Scott Weiland 1967 – 2015

Former Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland died last night in his sleep while on tour with his current band The Wildabouts. The news was confirmed on Weiland’s Facebook page with a note that read, “Scott Weiland, best known as the lead singer for Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver, passed away in his sleep while on a tour stop in Bloomington, Minnesota, with his band The Wildabouts. At this time we ask that the privacy of Scott’s family be respected.”

Weiland came to fame in the early ’90s, when Stone Temple Pilots debut album, Core, yielded such massive hits as “Sex Type Thing,” “Wicked Garden,” “Creep” and “Plush.” Scott’s frenetic and wild vocals and stage presence separated his band, which he formed a few years prior, from the rest of the rock pack. STP’s sophomore effort, 1994’s Purple, showed the group wasn’t a “one and done” endeavor thanks to such classic songs as “Big Empty,” “Vasoline” and “Interstate Love Song.”

The singer had his demons as he battled with drug addiction and served time in jail. Stone Temple Pilots broke up in 2002 after Scott fought with other members of the band. Weiland went on to form Velvet Revolver with Slash, Duff McKagan, Matt Sorum and Dave Kushner. The group’s 2004 debut Contraband was a success with “Slither” and “Fall To Pieces” rising to the top of Billboard’s Modern Rock Tracks chart. Velvet Revolver didn’t have staying power as 2007’s Libertad wasn’t in the same ballpark commercially as their debut and eventually the members of the group went their separate ways.

In 2008 Weiland rejoined Stone Temple Pilots for a reunion tour that spanned multiple years. STP put out a self-titled album in 2010. The singer’s issues with his bandmates led them to fire him in 2013 and hire Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington. In recent years Scott has toured with his The Wildabouts project and the band released their debut LP earlier this year. Scott Weiland was 48 years old.