Soundgarden drummer Matt Cameron teamed up with The Pretty Reckless singer Taylor Momsen to record a cover version of Soundgarden's “Halfway There.”
The song, which is from Soundgarden's 2012 King Animal album, was recorded as a tribute to late Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell, with Monday (May 18th) marking the third anniversary of his death. The accompanying video, shot in quarantine, features Cameron on guitar and Momsen on vocals.
The Pretty Reckless opened for Soundgarden in Detroit on May 17th, 2017, just hours before Cornell apparently committed suicide by hanging in his hotel room. He was 52 years old.
Momsen, a longtime Soundgarden fan, told Kerrang! last week that she was deeply affected by the deaths of Cornell and The Pretty Reckless’ producer Kato Khandwala within a year of each other. She said she pulled herself out of a “dark downward spiral” by making her band's upcoming album, Death By Rock And Roll.
Momsen revealed to us that Cameron and Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil make a guest appearance on the new LP: “During the making of the record, we were writing a song and it was kind of screaming for Matt Cameron and Kim Thayil to be on this song. And so I called them up and said, 'Hey guys, I've got this tune that's just begging for you guys to be on it. Is this something you would be interested in doing?' And they very graciously said yes.”
Cameron and the other surviving members of Soundgarden are locked in a legal battle with the singer's widow over the ownership of Cornell's final vocal recordings.