Temple of the Dog

Infobox Musical artist
Name = Temple of the Dog


Img_capt = Early promo shot of Temple of the Dog
Img_size = 250
Background = group_or_band
Origin = city-state|Seattle|Washington, USA
Years_active = 1990–1992
(One-off reunion: 2003)
Label = A&M
Associated_acts = Green River, Soundgarden, Skin Yard, Bad Radio, Mother Love Bone, Pearl Jam, Brad, Hater, Hovercraft, Mad Season, Three Fish, Wellwater Conspiracy, The Rockfords, Audioslave
Current_members = Jeff Ament
Matt Cameron
Chris Cornell
Stone Gossard
Mike McCready
Eddie Vedder

Temple of the Dog was an American rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington in 1990. It was conceived by Chris Cornell of Soundgarden as a tribute to his friend, the late Andrew Wood, lead singer of Malfunkshun and Mother Love Bone. The line-up included Stone Gossard on rhythm guitar, Jeff Ament on bass guitar (both ex-members of Mother Love Bone), Mike McCready on lead guitar, Matt Cameron on drums and Eddie Vedder, providing backing vocals.

The band released its only album, the self-titled "Temple of the Dog", in April 1991 through A&M Records. Although earning praise from music critics at the time of its release, the album was not widely recognized until 1992, when Vedder, Ament, Gossard and McCready had their commercial breakthrough with Pearl Jam.

History

Temple of the Dog was started by Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell, who was a roommate of Andrew Wood, the lead singer of Malfunkshun and Mother Love Bone.Turman, Katherine. "Life Rules." "Rip Magazine". October 1991] Wood died on March 19, 1990 of a heroin overdose, the day Cornell got back from a tour.cite web|title=KISW 99.9 FM: Seattle, Radio Interview by Damon Stewart in The New Music Hour with Chris Cornell, Jeff Ament and Stone Gossard|author=Nicholls, Justin|publisher=Fivehorizons.com|url=http://www.fivehorizons.com/archive/articles/radio041491.shtml|accessdate=2007-10-03|date=1991-04-14] As he went on to tour Europe a few days later, he started writing songs in tribute to his late friend. The result was two songs, "Reach Down" and "Say Hello 2 Heaven", that he recorded as soon as he got back from touring.

The recorded material was slow and melodic; much different musically from the aggressive rock music of Soundgarden. [cite web|title=A conversation with Chris Cornell part 2|author=O'Brien, Clare|publisher=Chris Cornell Fan Page|url=http://www.chriscornell.org.uk/articles/conversationwithchriscornellpart2.htm|accessdate=2007-10-03|date=2007-06-27] That is why Cornell approached Wood's former bandmates, Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament—who were still figuring out how to continue without Mother Love Bone—with the intention of releasing the songs as a single. Ament described the collaboration as "a really good thing at the time" for him and Gossard that put them into a "band situation where we could play and make music." The band's lineup was completed by the addition of Soundgarden (and later Pearl Jam) drummer Matt Cameron and future Pearl Jam lead guitarist Mike McCready. They named themselves Temple of the Dog, after the lyrics in a Mother Love Bone song, "Man of Golden Words".

The band started rehearsing "Reach Down" and "Say Hello 2 Heaven" and other songs written by Cornell on tour prior to Wood's death, as well as re-working some existing material from demos written by Gossard, Ament, and Cameron.Alden, Grant. "Requiem for a Heavyweight." "Guitar World". July 1997] One such demo became a song for two bands; recorded as "Footsteps" for Vedder's and Gossard's future band, Pearl Jam and as "Times of Trouble" for Temple of the Dog. [cite web|title=Footsteps by Pearl Jam|publisher=Songfacts|url=http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=1415|accessdate=2007-10-03] The idea of doing covers of Wood's solo material also came up, but was abandoned quickly, as they realised it would make people (including Wood's close friends and relatives) think they are "exploiting his material."

