History

1985-92: Formation and early years as Mighty Joe Young

Two conflicting stories of how frontman Scott Weiland and bassist Robert DeLeo met have been described by the band; one was that Weiland and DeLeo met at a Black Flag concert in Long Beach, California in 1985. They began discussing their girlfriends, only to realize they were dating the same woman. However, instead of letting this come between them, they developed a bond and formed a band after they each subsequently broke it off with the girl. Weiland presented a different version of meeting Robert in his autobiography, stating that Weiland and his friends—guitarist Corey Hicock and drummer David Allin—pursued Robert after witnessing him play live with him sitting in during sets at various gigs with their band Soi Disant.

However, after a few years Allin went his separate way pursuing other interests. The remaining members witnessed drummer Eric Kretz play in a Long Beach club and convinced him to join the band. Guitarist Hicock eventually left the band in 1989; in need of a replacement and auditioning many guitarists, Robert suggested his older brother, Dean. At the time, Dean was a successful businessman who had left behind his previous career as a musician, but still played guitar as a hobby. The band managed to convince Dean to play guitar for Swing, completing the original STP lineup. Dean reportedly refused to continue playing in a band called "Swing", and shortly afterwards the band became Mighty Joe Young. The band recorded a demo tape that was completed around 1990. The Mighty Joe Young demo features tracks that would go on to be re-recorded for the band's first studio album, as well as some musical styles that would not be featured on any of STP's studio albums, such as funk and yodeling.

Mighty Joe Young played several gigs in the San Diego area, building up a fanbase. Their first show was supporting Henry Rollins at the Whisky a Go Go. The group then began to work on their debut album with Brendan O'Brien. During the recording, they received a call from their lawyer who informed them that there was a bluesman who had already claimed the name Mighty Joe Young. Inspired by the STP Motor Oil stickers that the band members were fans of in their youth, various ideas on the initials "STP" were shared by the band, including "Shirley Temple's Pussy" and Stereo Temple Pirates. They eventually settled on the name "Stone Temple Pilots".

1992-95: Core and Purple

Stone Temple Pilots developed a fan base in San Diego clubs. In 1992, Stone Temple Pilots signed with Atlantic Records. Their first album, Core, was released on September 29, 1992, and peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Albums Chart. Core was a big success, producing hits "Sex Type Thing", "Plush", "Creep", and "Wicked Garden". While the album was a major commercial success, the music press criticized the band as "grunge imitators". The same year, Scott Weiland and Dean DeLeo played an acoustic version of "Plush" on the MTV show "Headbanger's Ball". This is considered one of Weiland's greatest vocal performances.

Despite hostile reviews from critics, Stone Temple Pilots continued to gain fans. They toured for four weeks, opening for bands such as Rage Against the Machine and Megadeth. 1993 brought continued success on the road, with the band headlining a two-and-a-half-month American tour, often performing at benefits for pro-choice organizations.

In 1993, the band filmed an episode of MTV Unplugged, where they debuted the song "Big Empty". In a January 1994 Rolling Stone poll, the band was simultaneously voted Best New Band by Rolling Stone's readers and Worst New Band by the magazine's music critics. The following month the group won Favorite Pop/Rock New Artist and Heavy Metal/Hard Rock New Artist at the American Music Awards. In March 1994, the group won a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance for the song "Plush".

In the spring of 1994, Stone Temple Pilots returned to the studio to work on their second album, Purple. Completed in less than a month, Purple debuted at number one in the United States upon its release on June 7, 1994. The radio-friendly "Interstate Love Song" quickly became a big hit, spending a record-setting fifteen weeks atop the album rock tracks chart. Other hits from the album included "Vasoline" and "Big Empty" (the latter also being featured on the soundtrack to the film The Crow). By October, just four months after its release, Purple had sold three million copies.

1995-2002: Tiny Music, hiatus, and return

In October 1995, the band regrouped to begin recording its third album, renting out a mansion in Santa Barbara, California for the band to live together during the recording process. Stone Temple Pilots released the album Tiny Music... Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop, on March 5, 1996. The album's sound marked a drastic change from their previous outings, oriented more in the direction of glam rock and psychedelic music than that of the hard rock/grunge sound that propelled them to popularity; critical reception, at the time, was mixed. Rolling Stone, a magazine known for its initial dismissal of the band's music, held a favorable opinion of the album, regarding the release as the group's best effort to date. They expressed surprise, however, at "the clattering, upbeat character of the music" given Weiland's much-publicized run-ins with drugs and the law. Stone Temple Pilots were also featured on the cover of issue No. 753 in February 1997.

