A new report indicates Chris Cornell’s widow is suing Soundgarden over a series of unreleased recordings made by the rocker before his death in 2017.
According to Rolling Stone, Vicky Cornell has filed a lawsuit in Florida court claiming the Seattle band is withholding royalties from her in an effort to gain access to vocal tracks for seven songs the singer recorded in his personal studio in Florida.
The lawsuit alleges there was never any explicit agreement that these songs were for Soundgarden, and that Cornell was the exclusive owner of them. After Cornell’s death, the band reached out to Vicky, who agreed to share the unreleased recordings with Soundgarden for a potential new album so long as they used one of Cornell’s “trusted producers” and kept her informed about a possible album marketing strategy.
The suit also claims that Soundgarden’s lawyers sent Vicky Cornell a letter last month demanding she turn over the unreleased recordings, which the band claimed sole ownership of while naming drummer Matt Cameron as a co-writer, with guitarist Kim Thayil and bassist Ben Shepherd listed as co-writers on one song each.
Meanwhile, Cornell alleges that Soundgarden “has not produced any partnership documents, much less any documentation signed by Chris, supporting their conclusory claims of ownership.” Furthermore, it notes that “there is no evidence that the [unreleased recordings]… were ever intended to be anything but Chris’ sole and exclusive property.”
Last month, Thayil revealed the band is considering completing and releasing an album of recordings they were working on with Cornell at the time of his passing.
Soundgarden are among the nominees under consideration for entry into the 2020 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame; the inductees will be announced this month and the ceremony will take place in Cleveland, OH next spring.
Read more details about the Soundgarden legal battle at rollingstone.com.
See also:
Chris Cornell receives posthumous Grammy Award nomination
Soundgarden considering release of final album with Chris Cornell
Soundgarden guitarist comments on 2020 Rock Hall nomination
Soundgarden, Judas Priest and Thin Lizzy lead 2020 Rock Hall nominees
Gibson announces Chris Cornell signature tribute guitar
Search Soundgarden at hennemusic
