"Say Hello 2 Heaven" is a song by the American rock

Rock music

Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

 band Temple of the Dog

Temple of the Dog

Temple of the Dog was an American rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington in 1990. It was conceived by vocalist Chris Cornell of Soundgarden as a tribute to his friend, the late Andrew Wood, lead singer of Malfunkshun and Mother Love Bone...

. Written by vocalist Chris Cornell

Chris Cornell

Chris Cornell is an American rock musician best known as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for Soundgarden and as the former lead vocalist for Audioslave. He is also known for his numerous solo works and soundtrack contributions since 1998...

, "Say Hello 2 Heaven" was released in 1991 as the second single from the band's sole studio album, Temple of the Dog

Temple of the Dog (album)

Temple of the Dog is the only studio album by the American rock band Temple of the Dog, released on April 16, 1991 through A&M Records. The album is a tribute to Andrew Wood, the former lead singer of Malfunkshun and Mother Love Bone. Wood died on March 19, 1990 of a heroin overdose...

(1991). The song reached number five on the Billboard

Billboard (magazine)

Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.

Cornell wrote "Say Hello 2 Heaven" as a tribute to his roommate, Mother Love Bone vocalist Andrew Wood, who at the time had recently died of a heroin overdose

Drug overdose

The term drug overdose describes the ingestion or application of a drug or other substance in quantities greater than are recommended or generally practiced...

.

Origin and recording

"Say Hello 2 Heaven" was one of two songs, the other being "Reach Down", to be written by vocalist Chris Cornell

Chris Cornell

Chris Cornell is an American rock musician best known as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for Soundgarden and as the former lead vocalist for Audioslave. He is also known for his numerous solo works and soundtrack contributions since 1998...

 when he was on tour with Soundgarden

Soundgarden

Soundgarden is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington in 1984 by singer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassist Hiro Yamamoto...

 in Europe prior to approaching former Mother Love Bone

Mother Love Bone

Mother Love Bone was an American rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington in 1988. The band was active from 1988 to 1990. Frontman Andrew Wood's personality and compositions helped to catapult the group to the top of the burgeoning late 1980s/early 1990s Seattle music scene...

 members Jeff Ament

Jeff Ament

Jeffrey Allen Ament is an American musician who serves as the bassist for the American rock band Pearl Jam. Along with Stone Gossard, Mike McCready, and Eddie Vedder, he is one of the founding members of Pearl Jam...

 and Stone Gossard

Stone Gossard

Stone Carpenter Gossard is an American musician who serves as the rhythm and lead guitarist for the American rock band Pearl Jam. Along with Jeff Ament, Mike McCready, and Eddie Vedder, he is one of the founding members of Pearl Jam...

 to record the songs. The recordings were originally planned to be released merely as a single before Temple of the Dog formed and decided to write more music. Cornell stated:

Right after Andy died, we [Soundgarden] went to Europe, and it was horrible, because I couldn't talk about it, and there was no one who had loved him around. I wrote two songs, "Reach Down" and "Say Hello 2 Heaven". That was pretty much how I dealt with it. When we came back, I recorded them right away. They seemed different from what Soundgarden naturally does, and they seemed to fit together. They seemed like music he would like. I got the idea to release them as a single, and to get at least Stone and Jeff, or all of Love Bone, to play on it. I had the idea for a couple days, then, with an artist's lack of self-confidence, I decided it was a stupid idea. Somehow those guys heard the tape, and they were really, really excited. Stone and Jeff and our drummer, Matt, had been working on a demo for what ended up being Pearl Jam, so we had the idea that we would make an EP or a record, and maybe even do some of Andy's solo songs.

Release and reception

"Say Hello 2 Heaven" peaked at number five on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. Outside the United States, the single was released commercially in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 and the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

. David Browne of Entertainment Weekly

Entertainment Weekly

Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...

called the song "something of an alternative-rock power ballad."

Live performances

"Say Hello 2 Heaven" was first performed live at the band's November 13, 1990 concert in Seattle, Washington at the Off Ramp Café. Cornell added "Say Hello 2 Heaven" to his solo live set in 2007.

Track listing

All songs written by Chris Cornell

Chris Cornell

Chris Cornell is an American rock musician best known as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for Soundgarden and as the former lead vocalist for Audioslave. He is also known for his numerous solo works and soundtrack contributions since 1998...

.
7" Vinyl (Germany)

1. "Say Hello 2 Heaven" – 6:22
2. "Wooden Jesus" – 4:09

CD (Germany and UK)

1. "Say Hello 2 Heaven" (edit)
2. "Say Hello 2 Heaven" – 6:22
3. "Wooden Jesus" – 4:09

Promotional CD (US)

1. "Say Hello 2 Heaven" (edit)
2. "Say Hello 2 Heaven" – 6:22

Chart positions

Chart (1993)	Position
US Mainstream Rock Tracks	5