The band was unsuccessful in being able to fully tour in support of Tiny Music... and pulled out of a support slot on Kiss' reunion tour. A short tour in the fall of 1996 ensued in the U.S. but final dates at the end of December in Hawaii and a further tour in 1997 had to be cancelled. As a result of Weiland's personal issues, Stone Temple Pilots went on hiatus. "I can't call the kettle black," remarked Kiss drummer Peter Criss. "I just pray for the guy and hope that he gets himself better because they really are a great band."

The band, sans Weiland, recruited Dave Coutts, the frontman of Ten Inch Men, and performed under the moniker Talk Show. Talk Show released one eponymous album in 1997 before dissolving. Meanwhile, pursuing his own musical interests, Weiland released his first solo album, 12 Bar Blues, in 1998. Although both albums received moderate critical praise, neither was commercially successful.

In 1998 the band regrouped and began work on a fourth Stone Temple Pilots album. Released in 1999, No. 4 was conceived as a "back-to-basics" rock album in the vein of Core or Purple. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic compared the album's sound to contemporary alternative metal bands and wrote in his review "it's as if STP decided to compete directly with the new generation of alt-metal bands who prize aggression over hooks or riffs." STP scored one of its biggest hits since the success of Core and Purple with the single "Sour Girl", fueled by a popular music video starring Sarah Michelle Gellar of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame. The band also recorded an episode of VH1 Storytellers, and went on a summer tour with the Red Hot Chili Peppers. No. 4 would eventually be certified platinum by the RIAA.

During the summer of 2001, the band released its fifth album, Shangri-La Dee Da, which produced one modest rock radio hit in "Days of the Week". Despite promotion of the album by going on tour with Linkin Park and Godsmack on the Family Values Tour, Shangri-La Dee Da was a commercial disappointment. At that point, marketing support from their label was reportedly minimal, and the band decided to put a hold on any future albums. However, the band recorded "All in the Suit That You Wear", a song intended to be the lead single on the soundtrack for the 2002 film Spider-Man. However, Chad Kroeger's song "Hero" was ultimately chosen as the lead single.

2002-08: Separation and members' other projects

Despite reports that the band had begun work on a sixth studio album in 2002, the band had dissolved by the end of that year, after reports of an altercation between Dean DeLeo and Weiland after the last show of Stone Temple Pilots' fall 2002 tour. As a capstone to the band's career, Atlantic Records released a greatest hits album, Thank You, with a bonus DVD of archive material and music videos, in 2003.

Following band's dissolution, Weiland formed the successful supergroup Velvet Revolver with Guns N' Roses members Slash (guitar), Matt Sorum (drums), and Duff McKagan (bass) and former Wasted Youth guitarist Dave Kushner. The band released two albums, Contraband in 2004 and Libertad in 2007 before Weiland was fired from the band in 2008. Likewise, the DeLeo brothers formed the supergroup Army of Anyone with vocalist Richard Patrick of the industrial rock band Filter and session drummer Ray Luzier. The band released its self-titled in 2006 before going on "indefinite hiatus" in 2007. Eric Kretz kept a lower profile during this time, operating his own studio, Bomb Shelter Studios, and drumming for the band Spiralarms.

2008-11: Reunion and self-titled album

According to Dean DeLeo, steps toward a Stone Temple Pilots reformation started with a phone call from Weiland's wife, Mary Forsberg. She invited the DeLeo brothers to play at a private beach party, which led to the reconciliation of Weiland and the DeLeo brothers. In 2007, Dean DeLeo and Weiland discussed a concert promoter's offer to headline several summer festivals. Weiland subsequently left Velvet Revolver in April 2008 and the following month, Stone Temple Pilots announced they were reuniting for a 65-date North American tour. The group officially reunited for a private gig at the Houdini Mansion and held their first public show on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on May 1. Stone Temple Pilots toured throughout the summer and fall, headlining the Virgin Mobile Festival in Baltimore on August of that year as well as the 10th annual Voodoo Experience in New Orleans. The band's six-month reunion tour wrapped up on Halloween 2008 in Pelham, Alabama.