The release of a single was soon deemed a "stupid idea" by Cornell and dropped in favor of an EP, or album. The album was recorded in only 15 days, produced by the band themselves. Gossard described the recording process as a "non-pressure filled" situation, as there were no expectations or pressure coming from the record company. Eddie Vedder, who had flown from San Diego to Seattle to audition to be the singer of Mookie Blaylock (which eventually became Pearl Jam), ended up providing backing vocals.cite news|title=Chris Cornell Open To Revisiting Temple|publisher=Ultimate Guitar Archive|url=http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/video_news/chris_cornell_open_to_revisiting_temple.html|accessdate=2007-10-03|date=2007-09-14] "Hunger Strike" became a duet between Cornell and Vedder. Cornell was having trouble with the vocals at practice, when Vedder stepped in. Cornell later said that "he sang half of that song not even knowing that I'd wanted the part to be there and he sang it exactly the way I was thinking about doing it, just instinctively."

"Temple of the Dog" was released on April 16, 1991 through A&M Records and initially sold 70,000 copies in the United States. Ament recalled that they requested a Pearl Jam sticker on the cover—as they had just picked their new name—because "it'll be a good thing for us", but they were refused. The album received favorable reviews, [cite web|title=((( Temple of the Dog > Biography )))|author=Erlewine, Stephen Thomas|publisher=Allmusic|url=http://wc10.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:dpfyxqt5ld6e~T1|accessdate=2007-10-03] but failed to chart. Contemporary critic Steve Huey, from Allmusic, rated it with four and a half stars out of five, [cite web|title=((( Temple of the Dog > Review )))|author=Huey, Steve|publisher=Allmusic|url=http://wc06.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:09fuxq85ldde~T1|accessdate=2007-10-03] while David Fricke from "Rolling Stone" wrote—in retrospective—that it "deserves immortality." [cite web|title=Temple of the Dog: Temple of the Dog: Review|author=Fricke, David|publisher="Rolling Stone"|url=http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/301499/review/5944099?utm_source=Rhapsody&utm_medium=CDreview|accessdate=2007-10-03|date=2000-12-14] The band members were pleased with the material, as it achieved its purpose; Cornell believed that "Andy really would have liked" the songs, and Gossard also asserted that he thought Wood would be "blown away by the whole thing." Soon after the album's release, Soundgarden and Pearl Jam started recording and Temple of the Dog broke up.

In the summer of 1992, the album received new attention. Although the album had been released more than a year earlier, A&M Records realized that they had in their catalog what was essentially a collaboration between Soundgarden and Pearl Jam, who had both risen to mainstream attention in the months since the album's release. A&M decided to re-issue the album and promote "Hunger Strike" as a single, with an accompanying music video. The attention allowed both the album and single to chart on "Billboard", and resulted in a boost in album sales. "Temple of the Dog" ended up selling more than a million copies, achieving platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America. [cite web|title=Gold & Platinum Searchable Database - Search Results - Temple of the Dog|publisher=Recording Industry Association of America|url=http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&action=&title=&artist=Temple%20of%20the%20Dog&format=&debutLP=&category=&sex=&releaseDate=&requestNo=&type=&level=&label=&company=&certificationDate=&awardDescription=&catalogNo=&aSex=&rec_id=&charField=&gold=&platinum=&multiPlat=&level2=&certDate=&album=&id=&after=&before=&startMonth=1&endMonth=1&startYear=1958&endYear=2007&sort=Artist&perPage=25|accessdate=2007-10-03]

In a recent interview with Ultimate Guitar Archive, Cornell stated he would be open for a Temple of the Dog reunion, or "some collaboration with any combination of those guys." He also revealed that Temple of the Dog was the reason he joined Audioslave, as the experience made him "keep an open mind" about collaborations with musicians from other bands.

