Gone, but never forgotten. Matt Cameron and The Pretty Reckless‘s Taylor Momsen collaborated on a stripped-down cover of Soundgarden‘s “Halfway There” in memory of the band’s late frontman, Chris Cornell, who died by suicide three years ago on May 18.
“A Tribute to Chris Cornell,” read the description on The Pretty Reckless’s YouTube page. In the video, Cameron and Momsen are socially distanced, with each performing from their own studios. Cameron plays guitar and provides backing vocals, while the former Gossip Girl star takes on Cornell’s lead vocals.
It appears the video — at least Cameron’s parts — was shot in a few takes, as the drummer’s outfit changes visibly during various points during the three-minute-plus performance.
“Halfway There” was the third single off Soundgarden’s sixth studio album, 2012’s King Animal. It peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 in December that same year.
The same day that the duo shared the video, Cameron also remembered his late bandmate. “Missing you today and everyday,” he captioned an Instagram photo of a young Cornell performing. “Thank you Chris.”
Momsen and Cameron are no strangers to working together. In November, the drummer — who became Pearl Jam’s man behind the kit after Soundgarden’s 1997 split — shared a photo of himself and the former actress wearing matching wristbands. He noted in the Instagram caption that he was working on the new Pretty Reckless album, writing, “Super fun day with @taylormomsen and #benphillips recording a killer track for their upcoming #prettyreckless record!!” (The Pretty Reckless have since released “Death by Rock and Roll,” their first new song since 2016.)
Momsen also performed at Cornell’s tribute concert, “I Am the Highway,” in January 2019. She rocked Soundgarden’s “Rusty Cage” alongside band members Cameron, Kim Thayil and Ben Shepherd, as well as “Loud Love” with Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello, and “Drawing Flies.”
Watch Cameron and Momsen’s tribute to Cornell below:
