Brad Pitt led mourners at the funeral of his friend Chris Cornell, which took place in Los Angeles yesterday.
The Soundgarden frontman, who died last week, was given a public farewell at the Hollywood Forever cemetery, attended by many luminaries of the rock world in which he was a longtime popular figure. His ashes were laid to rest next to those of legendary rocker Johnny Ramone, following an earlier private cremation attended by his family and a few loved ones.
Gavin Rossdale of Bush, Courtney Love, Nile Rodgers, Pearl Jam’s Matt Cameron, Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl, Pharrell Williams and Billy Idol were all present to pay their respects. Actors Josh Brolin, Christian Bale and James Franco were also in attendance.
Chris died only minutes after his final gig in Detroit last week. Although his death was officially determined as suicide, his widow Vicky Karayiannis has queried this, alerting investigating officers to his state of mind on the final evening of his life, and questioning whether his mental state may have been affected by medication.
“My heart gleamed to see you happy, living and motivated. Excited for life. Doing everything you could to give back. We had the time of our lives in the last decade and I’m sorry, my sweet love, that I did not see what happened to you that night. I’m sorry you were alone, and I know that was not you, my sweet Christopher. Your children know that too, so you can rest in peace.”