Temple of the Dog was formed in 1990 by
Soundgarden's
Chris Cornell as a tribute to the late
Andrew Wood, frontman of Seattle, Washington rock group
Mother Love Bone after Wood died of a heroin overdose. Cornell, Wood's close friend and roommate, helmed the project, which took its name from a lyric in the
Mother Love Bone song, "
Man Of Golden Words." The band would also include
Soundgarden's drummer
Matt Cameron, Wood's former bandmates
Jeff Ament and
Stone Gossard, and lead guitarist
Mike McCready .