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Soundgarden music biography continued...

Washington to go to college, but got involved with the music scene instead-- Kim Thayil (guitar) and Hiro Yamamoto (bass). They were joined by Yamamoto's Seattle roommate, Chris Cornell (vocals), a Seattle native who had previously played drums in several bands, and Scott Sundquist (drums). Sundquist was replaced by Matt Cameron in 1986. The band began to play several of Seattle's underground clubs and established an enthusiastic cult following. In 1987, They were signed by Illinois friend, Bruce Pavitt, to his fledgling Sub Pop indie label, and released the single "Hunted Down" before the EP Screaming Life appeared later in the year. Screaming Life and the group's second EP, 1988's FOPP, became underground hits and earned the attention of several major labels. After a false start with one major, Soundgarden signed with A&M Records and scored a word-of-mouth hit with 1989's Louder Than Love, which also earned them a Grammy nomination. The group's third album, 1991's Badmotorfinger, was heavily anticipated by many industry observers as a potential breakout hit, but the big breakthrough wouldn't come until the grunge scene had exploded and the band released1994's Superunknown. The album, which debuted at number one and became one of the most popular records of 1994, was promoted with the crossover hit "Black Hole Sun," which sold over three million copies, earned the group two Grammies and made Soundgarden superstars.



Soundgarden returned in 1996 with Down on the Upside, which entered the charts at number two, but failed to have legs. Still, Soundgarden was enough of a phenomenon that the album went platinum and the band were co-headliners on the sixth Lollapalooza. Failing to replicate the mega success of Superunknown, the band fell victim to internal squabbles and officially announced that they were splitting up in April 1997 to pursue other interests. They had already left their mark on the grunge scene, however, and would forever be known as trailblazers.