Scott Weiland, the former lead singer of the Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver, has died. He was 48-years-old.
“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 Wildabout,” a statement published early Friday morning on Weiland’s social media pages read. “At this time we ask that the privacy of Scott’s family be respected.”
Weiland formed the Grammy Award-winning Stone Temple Pilots more than two decades ago. Their first album, “Core,” was released in 1992 and sold millions. The band’s hits include ”Interstate Love Song”, “Vasoline” and “Plush,” which won a Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance With Vocal in 1993.
He later became the lead singer of Velvet Revolver – a band featuring Guns N’ Roses members Slash, and Duff McKagan, and Matt Sorum and former Wasted Youth guitarist Dave Kushner. Weiland quit in 2008 to join the reunited Stone Temple Pilots. Five years later, however, Stone Temple Pilots announced that he had been fired from the band he helped start.
The rock star was known to have struggled with drug addiction. In his 2011 memoir, Not Dead & Not For Sale, Weiland described heroin as being “among (his) great loves.”
