Zac Brown Band were no strangers to Chris Cornell: ZBB's 2015 album Jekyll + Hyde includes "Heavy Is the Head," a collaboration with Cornell that, when released as a single to rock radio, charted in the Top 5. Zac Brown Band have also been known to include one of Cornell's songs in their live shows.

Readers can press play above to watch the Zac Brown Band cover "Hunger Strike," written by Cornell for his band Temple of the Dog. The first single from the band's self-titled -- and only -- studio album, the song peaked in the Top 10 on both the Mainstream Rock Tracks (No. 4) and Modern Rock Tracks (No. 7) charts.

In a radio interview with Nikki Sixx prior to the release of "Heavy Is the Head," Brown called Cornell "one of my favorite rock screamers ever."

"It's a privilege, man; it's an honor," Brown says of working with Cornell. "You know, [I] grew up listening -- jamming -- to them ..."

On Wednesday night (May 17), Cornell died following a sold-out concert with his band Soundgarden at Detroit, Mich.’s Fox Theater. According to the New York Times, a rep for the singer-songwriter — who also fronted Audioslave and released four solo albums — called his death “sudden and unexpected,” and his family said that they will be “working closely with the medical examiner to determine” a cause of death. A spokesman for the Detroit Police Department reports that officers responded to the MGM Grand casino around midnight following a call about an apparent suicide; the victim was found unresponsive on the bathroom floor, with a band around his neck, and pronounced dead on the scene.

"Chris Cornell touched so many & we were fortunate to have worked w/ him," the Zac Brown Band tweeted on Thursday morning (May 18). "He was a true talent & gentleman. Our thoughts are with his family."

Country Stars Mourn Chris Cornell

How Well Do You REALLY Know Zac Brown?

More From TheBoot