The collaboration that almost happened

Chris Cornell and Eddie Van Halen almost collaborated on a song for one of Cornell’s solo albums.

Guitarist Pete Thorn shared this revelation The Mitch Lafon & Jeremy White Show. Thorn played on Cornell’s 2008 solo album ScreamIn the 2000s, Thorn said, Cornell and Van Halen were friendly acquaintances. While working on Scream and while listening to various tracks, Cornell asks Thorn what he thinks about having Van Halen play on the album. Thorn was very intrigued and excited by the idea and told Cornell to reach out to the guitar icon.

After the idea was not pursued for a few weeks, Thorn says he met his friend Dave Friedman. Friedman had various technical jobs for EVH. Friedman wanted to go to Van Halen’s 5150 Studio to work for Eddie. Thorn asked Friedman to suggest to Eddie the idea of ​​working with Cornell.

“Forty-five minutes later, he texted me and said, ‘Ed wants you to call him, here’s his cell number,'” Thorn says. “So I called and left him a message and … he called me back a couple days later. We talked and he said, ‘How soon can you come to the studio and play me this stuff?’ … So we set up a time, I drove up the 5150 and he was just so cool.”

Thorn clarified that there is no finished song anywhere “in the archives.” He said, “I don’t want to get anyone upset and think that it ever got finished, because it didn’t, but he was working on it.”

Thorn further noted, “I went over there in the next few weeks and he had played on it and I just thought, ‘I can’t believe this is happening, me and Eddie on a track.’ But it’s a long story, but Chris never contributed any vocals to it. And Ed was busy doing the next Van Halen album at the time… it just never got finished.”

Say what you want about Chris Cornell’s Scream– and there is a lot to say about it – but this is definitely another example of “what could have been” in rock and roll. One of the greatest singers And One of the greatest guitarists of all time would still have been incredible on the same track.

Erica Banas is a news blogger who has been covering the world of rock/classic rock since 2014. The coolest event she has ever covered in person was the 2021 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. (Sir Paul McCartney inducting Foo Fighters? Come on!) She also knows etiquette and is exceptionally kind. #TransRightsAreHumanRights