Chris Cornell's Daughter Toni Releases Song Produced and Recorded by Her Dad Before He Died
Toni Cornell is following in her father’s footsteps.
The 15-year-old daughter of the late musician Chris Cornell released her first original song this week, just over two years after his death by suicide in May 2017.
Toni wrote the song, titled “Far Away Places” when she was only 12 years old, and was produced and recorded by the Soundgarden frontman from his home studio in Miami, Florida. The track appears in a short film of the same name that was written by 17-year-old family friend Tatiana Shanks, according to a press release.
Before his tragic death at 52, Chris and Toni worked together on music, and Toni’s first performance ever was alongside her dad. The duo performed “Redemption Song” at the Beacon Theater in New York City in 2015.
Two years later, during a Good Morning America appearance, Toni sang Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” alongside OneRepublic frontman Ryan Tedder to honor her late father and his close friend Chester Bennington.
“It’s an honor to perform this for my dad and Chester and to sing for them,” Toni said, per ABC News.
On Father’s Day last year, Toni shared a duet that she and Chris had sung of Prince‘s “Nothing Compares 2 U” on YouTube.
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“Daddy, I love you and miss you so much,” she wrote alongside the song. “You were the best father anyone could ask for. Our relationship was so special, and you were always there for me. You gave me courage when I didn’t have any. You believed in me when I didn’t. I miss your love every day.”
She continued: “Recording this song with you was a special and amazing experience I wish I could repeat 100 times over and I know you would too. Happy Father’s Day daddy, nothing compares to you. – Toni.”
Chris was found dead in his Michigan Hotel room on May 18, 2017. A month later, Toni and her sister, Lillian Jean, 19, wrote letters to their dad in observance of Father’s Day.
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Toni wrote in her letter, “Let me start by saying how much I love you and how much you mean to me. You are my idol, someone I’ve always looked up to. You were always there for me. You pushed me forward every day, and you still do. Whenever I cry or feel like there’s no way I can go on, I hear your voice, ‘Don’t sit worrying peanut. Worry is a waste of time, I’m ok.’”
“I always took what you said to heart,” she said. “Probably because everything you said was so smart.”
At the Grammy Awards this past February, Toni and her brother Christopher accepted their father’s posthumous Grammy award.
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“It was very difficult,” Toni told reporters backstage at the award ceremony.
“We miss him so much and we saw him work on this so hard — he was always working on his music [because] it was his passion,” she continued. “It was really sad in a way to feel like he couldn’t be there himself to accept it for something that he was so proud of and worked so hard on.”
“We’re so proud of him,” she said. “It was amazing.”
If you or someone you know is showing warning signs of suicide, consider contacting the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK, texting the Crisis Text Line at 741741 or seeking help from a professional.
