Soundgarden and Audioslave frontman Chris Cornell was remembered during a private memorial at Hollywood Forever Cemetery on Friday, May 26. The musician was cremated on Tuesday, May 22.
Along with Cornell’s wife, Vicky, and his three children, Pharrell, Brad Pitt, Metallica’s James Hetfield, Dave Navarro, Joe Walsh, Josh Brolin, Audioslave’s Tom Morello and Cornell’s Soundgarden bandmates were also in attendance.
According to the Associated Press, Soundgarden and Audioslave songs played from a portable speaker outside the cemetery’s gates. The news agency also reports that a public memorial and viewing of the musician’s resting place is set for 3 p.m.
As previously reported, Cornell died at the age of 52 on Wednesday, May 17, after performing a sold-out concert in Detroit. His death was ruled suicide by hanging. His family believes that prescription drugs may have played a role in his death.
“I noticed he was slurring his words; he was different. When he told me he may have taken an extra Ativan or two, I contacted security and asked that they check on him,” Cornell’s widow said in a statement earlier this week. “What happened is inexplicable and I am hopeful that further medical reports will provide additional details.”
In an equally heartbreaking letter penned to Billboard.com, she expressed that Cornell would have never consciously taken his own life.
“We had the time of our lives in the last decade and I’m sorry, my sweet love, that I did not see what happened to you that night,” she wrote. “I’m sorry you were alone, and I know that was not you, my sweet Christopher. Your children know that too, so you can rest in peace.”
