Chris Cornell dead at 52

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Chris Cornell

Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell has died at the age of 52.

The rocker, who also led the band Audioslave, passed away in Detroit, Michigan on Wednesday night, his representative Brian Bumbery told the Associated Press.

Bumbery's said the musician's death had been "sudden and unexpected", and that Cornell's wife Vicky Karayiannis and his family were shocked by news of his death.

The Grammy Award winning singer-songwriter and his bands were key figures in the grunge rock movement of the 1990s.

His cause of death is currently unknown, and his representative said the singer's family would be working closely with the medical examiner to determine how he died.