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During the same tour, Cornell returned the favor, joining in on Linkin Park's hit \"Crawling,\" among other duets.

When Cornell died on May 18, Bennington wrote an emotional open letter to his friend.

\"Thoughts of you flooded my mind and I wept. I’m still weeping, with sadness, as well as gratitude for having shared some very special moments with you and your beautiful family. You have inspired me in many ways you could never have known. Your talent was pure and unrivaled. Your voice was joy and pain, anger and forgiveness, love and heartache all wrapped up into one,\" he wrote. \"I suppose that’s what we all are. You helped me understand that ... I can’t imagine a world without you in it. I pray you find peace in the next life. I send my love to your wife and children, friends and family. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your life.\"

With all of my love Chris.

A post shared by Chester Bennington (@chesterbe) on May 18, 2017 at 8:34am PDT

On the night of May 18, Linkin Park performed on \"Jimmy Kimmel Live,\" where Bennington opened the performance with a tribute to his late friend.

\"We were going to come out and play 'Heavy' first,\" Bennington told the audience. \"In light of our dear friend Chris Cornell passing away, we decided to play our song, 'One More Light' ... We love you Chris.\"

\"Who cares when someone's light goes out ... Well, I do,\" Bennington sang before bowing his head down at the end of the song.

Linkin Park bandmate Mike Shinoda spoke to Radio.com days after the \"Jimmy Kimmel\" performance and explained how much Cornell's death had affected Bennington.

\"When we were doing a sound check, Chester couldn’t even make it through the song, he was getting halfway through and getting choked up. And even when we did play the whole song, and it was live on TV, or taped for film for TV, he kind of just stopped like towards the end like he missed the last couple lines, just couldn’t finish the song,\" Shinoda said at the time.

Bennington was also the godfather of Cornell's son and sang at Conrnell's memorial service, the Associated Press reported.

The men's families have remained close as well.

On Thursday, Cornell's widow, Vicky, tweeted, \"Just when I thought my heart couldn't break any more.....I love you\" around the time that Bennington's death was confirmed.

Just when I thought my heart couldn't break any more.....I love you T

— Vicky Cornell (@vickycornell) July 20, 2017

“The Cornell family is overwhelmed by the heartbreaking news about Chester Bennington which tragically comes so soon after their family's own loss,” said a Cornell family spokesperson. “They open up their loving arms to Chester’s family and share in the sorrow with all those who loved him.\"

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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