The family of the late Chris Cornell have released previously unseen home videos to mark the 17th birthday of his daughter, Toni.
Shared yesterday (September 21) to the official Instagram of the late singer and his widow, Vicky, home videos of the Soundgarden frontman singing with Toni through the years feature alongside family photos and other cherished moments.
A baby Toni listens to her father sing ‘You Are My Sunshine’, who later plays guitar as Toni sings the Eminem and Rihanna collaboration ‘Love the Way You Lie’.
A stage performance between the father-daughter pair sees them perform Bob Marley‘s ‘Redemption Song’, while in another video the memories play out to Toni and Cornell’s cover of ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ by Prince, a song they performed when Toni was 12 years old.
“Happy Birthday to our beautiful girl. Daddy and I love you so much! We’re so proud of the young woman you are becoming,” Vicky’s caption to the clip read.
“I’m in awe of your strength, resilience, compassion, and dedication. You have the biggest heart — we love you so much my baby Toni.”
In July, Cornell’s daughter Lily discussed mental health with mother and Cornell’s first wife, Susan Silver, as part of her ‘Mind Wide Open’ series on Instagram, marking what would have been Cornell’s 57th birthday. The Soundgarden and Audioslave frontman died in May 2017.
“Today marks the one year anniversary of the series, which I launched in honour of my dad on his birthday,” Lily said at the time. “I feel so lucky to have been able to create this series and provide a resource for mental health, a topic near to my heart.”
Similarly, Toni launched a new initiative, Stop the Stigma: Tackling the Stigma of Addiction Through Education, in 2020, aimed at raising awareness of substance abuse by educating children through school programs.
In January, Toni shared a rendition of ‘Hunger Strike’, a song by Cornell’s band Temple Of The Dog, on its 30th anniversary. “I love you daddy and I’m so proud of what you created, who you are and everything you believed in,” she wrote.
“This song represents all of that to me.”
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