How John Lennon became a “father figure” to Chris Cornell
From an early age, music offered a source of escapism to the late Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell, allowing him to escape from his surroundings and immerse himself in a much more comfortable setting. His first exposure to music, which deeply connected with him, was The Beatles, and John Lennon became a crucial figure in his life.
Cornell was raised in a Catholic setting, but he knew from childhood that music was the religion he would devote his life to rather than Catholicism. It made sense in a way that didn’t compare with his upbringing, and The Beatles played an integral role in his awakening, which would put him on the path towards creating a glittering career for himself in the art form.
During an interview on BBC 6 Music, Cornell reflected upon the most crucial musical moments of his life, singling out his discovery of The Beatles. As he was too young to enjoy their music while it was being released, Cornell could cypher through their entire back catalogue and, essentially, provided him with a basic understanding of how to construct songs after learning from the best.
He also explained the obsession which made him become a “music geek”. He said: “I think that period, which lasted a couple of years where it was just Beatles, I think it was like music college for me, in a way. Not just writing, but recording, singing, record producing, everything, without realising it because I’d listened to it all so much and so intently.”
Cornell added: “It all seemed to just get in there somehow subconsciously because I wasn’t thinking about it. I didn’t think I’d ever be a musician, write songs or be a singer.”
As a solo artist, Cornell regularly covered ‘Imagine’ by Lennon. Furthermore, when he appeared on Howard Stern’s radio programme on Sirius XM in 2011, Cornell entered the studio to perform a cover of the classic track. However, before the Soundgarden frontman started the acoustic rendition, the duo enjoyed a conversation about the impact of Lennon on their lives.
When Stern refers to Lennon as “the greatest songwriter ever”, the Soundgarden agrees with the broadcaster’s stance before adding that he is “probably my favourite”. Cornell continued: “I actually looked to him as a father figure when I was a kid because I sat in a room at nine, ten years old and listened to Beatles records and John Lennon records over and over and over and over. He was an intense guy with an intense attitude musically, lyrically and as a person.”
Although he was only a young child when Lennon entered his life, and as his words to Stern all those years later prove, Cornell remained full of admiration for the Liverpudlian musician for the rest of his life. While almost everything changed in his existence, The Beatles remained a constant, and Lennon’s work was still there to guide him like all those years earlier.