After taking a short break to allow Scott to support his recently released second solo album, production for the band's sixth studio album began in mid-2009. The band showcased new material at South by Southwest in 2010, and also appeared at England's Download Festival 2010 in June, as well as at the Hurricane Festival and the Southside Festival in Germany. The band also performed during the Final Four Concert Series in Indianapolis on April 2, 2010. The band appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman for the first time in ten years on May 19, performing "Between the Lines". The band's self-titled sixth album was released on May 25, 2010, debuting at No. 2 on the Billboard 200.

Towards the end of 2010, STP announced they were rescheduling several U.S. tour dates so that the band could take a "short break". STP toured Southeast Asia for the first time in 2011, playing in Philippines (Manila), Singapore, and Indonesia (Jakarta). Following this, the band played successful shows in Australia, including sold out performances in Sydney and Melbourne.

2011-13: Split with Weiland and legal proceedings

In December 2011, Dean DeLeo told Rolling Stone, "what I'd like to see happen is the band go out and do more intimate shows - really lovely theaters around the country." DeLeo also commented on a possible extended reissue of Core including live archived material, "We have tons of live recordings from that era, and we didn't multi-track record that stuff. There's no fixes, so they'd sound incredible if we just master them". On January 2, 2012, Scott Weiland also commented on the 20th anniversary of Core, saying "Well, we're doing a lot of special things. a lot of archival footage that we're putting together, a coffee table book, hopefully a brand new album - so many ideas. A box set and then a tour, of course."

On June 26, STP released its first-ever concert film, Alive in the Windy City, on DVD and Blu-ray. The performance was filmed at a sold-out show in March 2010 at the Riviera Theatre in Chicago.

From then on, the band began to experience problems, and suspicions were raised that tensions between the band had arisen again. Despite the band's claims that their fall tour would be celebrating the 20th anniversary of Core, this did not happen. This is likely because Weiland reportedly no longer had the vocal range to perform many of the album's songs, and could not perform them well in rehearsals. According to the same source, the band initially agreed they would stick to performing the album's hits, but Weiland was unhappy with the deal and insisted that he would perform the album on a solo tour, which his bandmates were unhappy about, as "he was basically taking money away from the band and essentially touring under the promotion of the STP brand."

On September 17, at a show in Abbotsford, British Columbia, STP took the stage nearly two hours after their scheduled time, and cut their set 30 minutes short, angering many fans. The following day, the band released a brief statement announcing that that night's show in Lethbridge, Alberta was cancelled due to Scott Weiland being ordered to go on "48 hours complete vocal rest due to strained vocal cords."

On December 7, in response to a public declaration from Weiland that he was "completely open" to returning to Velvet Revolver and a radio DJ's questions about the state of that band, Slash (Weiland's former bandmate with Velvet Revolver) told Minneapolis/St. Paul radio station 93X that he had heard Weiland had been fired from Stone Temple Pilots, citing this as a possible reason for Weiland's eagerness to return to Velvet Revolver, an option that Slash quickly discounted.

On February 27, 2013, Stone Temple Pilots officially fired Weiland. The firing was officially announced as Weiland left on tour with his solo band. Both parties issued lawsuits over the right to perform with the Stone Temple Pilots name; both were settled out of court, with the DeLeo brothers and Kretz retaining the rights to perform under the name.

2013-15: Bennington era and Weiland's death

On May 18, 2013, the three remaining members of Stone Temple Pilots performed with Chester Bennington of Linkin Park, appearing as special guests at the 21st Annual KROQ Weenie Roast, and the May 19, 2013 Live 105 BFD festival near San Francisco. Bennington was on lead vocals for the surprise performances, where they performed a new song, "Out of Time".

On May 19, 2013, STP released a free download of their new single "Out of Time" featuring Bennington via their official website. Coincidentally, Bennington had exclaimed years before in interviews that singing lead vocals in Stone Temple Pilots was his lifelong dream. The new incarnation of the band performed again on May 30, 2013 at the MusiCares MAP Fund Benefit Concert in Los Angeles, California, and were joined by Weiland's former bandmates Slash and Duff McKagan on stage to perform "All the Young Dudes". Slash praised the band's decision to replace Weiland with Bennington.

On July 15, 2013, STP announced that it would embark on a small tour in September with Filter as the opening act. Stone Temple Pilots released a five-track EP titled High Rise on October 8, 2013, through Play Pen, LLC, credited as Stone Temple Pilots with Chester Bennington. The album's second single, "Black Heart", was released through iHeart Radio on September 18, 2013. They officially dropped "with Chester Bennington" from their name in March 2015.

On November 9, 2015, Bennington announced he was amicably leaving Stone Temple Pilots to focus more on Linkin Park.

On December 3, 2015, Scott Weiland was found dead on his tour bus around 9 pm, just before his band The Wildabouts was about to perform in Minnesota. Stone Temple Pilots released a statement commemorating him, in which they thanked him for his time with them and said he was "gifted beyond words" although "Part of that gift was part of curse".

2016-present: Search for a new vocalist

In February 2016, Stone Temple Pilots launched an online audition for a new vocalist, stating, "If you think you have what it takes to front this band, record with this band, and tour with this band, we would dig hearing from you".

Musical style

The band's sound is considered a blending of the alternative rock of the 1980s and 90s with the hard rock of the 1970s, though the band is known for making each of their records possess a unique musical style, despite having the "sonic blueprint" of the band, as Robert DeLeo describes. Particularly, the band Aerosmith was a large influence on the band collectively, with guitarist Dean DeLeo acknowledging the band's influence on songs such as "Huckleberry Crumble" off their self-titled record. Steven Tyler and Joe Perry joined the band onstage at a 1996 show in Madison Square Garden for renditions of the Aerosmith songs "Sweet Emotion" and "Lick and a Promise". All of the band members were Kiss fans during their childhood, and played shows at the Roseland Ballroom in 1993 dressed in Kiss-style makeup. During the taping of their VH1 Storytellers performance, Weiland acknowledged artists such as The Rolling Stones, Neil Young and Robert Plant as their musical heroes, being honored with the chance to perform with them throughout STP's career. The band has covered songs by artists such as The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, The Doors, Pink Floyd, James Brown, David Bowie and Bob Marley both live and in the studio.

Early in their career, the band was considered to be a part of the grunge movement. Despite assertions by critics that their style in the early 90s was derived from contemporary artists such as Alice in Chains and Pearl Jam, the band maintained that the similarities were coincidental, due in part to having the same musical idols growing up. Much of the comparison was directed at Weiland's vocal style drawing similarities to that of Eddie Vedder's. Weiland stated that his vocal style is influenced by Jim Morrison and David Bowie, who also served as his main fashion influence. Weiland has been called a chameleon due to his ability to change his vocal and fashion style. Regarding the band's musical evolution, Weiland commented in 2014 that "with STP, we never stuck to it. We saw that even great movements only last a certain period of time and you don’t want to be pigeonholed, so we got into other things, like the Beatles were a big influence, glam was a big influence, and it morphed along the way. I’m proud of the legacy we created and where we stand among those other peers at the time."

Guitarist Dean DeLeo uses heavily layered and distorted guitar playing, while bassist Robert DeLeo draws influence from genres such as rhythm and blues, lounge music, and ragtime. Although the band's early demo recordings displayed a funk rock sound, the band's first album Core was a straightforward display of hard rock. After reconvening in the studio for their second album, Purple, the band's style developed, taking influence from psychedelic rock, country music, and jangle pop. The band continued to divulge in various genres and influences; for example, songs like "And So I Know" on Tiny Music... have a distinct bossa nova sound. Regarding the evolution of the band's sound, Weiland commented that "the transformation from Core to where we ended up before we took that time off, when I started with Velvet Revolver, was enormous."

Weiland was the band's primary lyricist. His style changed with the band's evolution; much of the lyrics on Core were written about societal issues such as religion, abuse of power, and isolation. The band's breakthrough single "Sex Type Thing" polarized critics with its lyrics, some interpreting it as advocacy of date rape. Weiland intended it as a feminist anthem, with its lyrics written in mockery of the narrator. As Weiland began to deal with substance abuse, his lyrics became more personal and intricate; songs like "Interstate Love Song" deal with his addiction's tolls on his relationship with his then-wife, Janina. The lyrics of the band's fourth album were written to provide closure to his marriage and addiction to heroin. Following the band's reunion in 2008, Weiland once again evolved as a songwriter, explaining: " the '90s, I was so overwhelmed with my heroin addiction, and so a lot of the stuff was just from my point of view. Now, I tend to look at some of the greats like Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan. I look at their storytelling I try to tell stories. Every song doesn't have to be narcissistically written about how I feel on that day."

