Chris Cornell‘s daughter Toni has paid tribute to the late Soundgarden frontman to mark what would have been his 58th birthday.
Cornell died by suicide on May 18, 2017. He was 52 years old.
Yesterday (July 20), Toni Cornell – who is also a musician and singer – took to Instagram to share an intimate home video of herself and her father. In the clip, we see Toni singing along to Rihanna‘s chorus from Eminem‘s 2010 single ‘Love the Way You Lie’ as Chris plays the track on acoustic guitar.
“Singing high is not the same as singing loud, though,” Chris tells his daughter in the video. “You don’t have to sing it loud. You can sing it quiet.” He later nods along in encouragement, telling a young Toni: “That was great.”
In the caption to the post, Toni referred to one of her dad’s favourite songs to cover. “‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ is not just a song,” she wrote. “It’s what I truly think when I look back at our life and memories together.
“You were always playing music for us, singing with us, dancing with us.”
The message continued: “Losing you was one of the hardest things we had to go through. They say it gets easier with time, but as the days and years go by, and since we last saw you, we are missing you even more.
“Today, on your birthday, I think so so many join me in saying we miss you the MOST!!! The world would not be the same without you in it, and will never be the same with you gone. You wrote the soundtrack to not just our lives, but for millions, and we will forever hear it.”
Toni added: “We feel you with us as your words, love and all of the memories shaped our world, made us who we are and are forever ingrained in the fabric of our souls. On your birthday and every other day, we celebrate you and remember how very lucky we were that you were ours.
“Happy Birthday to the greatest dad and most incredible human whose life continues to leave an incredible mark on everyone he touches.”
Back in May, Soundgarden, Rage Against The Machine and the late frontman’s wife Vicky Cornell were among those to pay tribute to the singer on the fifth anniversary of his death.
“Chris, five years we have missed you, you have love, you have peace, you have eternity. Love and peace for all of Soundgarden’s brothers and sisters,” the band wrote.