Toni Cornell is reflecting on the emotional experience of performing at her late father Chris Cornell‘s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Saturday (Nov. 8). The grunge icon was enshrined posthumously along with his Soundgarden bandmates — drummer Matt Cameron, bassist Ben Shepherd, guitarist Kim Thayil and founding bassist Hiro Yamamoto — with Toni, 21, performing a moving version of the band’s 1995 single “Fell on Black Days” alongside Heart’s Nancy Wilson.
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“Soundgarden belonged in the Rock Hall from the day they started making their revolutionary music. A huge congratulations to Matt, Kim, Ben, and Hiro, and especially to my dad, who should have been here to share this moment with his bandmates. I know how proud he is,” Toni wrote in a lengthy Instagram post on Tuesday (Nov. 11). “Thank you to the legendary @nancywilson for honoring him beside me, and to Brandi [Carlile] and Taylor [Momsen] for continuously sharing his music and keeping his spirit alive. And to the fans, who are the reason this music still breathes.”
Toni said that performing the churning single from the band’s fourth studio album, Superunknown, was “one of the greatest honors of my life, and one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. My dad’s absence is always felt, but singing his songs always makes me feel closer to him. I’m so grateful I got to share this moment for him, and with him, in some way.”
The young singer who released her debut single, “Far Away Places,” in 2019, included a number of pictures from Saturday’s induction performance, as well as a snap of the first time she ever saw her dad’s band perform live in which she is holding up an iPad while watching from the wings. The photo roll also included a snap with her brother, Christopher Cornell and an image of the siblings greeting their dad onstage as children.
“I was six years old when Soundgarden reunited. My brother and I were lucky to see small pieces of that moment unfold, not realizing we were witnessing something historic,” she wrote of seeing the legendary grunge band come back together in 2010 following their split in 1997. “I’ll never forget walking into Soundgarden’s reunion show with my brother, my American Girl doll in tow, and seeing my dad step onstage again with Soundgarden after more than a decade. I might have been too young to understand the magnitude of this moment, but I still knew I was witnessing something extraordinary. I will forever be grateful for those years, eventually spending time in Seattle and experiencing the greatness of the Pacific Northwest that inspired my dad and his bandmates so immensely.”
Toni said those critical moments watching her dad shaped her, while being on the road for years with the band also molded her as an artist and person outside her public persona as “Chris’s daughter.” She said people would often tell her that Cornell and Soundgarden’s music had saved them, and watching the band’s legacy get honored by the Rock Hall made her realize how true that was.
“Daddy, you are beloved and your music will forever change people’s lives. Long live Soundgarden,” she wrote.
The emotional post got a thumbs up from Pretty Reckless singer Momsen, who earlier in the night took the stage fronting Soundgarden at the induction ceremony to perform a searing version of Soundgarden’s “Rusty Cage.” “So beautiful Toni,” Momsen wrote in the comments.
Check out Toni Cornell’s performance below.
