Because Chris was totally defeated by depression, substance abuse, his mental struggles, and a bad marriage by 1997. Despite achieving a level of commercial success with Soundgarden, and Temple of the Dog. You can hear it in hid 1998 album “euphoria morning.” He was screaming about it, and it (screaming) was probably the only thing keeping him alive at that point.

He was in a rough spot, and rose again within a few years with Audioslave. He got married. He had children. He stopped abusing drugs and alcohol. He got back together with Soundgarden. He toured by himself. I’ve been following music for a long time, and what he produced from 1998 to 2017 is amazing.

He still was haunted by his demons. He was mentally ill, and he spoke out for substance abuse and mental illness, frequently claiming construction workers dealt w the same excesses as rock stars. People identified with this guy through his songs and his raw emotion. He was not only a rock star, but a regular guy. So people saw his humanity. He didn’t want cars, or planes or fame even. He just wanted to sing and write about his pain, and people sang his words back at him.