Andrew Wood’s death inspired the formation of the grunge band Temple of the Dog. Wood, the lead singer of Mother Love Bone, died of a heroin overdose on March 19, 1990, at age 24. His death deeply affected his roommate and friend Chris Cornell of Soundgarden, who wrote songs in Wood’s memory.
Cornell assembled a recording project with Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament, Wood’s former Mother Love Bone bandmates. Mike McCready and Eddie Vedder also participated; the group recorded its only studio album, Temple of the Dog, in Seattle in late 1990. The album was released on April 16, 1991, before Pearl Jam’s Ten became a major commercial success.
The project is often mistaken for a permanent supergroup. Temple of the Dog was primarily a memorial collaboration, and the musicians did not establish a continuing conventional band. Its best-known songs include “Hunger Strike,” a duet between Cornell and Vedder, and “Say Hello 2 Heaven,” written for Wood.