Chris Cornell (Christopher John Boyle) was born on July 20, 1964 is an American musician best known as the lead singer, guitarist and songwriter of the rock bands Soundgarden (1984-1997) and Audioslave (2001-2007).

He was the founder and frontman for Temple of the Dog, the one-off tribute band dedicated to his former roommate, Andrew Wood, and has released two solo albums, Euphoria Morning (1999) and Carry On (2007). He also co-wrote and performed the song "You Know My Name" for the 2006 James Bond film Casino Royale.

Their debut album, Audioslave, released in November 2002, spawned hits such as "Like a Stone" and "Cochise", and has reached triple-platinum status in the United States. The band toured through 2003, before resting in 2004 to record their second album. In early 2006 the band returned, recording their third album as they had written most of the material during the tour.

The band released the album, titled Revelations, in September 2006. The first two singles were "Original Fire" and "Revelations". Two of the songs from the third album, "Shape of Things to Come" and "Wide Awake" were also prominently featured in Michael Mann's film Miami Vice prior to the release of the album.

Despite the exposure to other forms of media and the positive critical buzz for their third album, Audioslave did not tour behind the release. They went into hiatus to allow Cornell to complete the title track for the latest James Bond movie and Morello to pursue his own solo work under the moniker of The Nightwatchman.

On February 15, 2007, Cornell officially announced his departure from Audioslave, stating that "Due to irresolvable personality conflicts as well as musical differences, I am permanently leaving the band Audioslave. I wish the other three members nothing but the best in all of their future endeavors."