Peter Cornell (né Boyle; born April 19, 1961) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician.
Biography Cornell was born Peter Boyle on April 19, 1961, in Seattle, Washington, where he was raised. His parents are Edward F. Boyle, a pharmacist of Irish Catholic descent, and Karen Cornell, an accountant of Jewish background and self-proclaimed psychic.
Cornell was one of six children; he had two brothers and three younger sisters. He was musician Chris Cornell's older brother. After his parents' divorce when he was a teenager, he and his siblings adopted their mother's maiden name, Cornell, as their surname. With his brother Chris, he listened to The Beatles, The Who, The Guess Who, Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd. "We both listened to the Beatles and Zepp. I think he liked Rush more and I was a Bowie fan."Peter Cornell, lets get to know him better, music.festival.gr, 2013, retrieved September 18, 2020 At the age of 20 he learned to play guitar. "I had desire to learn how to write a song [...]. I learned every Beatles song I could."Peter Cornell, maximumink.com, October 2014, retrieved September 18, 2020
In the nineties, he sang with his sisters Suzy (percussion/vocals) and Katy (flute/vocals) Cornell in a band called Inflatable Soule; the band was managed by Chris' wife Susan Silver (Soundgarden, Alice in Chains).Inflatable Soule Is Band That Is On Its Way Up, archive.seattletimes.com, August 19, 1994, retrieved September 18, 2020Chris Cornell With His Sisters Will Melt Your Heart, And Their Voices Will Blow You Away, alternativenation, June 16, 2017, retrieved September 18, 2020Unsigned, Inflatable Soule Happy To Be Going On Its First Tour, spokesman.com, October 6, 1955, retrieved September 18, 2020 In 2001 he moved to New York City. With bassist Keith Mannino, he created hard rock band Black Market Radio. "When I wrote BMR I listened to only three things; The Complete Zepp catalogue, the first Cars record, and Alice Cooper's greatest hits."
In 2014, he released his first solo album Champion, featuring Pearl Jam's drummer Dave Abbruzzese on drums. For this bluesy rock album he "listened to a ton of Curtis Mayfield (didn't influence the sound of my record) Chris Cornell's solo records, Alain Johannes, STP, and all things Zepp [...]. I built my own studio and wrote and played everything myself (except for drums which came later)." Two songs appeared in The Vampire Diaries: "Madman" (episode 19, season 6) and "Wash" (episode 4, season 8).The Vampire Diaries - S6E19 Soundtrack, what-song, retrieved October 28, 2020The Vampire Diaries - S8E4 Soundtrack, what-song, retrieved October 28, 2020
After the death of his brother Chris in 2017, Peter Cornell started a campaign to raise awareness on depression and suicide prevention.<ref>[https://www.alternativenation.net/chris-cornell-brother-threatened-bullied/ Chris Cornell's Brother Is Being 'Threatened' And 'Bullied'''], alternativenation, June 27, 2017, retrieved September 18, 2020</ref>
In 2021, he co-wrote, with Kevin Martin, the single "Let Me Down Easy" and produced the acoustic version of the song "Riptide" for Candlebox's new album "Wolves".INTERVIEW: Candlebox's 'Wolves' has a little bit of everything, hollywoodsoapbox.com, September 9, 2020, retrieved September 18, 2021PETER CORNELL & CHRIS CORNELL'S TOURING CELLIST REUNITE FOR CANDLEBOX SONG, bravewords.com, September 2, 2021Candlebox Unplug For 'Riptide' With Chris Cornell's Brother Peter, antimusic.com, November 20, 2021 He became an entrepreneur and opened the Cornell Brothers Coffee Espresso Bar in Nolensville, Tennessee, in memory of his late grandfather and three uncles.Bringin' it Backwards: Interview with Peter Cornell, americansongwriter.com, September 18, 2021New coffee bar, Cornell Brothers, gives Nolensville drink snobs and novices a new taste, eu.tennessean.com, September 18, 2021
Personal life Cornell was married to veteran music industry executive and former Soundgarden manager Amy Decker.
Discography Inflatable Soule 1993: Inflatable Soule 1994: So Sad 1996: Golden Boy Somnambulist 2001: The Paranormal Humidor Black Market Radio 2006: Suicide Parlour 2007: Better than a Killer Solo 1998: Grace, EPGRACE featuring peter cornell EP (drums & arrangements) Seattle, WA 1998, reverbnation.com, retrieved April 15, 2021 2014: Champion Collaboration 2021: Let Me Down Easy'' for Candlebox
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Discogs