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5:34 AM PT -- TMZ has confirmed with police the family friend had to force his way into Cornell's room and found him with a band around his neck. We're told there was no blood, and police suspect suicide based on the scene.

5:05 AM PT -- A report from Detroit's WXYZ says Cornell's body was discovered on the bathroom floor of his hotel room at MGM Grand Detroit after Soundgarden's show Wednesday night. Cornell's wife allegedly called a family friend to check on the singer ... and police are saying it appears Cornell died from an apparent suicide.

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Val Kilmer
11 mins ·

Dear Chris Cornell used to come to my parties n Hollywood n play quietly in th corner until all the woman were literally at his feet listenin. He was such a great song writer and so humble about it. A real artist. And that voice...

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In my time of dying, I want nobody to mourn

All I want for you to do is take my body home

Those are the opening lines to the last song Chris Cornell ever sang on stage. It was a cover of Led Zeppelin's "In My Time of Dying."

Cornell and his band Soundgarden have covered the song before and they did it again to close out the show at Detroit's Fox Theater on Wednesday.

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Chris Cornell was not depressed or in a suicidal state the evening he died ... this according to his wife.

Sources who spoke with Chris' wife Thursday morning tell TMZ, Vicky Cornell spoke with her husband during soundcheck before he took the stage in Detroit and after Wednesday night's show. According to our sources, Vicky says Chris was NOT in any way, shape or form in a suicidal state. She doubled down and said there were no signs he was at all depressed.

We're told Vicky tried reaching Chris in his hotel room early Thursday morning but he was not answering. She became concerned and asked someone to call hotel security. That's when Chris' body was discovered.

Vicky told people Thursday morning he was devoted to his kids -- ages 16, 12 and 11 -- and she didn't believe he would take his life.

That said, law enforcement says Chris' death is an apparent suicide, which raises the question of if he had fallen off the wagon.

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Rare Chris Cornell Music From Cameron Crowe’s 1992 Film Singles Out Tomorrow

Chris Cornell’s tragic death corresponds, strangely, with the previously-scheduled reissue of some his most rare and important music. A deluxe reissue of the influential soundtrack for director Cameron Crowe’s 1992 grunge-inspired drama and musical variety show Singles is due out tomorrow, and it includes two Cornell songs–his own “Seasons” and Soundgarden’s “Birth Ritual”–as well a rare EP of music he wrote for potential inclusion to the film. The EP is titled Poncier, after the film’s lead character Cliff Poncier (played by Matt Dillon), and most notably, includes an early solo version of “Spoonman,” which would, of course, later be included on Soundgarden’s 1994 album Superunknown and become one of their biggest hits.

In a recent interview, Cornell called Singles and its soundtrack, “kind of a key factor in what was referred to as the Seattle scene and the Seattle movement.” Cornell was integral to the film as an advisor and muse, as well as a contributing artist. As Cameron Crowe recalled in a new interview about the film and its soundtrack, Cornell also pointed Crowe towards some of the music he used in the film (specifically, introducing him to the Smashing Pumpkins), and was on the short list to play the role of Poncier. Crowe remembered:

Chris Cornell was another guy who was close to us when we were making the record, and still is a good friend. I really loved Soundgarden; they were my favorite band. I originally thought Chris could play the lead, but then I think that turned into too big of a commitment for everybody and so he became the guy he is in the movie, but in the course of making the movie he was close to all of us. He was always around.

“The guy he is in the movie,” ultimately, is just a cameo role, as himself: He comes out to enjoy the wattage of a new car stereo Poncier has installed for his girlfriend, before it malfunctions and destroys the car. Then he performs “Birth Ritual” with Soundgarden.

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Chris Cornell was fully anticipating Soundgarden's next concert stop after Detroit ... and shared his feelings with the crowd Wednesday night.

In the footage ... Chris and the band were about to start an encore, and he gushed about how awesome Detroit fans had been, saying, "I feel a little bit sorry for the next f***ing place we play."

They were set to play Friday in Columbus, Ohio and Chris joked he'll have to tell fans there, "You should have been at that Detroit show. That crowd was something."

The Fox Theatre crowd ate it up, but this clearly shows Chris was in great spirits, and already thinking beyond Wednesday night. TMZ broke the story ... Chris' wife, Vicky, said he showed no signs of depression or being suicidal in the hours before he was found dead.

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Chris Cornell hanged himself ... this according to the Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office.

The office released the cause of death Thursday as a "suicide by hanging," just hours after Cornell's body was discovered in a Detroit hotel room following a concert. A full autopsy report, including toxicology results has not yet been completed.

We're told Chris' wife, Vicky, became concerned when she couldn't reach the Soundgarden frontman after his show and police discovered his body on the bathroom floor.

Cornell was 52 years old.

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