Soundgarden was a seminal Seattle rock band who helped to define the sound that came to be called grunge. They are often considered one of the "big four" Seattle bands of the era, along with Nirvana, Alice in Chains, and Pearl Jam.
Soundgarden was formed in 1984 by Chris Cornell (drums & vocals) and Hiro Yamamoto (bass), and was later joined by Kim Thayil (guitar). (Thayil had moved to Seattle from Illinois with Yamamoto and Bruce Pavitt, who would later start Sub Pop Records.) The band was named after an outdoor art/sound installation called "The Sound Garden" located on NOAA property near Seattle's Magnuson Park which makes eerie sounds when the wind blows.
Cornell originally played drums while singing, but the band enlisted Scott Sundquist to free Cornell up to concentrate on vocals. The band recorded two songs which appeared on a compilation for C/Z Records called Deep Six which also featured songs by Green River, Skin Yard, and The Melvins.
< Image with unknown copyright status removed: left|thumb|300px|(L-R) Chris Cornell, Kim Thayil, Scott Sundquist, and Hiro Yamamoto. --> In 1986 Sundquist left the band, to...
| years active | 1984–1997 |
| origin | Seattle, Washington |
| country | United States |
| status | Dissolved |
| music genre | Alternative rock Grunge music |
| current members | Chris Cornell Kim Thayil Matt Cameron Ben Shepherd |
| past members | Hiro Yamamoto Scott Sundquist Jason Everman |
