Watch Chester Bennington + Chris Cornell Perform Linkin Park’s ‘Crawling’ + Temple of the Dog’s ‘Hunger Strike’ Together in 2008
2017 has been a devastating year for rock fans, as we’ve lost two of music’s most powerful frontmen to suicide. As we reflect on how Linkin Park’s Chester Bennington and Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell enriched our lives, we remember a time in 2008 where the two singers shared the stage to perform Linkin Park’s “Crawling” and Temple of the Dog’s “Hunger Strike” together.
As a part of the 2008 Projekt Revolution tour, Linkin Park headlined with Chris Cornell supporting as a solo artist. During the tour, Bennington and Cornell treated the fans to some special duets. Cornell and his band performed Temple of the Dog’s standout cut, “Hunger Strike,” with Bennington coming out to sing the section originally woven by Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder. The performance is truly stunning, with Cornell embracing Bennington as the Linkin Park singer arrived onstage.
Chester would return the favor to Chris Cornell, inviting Soundgarden’s frontman to take a few verses during a Linkin Park performance of “Crawling.” Cornell’s voice is haunting on the Linkin Park cut, showcasing the pure talent both singers had and the chemistry that existed between them as collaborators.
After Chris Cornell died earlier this year, Bennington wrote on Twitter, "You have inspired me in many ways you could never have known. Your talent was pure and unrivaled. Your voice was joy and pain, anger and forgiveness, love and heartache all wrapped up into one. I suppose that’s what we all are. You helped me understand that. I just watched a video of you singing ‘ A day in the life ‘ by the Beatles and thought of my dream. I’d like to think you were saying goodbye in your own way. I can’t imagine a world without you in it."
Bennington would go on to sing Leonard Cohen's “Hallelujah” at Cornell’s funeral and in a tragic twist, commit suicide on Chris Cornell’s birthday (July 20). Watch Chris Cornell and Chester Bennington perform together in the clips above and below.
Watch Linkin Park Perform "Crawling" With Chris Cornell
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