Superunknown,” which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 in 1994.
The album spawned five singles, with “Black Hole Sun” and “Spoonman” receiving the most airplay and becoming two of the band’s most popular tracks. “Superunknown” breathed new life into grunge at a time when Nirvana and Alice in Chains had broken up, due to Nirvana’s Lead Vocalist Kurt Cobain’s death and Alice in Chains’ Layne Staley’s drug addiction.
Following worldwide touring in promotion of “Superunknown,” the band returned to the studio the following year, recording the album “Down on the Upside.” Despite its success, it failed to reach the heights of “Superunknown” even with hits like “Pretty Noose.” Following its release, tensions within the band spiked during their world tour and the genre began to fade in popularity.
Soundgarden ultimately broke up in 1997 due to creative differences between the members. Cornell would later form the supergroup Audioslave while recording solo projects before and after. Cameron later became the drummer for Pearl Jam and remains their drummer today, while Thayil and Shepherd would each contribute to various projects in the following years.
Soundgarden eventually reformed in 2010 and played sporadic live shows before releasing their final studio album “King Animal” in 2012, which received favorable reviews and debuted at number five on the Billboard 200. The band spent the following year touring in support of “King Animal” and later held a 20th anniversary tour of “Superunknown” in 2014 and a North American tour in 2017.
Following the band’s show in Detroit, Michigan in May of 2017, Cornell was found dead in his hotel room of an apparent suicide, prompting the band to end the tour and later disband. Cornell’s death shocked the music world, as he was one of most polarizing voices of grunge, known for his impressive range and stage presence.
Soundgarden is fondly remembered by their fans, citing Cornell’s powerful screaming, Thayil’s masterful guitar playing and the gloomy and jagged sound of the band. They have reunited under special conditions, such as a Cornell tribute show in 2019, a Taylor Hawkins tribute show in 2022 and most recently a benefits show for children’s hospitals in Seattle in 2024.
Soundgarden were first nominated for The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2020, three years after Cornell’s tragic death. Their 2025 induction on Nov. 8 in Los Angeles will cement their legacy along with fellow grunge bands Nirvana and Pearl Jam, who were inducted in 2014 and 2017.
The band is certainly due for an induction, as they were a member of the Big Four of grunge. They helped strengthen the music scene for decades influencing the way grunge evolved. While Cornell lived long enough to receive his flowers, there will be a missing space when the surviving members take the stage later this year to accept their rightful induction into rock and roll immortality.
“I think he’d be very appreciative and thankful to all the people who have believed in him and believed in the work he did and the work that we all did, collectively,” Thayil told Billboard. “That’s how I believe Chris would respond to this.”
The band’s final lineup of Cornell, Thayil, Shepherd and Cameron will be inducted, along with original bassist Hiro Yamamoto, something that Yamamoto was enthused about, according to Thayil’s interview with Billboard.
You can watch Soundgarden’s induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame live on Disney+ on Nov. 8th or stream it on Hulu on Nov. 9th.
