CHRIS CORNELL Talks About His Battle With Addiction

Launch Radio Networks reports: Former AUDIOSLAVE and SOUNDGARDEN singer Chris Cornell received the Stevie Ray Vaughan Award at the third annual MusiCares MAP Fund benefit concert on Friday (May 11) at the Music Box Theatre in Los Angeles. Cornell was honored for his work with the MAP Fund to help musicians who are recovering addicts. Cornell, who has been clean and sober himself for four and a half years, told Launch what the award meant to him. "Being acknowledged for it, I think, is great, but this isn't a particular situation, we don't do this for the acknowledgement," he said. "I'm happy, you know, for the acknowledgement, I also, I'm very inspired by — Stevie Ray Vaughan, I think, is a very inspiring person, so, like, to be given an award that was named after this guy, you know, and for similar reasons of inspiration, if I can do that for other people, I think that's great."

Cornell admitted to using drugs and alcohol since he was 12 and told Launch what finally led him to check himself into rehab in 2002. "I really had to come to the conclusion, the sort of humbling conclusion that, guess what, I'm no different than anybody else, I've got to sort of ask for help — not something I ever did, ever," he said. "And then part two of that is, like, accept it when it comes and, you know, believe what people tell me. And trusting in what I have been told, and then seeing that work."

All proceeds from the event benefited the MusiCares MAP Fund, which provides members of the music community access to addiction recovery treatment regardless of their financial situation.

The dinner featured performances by Cornell, ARMY OF ANYONE, DEPECHE MODE singer David Gahan and others.

Cornell just finished a solo tour to promote the June 5 release of his second solo album, "Carry On". He next heads to Europe and returns to the U.S. at the end of May for more dates.