Chris Cornell Being Honored For Philanthropic Work
Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell is being honored posthumously — for his human rights work rather than his music.
Cornell will be saluted at the second LA Chefs for Human Rights (LACHR) dinner on September 25 for his title song for The Promise, a film about the Armenian genocide. The dinner takes place at the chef Kim Luu-Ng’s Southeast Asian restaurant in Santa Monica and will raise money for Program for Torture Victims (PTV).
Cornell’s widow Vicky will accept the award, and Luu-Ng says in a statement that, “We’re deeply honored to celebrate the life-changing work Vicky and Chris have accomplished, and which she continues to carry on. Their support of and dedication to Syrian refugee children languishing in refugee camps raises awareness for this ongoing six-year crisis and provides hope to many who have lost it.”
The Promise, which was directed by Terry George and stars Christian Bale and Oscar Isaac, premiered at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival and went into wide release last April. Cornell’s song was released as a single in March and was his last solo recording before he committed suicide May 18 after a Soundgarden concert in Detroit.
Gary Graff is an award-winning music journalist who not only covers music but has written books on Bob Seger, Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen.