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Scott Weiland, Former Stone Temple Pilots Singer, Dead at 48
12/4/2015 by Shirley Halperin
Scott Weiland performs onstage during the SXSW Radio Day Stage at the
Austin Convention Center on March 19, 2015 in Austin, Texas.
Scott Weiland, the former frontman for rock bands Stone Temple Pilots
and Velvet Revolver, has died, his Facebook page confirmed early Friday
morning (Dec. 4).
"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," a post on
Weiland's Facebook page reads. "At this time we ask that the privacy of
Scott’s family be respected."
Dave Navarro, guitarist and member of Jane's Addiction, first tweeted
the news at 9:01 p.m. PT on Thursday night: "Our friend Scott Weiland
has died." (He has since deleted the tweet.)
Scott Weiland Mourned by Krist Novoselic, Joe Perry, Ryan Adams & More
Weiland and his latest band, Scott Weiland and the Wildabouts, were
scheduled to tour this month with upcoming dates at Reno, NV on Dec. 18
and City Winery in Napa on Dec. 19.
The Bloomington, Minn. Police Department issued a statement at 11:15
p.m. PT detailing the events as such: On Dec. 3rd at 8:22 p.m., officers
responded to a report of an unresponsive adult male in a recreational
motor vehicle located in the 2200 block of Killebrew Drive. "Officers
arrived and determined the adult male was deceased," read the release,
which did not identify the deceased. The address seems to correspond to a
local Country Inn & Suites hotel.
The Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office and the Hennepin County Medical
Examiner’s Office will continue investigating the death with updates to
come.
Weiland turned 48 on Oct. 27. He long suffered from substance abuse issues.
A California native, Weiland formed the band Stone Temple Pilots with
brothers Robert and Dean DeLeo and saw huge commercial success in the
1990s. In 1993, the band’s debut album Core peaked at No. 3 on the
Billboard 200 followed by an even bigger achievement a year later in
1994, when STP released the No. 1 album Purple, which contained several
radio hits including the songs “Big Empty,” “Vasoline” and “Interstate
Love Song.”
The band would eventually land 11 top 10 hits on the Alternative Songs
chart, including the three-week No. 1 "Between the Lines" in 2010.
"Interstate Love Song" led the Mainstream Rock Songs chart for 15 weeks.
Featuring Weiland’s distinctive lower register singing style, a sort of
growl that grew ever more popular in the post-grunge years, STP went on
to sell 13.5 million albums in the U.S., according to Nielsen Music, but
infighting eventually drove the members apart. The band took the first
of several hiatuses just a few years after reaching their apex of their
popularity, during which Weiland participated in several side projects.
Scott Weiland's Chart History, From Stone Temple Pilots to Velvet Revolver to the Wildabouts
Stone Temple Pilots would carry on in various incarnation in the coming
years. Most recently, the group recruited Linkin Park singer Chester
Bennington to handle frontman duties. He announced his exit from the
group on Nov. 9.
In 2002, Weiland joined former Guns N' Roses members Slash (guitars),
Duff McKagan (bass) and Matt Sorum (drums) in a supergroup called Velvet
Revolver. They released an album called Contraband in June 2004 and
another in 2007 called Libertad, the last to feature Weiland on vocals.
Combined, they sold 2.4 million units.
By then, Weiland had weathered several public run-ins with the law,
mostly due to drug use and driving under the influence. In 1995, the
singer was convicted of buying crack cocaine and sentenced to probation.
In 2003 and 2007 Weiland was arrested for D.U.I. Heroin was also a drug
of choice for Weiland, who had check into a rehabilitation facility but
did not finish the program, according to reports around 2007.
Tributes to the late singer have been pouring in from all over the music
world. Former MTV VJ and longtime radio personality Matt Pinfield wrote
on Facebook “I am speechless … and sad at the loss of my friend, and
although many of you are probably not surprised, it doesn't make it any
easier. Addiction sucks. I will miss you Scott.”
Last time I saw him was at the Live 8 Concert in London with Velvet Revolver. It is so sad that we will never hear his voice again and never see his live performance again.