Legacy

Core, certified 8× platinum by the RIAA, drove the band to popularity. STP went on to become one of the most commercially successful rock bands of the 1990s, selling nearly 40 million records worldwide, including 17.5 million units in the United States, before their dissolution in 2003. The band has had 16 top ten singles on the Billboard rock charts, eight of which peaked at No. 1, and one No. 1 album for Purple in 1994. That same year, the band won a Grammy for "Best Hard Rock Performance" for the song "Plush" from the album Core. Stone Temple Pilots were also ranked No. 40 on VH1's The 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock. As of 2015, the band has sold over 40 million albums worldwide

Despite being unpopular with critics in their heyday, Stone Temple Pilots have proved to be a popular and influential act. In retrospect, MTV writer James Montgomery published an article questioning the validity of music critics opinions of the band during the 90s, saying, "All I'm suggesting is that perhaps it's time to admit that we were wrong about them from the get-go—that we treated them unfairly." In a review of the band's 2003 greatest hits collection Thank You, AllMusic critic Stephen Erlewine wrote that "STP made music that sounded great at the time and even better now," and that "this music has stood the test of the time," calling Thank You "nearly perfect". Erlewine also wrote that "STP was the best straight-ahead rock singles outfit of their time."

After death of Scott Weiland lead singer of Smashing Pumpkins Billy Corgan paid official tribute to the band and musician, calling him one of the greatest voices of generation:

"It was, I'd guess you'd say, my way of apology for having been so critical of STP when they appeared on the scene like some crazy, man-fueled rocket. And not only was the knight up front freshly handsome to a fault, but he could sing too! As any supreme actor gives a real and different voice to each character played. It was STP's 3rd album that had got me hooked, a wizardly mix of glam and post-punk, and I confessed to Scott, as well as the band many times, how wrong I'd been in assessing their native brilliance. And like Bowie can and does, it was Scott's phrasing that pushed his music into a unique, and hard to pin down, aesthetic sonicsphere. Lastly, I'd like to share a thought which though clumsy, I hope would please Scott In Hominum. And that is if you asked me who I truly believed were the great voices of our generation, I'd say it were he, Layne, and Kurt."

Band members

Current members Dean DeLeo - guitar Robert DeLeo - bass, backing vocals Eric Kretz - drums

Former members Scott Weiland - lead vocals Chester Bennington - lead vocals

Timeline

Discography

Main article: Stone Temple Pilots discography

• Core (1992)
• Purple (1994)
• Tiny Music... Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop (1996)
• No. 4 (1999)
• Shangri-La Dee Da (2001)
• Stone Temple Pilots (2010)
• High Rise (EP) (2013)

Awards

Year	Recipient/Nominated work	Award	Result
1993	"Plush"	MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist	Won
1993	"Plush"	MTV Video Music Award for Best Alternative Video	Nominated
1993	"Plush"	Billboard Music Award for #1 Rock Song of The Year	Won
1994	-	American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock New Artist	Won
1994	-	Billboard Music Award for Top Modern Rock Act Of The Year	Won
1994	"Plush"	Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance	Won
1995	-	American Music Award for Favorite Heavy Metal/Hard Rock Artist	Nominated
1995	-	American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Band/Duo/Group	Nominated
1995	"Interstate Love Song"	MTV Video Music Award for Best Alternative Video	Nominated
1995	"Interstate Love Song"	MTV Video Music Award for Best Metal/Hard Rock Video	Nominated
1995	"Interstate Love Song"	MTV Video Music Award for Best Group Video	Nominated
1995	"Interstate Love Song"	MTV Video Music Award for Best Cinematography	Nominated
1995	"Big Empty"	MTV Movie Award for Best Song From a Movie	Won
1997	"Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart"	Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance	Nominated
1997	-	American Music Award for Favorite Metal/Hard Rock Artist	Nominated
1997	-	American Music Award for Favorite Alternative Artist	Nominated
2000	"Sour Girl"	MTV Video Music Award for Best Cinematography	Nominated
2001	"Down"	Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance	Nominated
2010	"Between the Lines"	Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance	Nominated

[ Source: Wikipedia ]