Live performances

The only time Temple of the Dog played a full one hour set was while rehearsing and writing the material for the album. The band (with the exception of Vedder) performed in Seattle at the Off Ramp Café on November 13, 1990.cite web|url=http://www.fivehorizons.com/tour/cc/t199091.shtml|title=Pearl Jam: 1990/1991 Concert Chronology|accessdate=2007-10-03|publisher=Fivehorizons.com] In the time since the album's release, the band reformed for short live performances on four occasions where both Soundgarden and Pearl Jam were performing. Temple of the Dog performed "Hunger Strike" on October 3, 1991 at the Foundations Forum in Los Angeles; a three-song set on October 6, 1991 at The Hollywood Palladium for the "Rip Magazine" 5th anniversary partyciteweb|url=http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/kerrang_p2.htm|title=Kerrang! 100 greatest gigs of all time] (Temple of the Dog played after secret headlining act Spinal Tapciteweb|url=http://www.spinaltapfan.com/articles/timeline.html|title=SpinalTapFan.com] ); and "Hunger Strike" on both August 14, 1992 in Reston, Virginia and September 13, 1992 in Irvine, California (both shows were part of the Lollapalooza festival series in 1992).cite web|url=http://www.fivehorizons.com/tour/cc/t1992p2.shtml|title=Pearl Jam: 1992 Concert Chronology part 2|accessdate=2007-10-03|publisher=Fivehorizons.com] The band also played "Reach Down" on the latter occasion.

At a Pearl Jam show in Santa Barbara, California on October 28, 2003, Cornell joined the band on-stage effectively re-uniting Temple of the Dog (Cameron had been the drummer for Pearl Jam since 1998) for renditions of "Hunger Strike" and "Reach Down". [cite web|url=http://www.fivehorizons.com/tour/cc/t2003p3.shtml|title=Pearl Jam: 2003 Concert Chronology part 3|accessdate=2007-10-03|publisher=Fivehorizons.com] The version of "Reach Down" recorded that night later appeared on Pearl Jam's annual Ten Club Christmas Single that year. Pearl Jam has also been known to perform "Hunger Strike" live without Cornell on rare occasions. [cite web|url=http://www.fivehorizons.com/tour/cc/t1996p2.shtml|title=Pearl Jam: 1996 Concert Chronology part 2|accessdate=2007-10-03|publisher=Fivehorizons.com] [cite web|url=http://www.fivehorizons.com/tour/cc/t1998.shtml|title=Pearl Jam: 1998 Concert Chronology|accessdate=2007-10-03|publisher=Fivehorizons.com]

Cornell's post-Soundgarden band, Audioslave, added "Call Me A Dog", "All Night Thing", and "Hunger Strike" to its live set in 2005. [cite web|title=Review of Audioslave @ Boston, MA|author=bcd_71|publisher=The Audioslave Fan Forum|url=http://www.audioslaved.com/article494.html|accessdate=2007-08-25|date=2005-11-01] Additionally, Cornell added the aforementioned songs, "Say Hello 2 Heaven" and "Pushin Forward Back" to his solo live set in 2007. [cite web|url=http://seattlest.com/2007/10/05/seattlest_misse.php|title=Seattlest Misses Greyhound, Catches Chris Cornell's Hit Parade|accessdate=2007-11-08|date=2007-10-05|publisher=Seattlest|author=Brownlee, Clint] [cite web|url=http://www.livedaily.com/reviews/Live_Review_Chris_Cornell_in_Boston-11965.html?t=1|title=Live Review: Chris Cornell in Boston|accessdate=2007-10-03|date=2007-04-20|publisher=LiveDaily|author=Zahlaway, Jon] [cite web|url=http://www.beat.com.au/review.php?id=856|title=Chris Cornell live at The Forum|accessdate=2007-11-08|date=2007-10-31|publisher="BEAT magazine"|author=Snelling, Nick]

Discography

Albums

*"Temple of the Dog" (A&M, 1991)

ingles

*"Hunger Strike" (A&M, 1991)
*"Say Hello 2 Heaven" (Promo) (A&M, 1991)
*"Pushin Forward Back" (Promo) (A&M, 1991)

Notes and references

External links

*allmusicguide|11:dpfyxqt5ld6e|Temple of the Dog
*last.fm