Kim Thayil of Soundgarden Explains Why Chris Cornell Played the Lead Part on “Black Hole Sun”

The arpeggios in Soundgarden’s “Black Hole Sun” are some of the most recognizable notes in the history of grunge, and apparently those were recorded by the rhythm guitarist stepping into the lead guitarist’s shoes for a moment. In a recent interview from a print issue of Guitar Player magazine (as reported on by Metal Injection), Soundgarden lead guitarist Kim Thayil admitted that the guitar part that the band’s late, great vocalist and rhythm guitarist Chris Cornell wrote for him proved difficult for him to master in the studio, prompting Cornell to step in and play it. Thayil says:

“I love playing arpeggios when you have delay or chorus on them, maybe some sustain or distortion. We would double them with high stringing from a 12-string guitar. Producer Terry Date introduced us to that on Louder Than Love. But the ‘Black Hole Sun’ arpeggios were stylistically unusual for me.”

Struggling to play the part, and finding that there was no way to simulate his playing, Thayil asked Cornell to step in and play it in the studio as he wrote the song.

“He started tracking it, and I went out in the lobby and had some tea. After 20 minutes, I went back in and looked at Chris. He shook his head and said, ‘Let’s try it again.’ In the end, he was less likely to be psyched out than me. He did the part, and I was like, ‘Whew! I’ll play on the next part.’”

Thayil presumably mastered the arpeggios to be able to play the song live, but the original version on Superunknown was Cornell’s playing, demonstrating the late frontman’s versatility.