Ann Wilson of seminal US rockers Heart has opened up about the death of her friend Chris Cornell, explaining that she “was not surprised” when she heard the news.
Following the tragic and untimely death of Chris Cornell back in May of 2017, friends, family, and fans of the iconic musician were understandably shocked.
In the weeks and months following his passing, countless musicians paid tribute to the rocker, including Cornell’s close friend Ann Wilson, who later explained that he couldn’t handle “being the voice of a generation”.
“It was really uncomfortable, and he wasn’t just bragging about being uncomfortable, he was,” the Heart vocalist noted. “It was too much.”
“He had one foot in wanting to be famous, and one foot in just being so uncomfortable there, that he was caught somewhere in the middle. He was so beautiful, and handsome, but tender. He was a really, really good person.”
The next FIERCE: WOMEN IN MUSIC premieres Thursday, Nov. 15 at 1pm EST. @LoriMajewski talks with the legendary @officialheart singer @AnnWilson about her new solo album, #Immortal, the status of Heart, her friendship to @chriscornell and much more. pic.twitter.com/xFL3cqUo0A
— Trunk Nation on SXM Faction Talk Channel 103 (@TrunkNationSXM) November 14, 2018
Now, in a new interview with SiriusXM (via Blabbermouth), Ann Wilson noted that Chris Cornell’s death didn’t shock her like it did the rest of the world.
“I was not surprised when he died,” she explained. “No, I was not surprised. And I don’t know why I say that, just something I feel from Chris. He was so complicated and he always struggled with mundanity. He was really in another dimension, and for him to be normal was really hard.”
Of course, this wasn’t the first time that Wilson had shared this opinion, noting that Cornell had something of a dark sense of humour when it came to death.
“Chris’s death affected me, but I wasn’t that surprised,” Wilson explained to Rolling Stone in July. “He always had gallows humor about being lonely in hotel rooms. ‘The only thing missing is a noose,’ he’d say. And it was like ‘oh, Chris.’ And he’s like ‘[I’m] too tired, the road is too hard, too impersonal.’”
“He was darkly joking.”
In related news, a Chris Cornell tribute concert was announced last week, with members of Soundgarden, Temple Of The Dog, Audioslave, Metallica, Foo Fighters, and Ryan Adams set to perform at the Los Angeles event in January.
If you or somebody you care for needs help or information about depression, suicide, anxiety, or mental health issues, contact Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636 or Lifeline on 13 11 14.
Check out Ann Wilson and Jerry Cantrell performing Soundgarden’s ‘Black Hole Sun’:
