The grunge era that started in the mid 1980s and peaked in the early 1990s was epitomized by four Seattle bands: Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and Alice in Chains. Nirvana and Pearl Jam are first ballot Rock & Roll Hall of Famers, inducted in 2014 and 2017, respectively. Alice in Chains has been eligible since 2016 but has yet to be nominated.
Soundgarden, eligible since 2012, was nominated three times before making it into the Rock Hall last year.
The band released a half dozen albums, five between 1988-1996 and another in 2012 after reuniting following a 16-year hiatus. The three records released between 1991 and 1996 combined to sell nearly 10 million copies and help define the grunge sound.
Those impressive sales weren’t driven by any runaway hit singles. Soundgarden’s best-known track, ‘Black Hole Sun,’ topped the Mainstream Rock chart and reached #2 on the Alternative Airplay chart but didn’t crack the top 20 of the Hot 100.
Soundgarden was an early influence on Kurt Cobain and their music helped shape the early sound of Nirvana, who quickly outshined them.
The band’s founder and lead singer, Chris Cornell, suffered with drug and alcohol addiction as well as depression, themes that found their way into his music. He took his own life in 2017 shortly after finishing a Soundgarden gig in Detroit.
Cornell’s daughter, Toni, performed one of his songs at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
In my eyes, indisposed
In disguises no one knows
Hides the face, lies the snake
In the sun in my disgrace
Boiling heat, summer stench
‘Neath the black, the sky looks dead
Call my name through the cream
And I’ll hear you scream again
[Chorus]
Black hole sun, won’t you come
And wash away the rain?
Black hole sun, won’t you come?
Won’t you come? Won’t you come?
[Verse 2]
Stuttering, cold and damp
Steal the warm wind, tired friend
Times are gone for honest men
And sometimes far too long for snakes
In my shoes, a walking sleep
And my youth I pray to keep
Heaven send Hell away
No one sings like you anymore
[Chorus]
Black hole sun, won’t you come
And wash away the rain?
Black hole sun, won’t you come?
Won’t you come?
Black hole sun, won’t you come
And wash away the rain?
Black hole sun, won’t you come?
Won’t you come?
[Post-Chorus]
(Black hole sun, black hole sun)
Won’t you come?
(Black hole sun, black hole sun)
Won’t you come?
(Black hole sun, black hole sun)
Won’t you come?
(Black hole sun, black hole sun)
[Pre-Chorus]
Hang my head, drown my fear
‘Til you all just disappear
[Chorus]
Black hole sun (Black hole sun)
Won’t you come (Won’t you come?)
And wash away the rain?
Black hole sun (Black hole sun)
Won’t you come? (Won’t you come?)
Won’t you come? (Won’t you come?)
Black hole sun (Black hole sun)
Won’t you come (Won’t you come?)
And wash away the rain?
Black hole sun (Black hole sun)
Won’t you come? (Won’t you come?)
Won’t you come? (Won’t you come?)
Meet Me In Montauk 