On what would have been Chris Cornell’s 60th birthday (Saturday, 20 July), his wife, Vicky, unearthed a video of her husband singing the Tracy Chapman classic, Fast Car, and teased additional music to be unleashed from the vault.
Putting his own theatrical spin on the song, the teaser shared by Vicky finds Chris slowing the song down while respecting the melody and Tracy Chapman’s songwriting. You can watch the video below.
In the caption of the video posted to Instagram, Vicky paid tribute to her husband and hinted at more music to come.
“Although everyone that loved him is sad that he’s no longer here, it’s all of you, the fans who made him, whose love has continued to keep his legacy alive,” she wrote. “I’m so grateful to you all for that. While I remember him best as the wonderful husband, father, and human being he was — I’d like to celebrate his whole life and everything he gave us.”
Vicky added, “On his 60th we can all celebrate his genius as an artist who redefined music, but also the incredible man who touched and changed lives. He’s an icon, and he gave us all so much — his unique voice, his poetry, his creativity… his life was a gift to so many. And as you can hear — there’s more to come!!!”
If more music is on the way, it will follow Nobody Sings Like You Anymore Vol. 1, the posthumous Chris Cornell album released in December 2020. Featuring covers of songs by Guns N’ Roses (Patience), Prince (Nothing Compares 2 U), Janis Joplin (Get It While You Can), and many more, the album title is a lyric from the Soundgarden hit, Black Hole Sun.
The first posthumous Chris Cornell album was released in November 2018 and compiled the singer’s solo material as well as his work with Soundgarden, Audioslave, and Temple Of The Dog.
Last year, Soundgarden and Vicky Cornell reached a settlement about releasing the singer’s final recordings being released after a long-standing legal dispute.
Chris Cornell passed away in 2017. It was a sudden and unexpected loss for his family and the music world. Following his passing, Cornell’s music, Soundgarden’s, and Audioslave’s surged up the ARIA Album Charts.
The Spoonman singer isn’t the only one interested in covering the iconic 1988 Tracy Chapman tune. Last year, country music star Luke Combs covered Fast Car, which resulted in Chapman becoming the first Black woman to win a CMA Award (for Song of the Year)
Earlier this year, Chapman joined Combs and performed the song at the Grammy Awards for her first televised live performance in nine years. Combs’ version of the song reached #2 in Australia (the original peaked at #4).