Every few months a favorite album or a favorite song of mine hits a milestone. This time, the focus is on Soundgarden’s “Fell On Black Days.” The song was the fifth single released from Superunknown, 23 years ago today. “Fell On Black Days” was written by Chris Cornell, and while the studio version is pretty flawless, here are some other incredible versions. Each features Chris Cornell on vocals, because why not?

Five Incredible Versions Of “Fell On Black Days”

Soundgarden Superunknown

Even though it never cracked the top 20 on Billboard, “Fell On Black Days” got more than it’s fair share of airplay on rock radio and remains a fan favorite.

Chris Cornell Unplugged In Sweden

Cornell played an acoustic set in Stockholm, Sweden in 2006 that served as a precursor to his Songbook tours. It was the first time I heard this song stripped down. You’re able to hear every nuance in his voice, including when it cracks and there’s something so beautiful about that.

Chris Cornell & Ben Shepherd on KISW

While promoting 2012’s King Animal, Chris Cornell and Ben Shepherd stopped by Arizona radio station KISW to play a stripped down set. Although the audio is better when they visited Los Angeles radio station KROQ, the KISW version contains Shepherd looking at Cornell like I do when he hits a high note.

Chris Cornell featuring Bryan Gibson

Cellist Bryan Gibson accompanied Cornell on 2015-2016’s Higher Truth Tour. Considering that “Fell On Black Days” is an iconic grunge song, you probably didn’t realize how amazing it would sound with a cello. I was blown away when I heard this version of “Fell On Black Days.”

Soundgarden on Live On Letterman

Prior to releasing King Animal, Soundgarden performed an hour long set in 2012 as part of the Live On Letterman concert series. The set was mostly material from the new album, with a few deep cuts (cut to me freaking out at home when they played “Incessant Mace” from Ultramega OK) and one hit. Nope, it wasn’t “Black Hole Sun,” instead that honor went to “Fell On Black Days.” Almost twenty years had passed and it had been 16 since they last released a studio album, but the chemistry was still there.

Chris Cornell On “Fell On Black Days”

“Fell on Black Days” was like this ongoing fear I’ve had for years … It’s a feeling that everyone gets. You’re happy with your lzife, everything’s going well, things are exciting—when all of a sudden you realize you’re unhappy in the extreme, to the point of being really, really scared. There’s no particular event you can pin the feeling down to, it’s just that you realize one day that everything in your life is f*cked!

Cornell shared the inspiration for the song to Melody Maker in 1994. It’s an angsty song for sure, and the lyrics and inspiration for this song definitely take on a different meaning following Cornell’s suicide this past May. However, that doesn’t change the impact “Fell On Black Days” has on Soundgarden fans.

There are many other live performances and countless covers out there, not to mention the demos that were released on Superunknown (Deluxe Edition). What version of “Fell On Black Days” is your favorite?