Since Whitney died a little over a week ago, there have been a number of live performances of “I Will Always Love You†in her honor, from some expected (Jennifer Hudson, Aretha) and not-so-expected (Glee, Girls’ Christopher Owens) sources. You can file this one in the second category: Soundgarden front man and well-established wailer Chris Cornell performed an acoustic version at an Obama fund-raiser on Friday. Cornell introduces the song by saying, “I just learned this, so when I mess it up, forgive me.†It takes the crowd a few bars to figure out what he’s singing, but when Cornell gets to the “I would only be in your way†line, it becomes clear to them. Also clear: Cornell has got a massive set of pipes on him, and he sings the hell out of this song in true diva-grunge fashion. Respect.
