10 Greatest Forgotten Songs Of The 1990s
5. Say Hello 2 Heaven - Temple Of The Dog
In grunge’s embryonic stage, many of Seattle’s future stars played in different bands together. Future Pearl Jam founders Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament began in a group called Mother Love Bone. Andrew Wood, the band’s singer, was roommates at the time with Soundgarden vocalist Chris Cornell.
After Wood died of an overdose in 1990, Cornell approached Gossard and Ament about recording two songs he had written as tribute to Wood. Cornell brought in future Pearl Jam members Eddie Vedder and Matt Cameron to provide vocals and percussion. The “two songs” evolved into the supergroup Temple of the Dog.
After Wood’s death, Cornell began writing what would become Say Hello 2 Heaven, one of the three singles from Temple of the Dog’s self-titled album. Hunger Strike, the iconic lead single from the album, has maintained popularity through the years. The song and accompanying video skyrocketed as Vedder and company soon released their genre-defining record, Ten.
Say Hello 2 Heaven may have lived in the shadow of Hunger Strike, but the track stands firmly on its own two feet. In 2016, Chris Cornell said in an interview, “Say Hello 2 Heaven was one of the songs I wrote directly for Andy Wood” and that the song has become “this anthem that makes somebody feel some comfort when they’ve lost someone”.