10 Best Songs Released After The Singer Passed Away

6. Chris Cornell – ‘When Bad Does Good’ (2018)

Chris Cornell took his own life on 18 May 2017 after he played one last show with Soundgarden that same night. A year later, his family compiled a posthumous self-titled album as a tribute to him, with the final track being ‘When Bad Does Good’.

Unlike most songs in this piece, this was a fully completed new song - mixed, recorded, and produced by Chris himself, and only found in his personal recordings archive after he passed.

It doesn’t often get highlighted as a standout track in Cornell’s history but it should as it’s an incredible final bow from an artist. It’s almost as if he’s saying goodbye to family, friends and fans in the song, explaining how in the end something good will come out of his death that you can’t yet see.

In the emotionally moving music video for the song made after he passed, Chris Cornell‘s son Christopher portrays his father. He plays a paperboy, a job Cornell had when he was younger, and bikes around Chris’s hometown of Seattle where he cycles past landmarks and lyrics in Chris’ career like Sub Pop Records.

The song won a Grammy award in the Best Rock Performance category at the 61st Grammy Awards in 2019. Lyrics include ‘Standing beside an open grave, your fate decided, your life erased. Your final hour has come today, lit by the fire of your temples burning’.

It’s an amazing eulogy of a track, with a hint of gospel music accompanying it. It grows throughout with Cornell’s songwriting skill on full display.