ometimes, Toni Cornell listens to a recording of when she joined her dad, the late musician Chris Cornell, onstage at New York City’s Beacon Theatre to sing a cover of Bob Marley no’s “Redemption Song.” In video footage from that evening, she’s 11 years old, in a button-up blouse and ponytail, swaying beside her father, who accompanies her on guitar. Her voice is strong and clear, even though it’s her first real time in front of an audience.
Chris admitted in an interview around that time that, though he was nervous with phone cameras in their faces and the blinding stage lights, his daughter had no stage fright at all. Her mom had begged her not to do it, to maybe perform on smaller stages first. But they’d been singing together at home, and though Toni was barely a preteen, she already knew that music was and would be her whole life. She used to steal her dad’s iPod just to listen to his cover of “Redemption Song,” which she also performed at a first-grade talent show. Looking back at the Beacon show now, she remembers that she actually was scared, but the fun of it, the love of the music, overtook the fear.
She knew even then how special it was for her to be up there with her dad singing one of their favorite songs. Less than two years later, Chris, one of the iconic artists of ‘90s grunge music, known for leading rock bands Soundgarden and Audioslave, died at age 52.
