Leave It to Cody Jinks to Give a Proper Country Tribute to Chris Cornell
If Sturgill Simpson is today’s country music equivalent to Kurt Cobain, then perhaps a similar parallel can be drawn between Cody Jinks and Soundgarden/Audioslave frontman Chris Cornell. It’s no longer a matter of if, but when Cody’s name is included as a default in the conversation with guys like Sturgill, Isbell, and Stapleton for who is leading the pack in a new, independent era in country and roots music.
When the news of Chris Cornell’s passing hit the internet, Cody Jinks sat down in front of a single camera and performed a tearjerking rendition of “I Am The Highway” from Cornell’s Audioslave era. You could tell this wasn’t something Jinks whipped up to take advantage of the tragic news. This was a song he could sing in his sleep—something he knew every phrase and turn of by heart, and had sung a hundred times and wanted to share. It’s now received over 50,000 views in less than 48 hours, and counting.
Then Friday (5-19), as if it was planned and rehearsed with weeks of preparation, he releases a much more produced treatment of Soundgarden’s most well-known song, “Black Hole Son,” with fellow Texan Paul Cauthen accompanied only by piano.
Though some country fans may rather see Cody tributing something more traditional, these performances illustrate Cody’s alacrity as a singer and musician, and the reverence which Cody Jinks approaches all music. Few can cobble together the courage and resources to put something like this together, and fewer actually do, to put their emotion into music for someone that clearly was a lasting influence on their lives.
READ: Angst, Anger, 90’s Music, and the Legacy of Chris Cornell
May 19, 2017 @ 6:23 pm
Amerigrunge. RIP CC.
May 26, 2017 @ 7:43 am
Black Hole Sun is a great song lyrically. To hear it stripped down to a piano heavy rendition is hauntingly beautiful. Thank You Cody Jinks for this powerful and heartfelt tribute.
May 19, 2017 @ 7:32 pm
I like the first song better.
May 19, 2017 @ 7:39 pm
The radio station I work at gets by far more requests for Cody than anyone else. He’s the next big thing in country.
May 19, 2017 @ 7:59 pm
What a great job, judging by the comments on the last Chris Cornell article, a lot of us readers took similar paths to country music as Cody Jinks. So thank you for this
May 19, 2017 @ 8:59 pm
What I love about this is it proves you can listen to grunge and still be country at heart. You can listen to a Merle Haggard song and say, “that’s what I want my music to sound like,” but then turn on the radio to hear Soundgarden and realize, “that’s what I want my music to say.” Influences don’t have to be exclusive to the genre to be considered authentic.
May 19, 2017 @ 10:17 pm
That is what is good about genres. You can like more than one.
May 20, 2017 @ 12:30 am
I agree. Well said, Nate.
May 23, 2017 @ 11:58 am
Hell, go back and listen to Nirvana’s unplugged album and tell me that Cobain in that setting would be out of place on an Americana record in 2017.
May 19, 2017 @ 11:32 pm
A beautiful tribute. I watched this earlier today…such respect and feeling. Where else will you find artists that take a wound and do something creative to fill it? I hope we all have someone to feel our loss and express it so deeply …
May 19, 2017 @ 11:41 pm
Paul Cauthen such a badass! Good job boys. Great tribute.
May 20, 2017 @ 4:15 am
Both song are TRIBUTES, not just in the music , you can feel the sadness about Chris Cornell’s death, you can almost even see it through Cody’s sunglasses. There’s beauty in sadness, and you don’t have to be a fan of Soundgarden or Audioslave to appreciate that.
Thanks for posting this.
May 20, 2017 @ 5:14 am
Wow, “I Am The Highway” is one of my 5 or so favorite Cornell songs and it’s my dad’s favorite Cornell song. Of course Cody Jinks would do it so perfectly, yet this was definitely not a “Cody Jinks covers Audioslave” moment; it was a “Cody Jinks honors Chris Corne;;” moment. Great job
May 20, 2017 @ 5:16 am
I’d like to see Jinks release these to Amazon. I’d also like to see him do a full album one day of country covers of rock/metal tunes.
May 20, 2017 @ 7:32 am
Wow. No doubt, Cody is the real deal.
May 20, 2017 @ 9:44 am
As someone who grew up a metalhead, who has Soundgarden’s Badmotorfinger album cover tattooed on his back, and now really listen’s to mostly country. This is awesome.
May 20, 2017 @ 10:45 am
Holy shit, that cover of “Black Hole Son” tho. 10 seconds in and my vision got all blurry. I was completely not expecting that. That was damn fine.
May 20, 2017 @ 1:06 pm
Love this. Cody is going to be a legend.
R.I.P. Chris Cornell
May 21, 2017 @ 6:21 pm
I seen the Black Hole Sun video over on Farce the Music earlier, and all I could say was damn. Cody and Paul tore that up. Awesome, just awesome. Cody is the real deal. RIP Chris.