A new, previously unheard Chris Cornell track has been released.
‘You Never Really Knew My Mind’ features on the upcoming ‘Johnny Cash: Forever Words’ album, which sees unseen poems, lyrics, and letters written by The Man In Black put to music by a host of stars.
One of Cornell’s last solo recordings before his death, the Soundgarden frontman recorded the track at Cash Cabin Studio in Hendersonville, Tennessee. Speaking about Cash’s influence on him at the time, Cornell said: “I met the man once or twice in my life, and he was so gracious and he was such an influence on me as a musician.
“And he also covered a song that I wrote [Soundgarden’s ‘Rusty Cage’]. Since that time, I’ve felt like he’s maybe one of the bigger presences in my life, in terms of artists that I’m a fan of.”
‘Johnny Cash: Forever Words’ is due for release on April 6 via Legacy Recordings. Alongside Cornell, it will feature the likes of Roseanne Cash, Elvis Costello, Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson, Ruston Kelly and Kacey Musgraves, and more. It was co-produced by Cash’s son, John Carter Cash.
In a press release, Carter Cash said: “I met Chris backstage in the early 1990s when my father performed a show in Seattle. Chris told me then that he had been a fan of my father even when most of his friends listened to hard rock.
“When I was conceiving this album years later, I reached out to him and he was excited and honored to be involved. Chris connected deeply with my father’s words, and his finished version of ‘You Never Knew My Mind’ tied his own life experience to my father’s on an honest level.”
The tracklist for ‘Johnny Cash: Forever Words’ is as follows:
Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson – ‘Forever/I Still Miss Someone’
Ruston Kelly and Kacey Musgraves – ‘To June This Morning’
Brad Paisley – ‘Gold All Over The Ground’
Chris Cornell – ‘You Never Knew My Mind’
Alison Krauss and Union Station – ‘The Captain’s Daughter’
T. Bone Burnett – ‘Jellico Coal Man’
Rosanne Cash – ‘The Walking Wounded’
John Mellencamp – ‘Them Double Blues’
Jewel – ‘Body On Body’
Elvis Costello – ‘I’ll Still Love You’
Carlene Carter – ‘June’s Sundown’
Dailey & Vincent – ‘He Bore It All’
I’m With Her – ‘Chinky Pin Hill’
Robert Glasper featuring Ro James, and Any Sun – ‘Goin’, Goin’, Gone’
The Jayhawks – ‘What Would I Dreamer Do?’
Jamey Johnson – ‘Spirit Rider’
Cornell died by suicide on May 18, 2017. He was 52 years old. His widow, Vicky, gave her first TV interview since his death last week (February 21), saying he was “the furthest thing from a rock star junkie.”