Soundgarden's Chris Cornell dies suddenly

Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell has died suddenly in Detroit, according to a representative.

He was 52.

Cornell was an iconic part of the grunge-rock genre forged in the 1990s and a member of three legendary bands - Soundgarden, Audioslave and Temple of the Dog.

He died shortly after playing a show in Detroit with Soundgarden and his final tweet was sent just eight hours earlier, promoting the show.

Soundgarden was in the middle of a tour, with a sold-out show planned at a rock festival in Ohio on Thursday night (local time) and others following until the end of the month.

Pictures and videos from what would become his final performance show the 'Black Hole Sun' hitmaker in apparently good spirits and health.

Representative Brian Bumbery said in a statement Cornell died on Wednesday night in Detroit, saying it was "sudden and unexpected".

His wife and family have been shocked by his death and will be "working closely with the medical examiner to determine the cause", Mr Bumbery said.

"They would like to thank his fans for their continuous love and loyalty and ask that their privacy be respected at this time."

As the lead singer for Soundgarden and later Audioslave, Cornell won two Grammy awards, for Best Metal Performance in 1995 and then Best Hard Rock Performance in 1995.

He and his band were nominated for a total of 14 Grammy awards between 1990 and 2011.

Soundgarden broke up in the late 90s before reuniting in 2010.

In a 2011 interview with Newshub, then known as 3 News, Cornell said a major difference with the reformed band was a lack of alcohol.

"The biggest difference I noticed... and we haven't even really talked about it: there were no bottles of Jack Daniels around, or beer. And we never talked about it... it's just not there," he said.

Tributes flow for Chris Cornell

The death has left the music world in shock.

Fellow musician Dave Navarro, formerly of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, tweeted that he was "stunned" to hear the news.

Ryan Mendez, guitarist from Yellowcard, called the rocker "one of the greatest rock singers of all time".

Led Zepplin legend Jimmy Page said Cornell was "incredibly talented", "incredibly young" and would be "incredibly missed".

The rocker has been survived by his wife Vicky, their two children, Toni and Christopher Nicholas, and a daughter from an earlier marriage, Lillian Jean.

Newshub.