BLOOMINGTON, MINNESOTA—On Thursday, December 3, Scott Weiland, former frontrunner of the grunge band the Stone Temple Pilots died in his sleep while on tour with his band The Wildabouts.
The Grammy-winning artist was found unresponsive on his tour bus. It was reported that he was dead by the time the police arrived. No cause of death has yet been released. Weiland was on tour with his band, The Wildabouts, and the band had been scheduled to play Thursday night but due to bad ticket sales, the concert was canceled.
Weiland is best-known for being the lead singer in the band Stone Temple Pilots. The band originally went by the name Mighty Joe Young, but the group decided to change the name before releasing their first album “Core” in 1992. The band won a Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance for the song “Plush.”
Stone Temple Pilots disbanded in 2002 and during that time Weiland joined the band Velvet Revolver, which also held former Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash. He earned another Grammy while with Velvet Revolver for Best Hard Rock Performance with Vocals for “Slither.” In 2008, Stone Temple Pilots reformed but five years later Weiland was fired from the group and was replaced by Chester Bennington, formerly of Linkin Park. Throughout the years Weiland released various solo works.
In 1999, Weiland overdosed on heroin and later admitted himself to a treatment center to fight the addiction. The same year, he pled guilty to heroin possession. He also had issues with alcohol and cocaine. It was also discovered that Weiland suffered from bipolar disorder, which he made public with his memoir Not Dead & Not For Sale.
Weiland is survived by his wife, Jamie Watchel and two children, which he had with his former wife Mary Forsberg. TMZ has reported that the musician’s bandmate Tommy Black was arrested for possession of cocaine which was found on the tour bus where Scott passed away.
By Taryn Moore and Donald Roberts
