Scott Weiland Dead: Stone Temple Pilots Founder Dies Aged 48
Former Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland has died at the age of 48.
Scott Weiland’s manager, Tom Vitorino, confirmed his death on December 3.
A statement, on Instagram, said Scott Weiland had “passed away in his sleep while on a tour stop in Bloomington, Minnesota, with his band The Wildabouts”.
Scott Weiland had a history of drug problems. He formed the Grammy-winning band Stone Temple Pilots, and was a member of supergroup Velvet Revolver.
According to TMZ, Scott Weiland’s body was discovered on his tour bus outside a motel, near the venue where the band was due to play.
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Born in California, Scott Weiland formed the band Stone Temple Pilots with brothers Robert and Dean DeLeo in the late 1990s and went on to enjoy early critical and commercial success.
The success of tracks such as Big Empty, Vasoline and Interstate Love Song, which propelled the 1994 album Purple to the top of the US charts, was marred by in-fighting among band members.
Stone Temple Pilots took a number of breaks, with Scott Weiland eventually leaving and forming the supergroup Velvet Revolver – with former Guns N’ Roses members Slash (guitars), Duff McKagan (bass) and Matt Sorum (drums) – in 2002.
However, Scott Weiland’s drug addiction issues were becoming increasingly problematic.
In 1995, the singer was convicted of buying crack cocaine and sentenced to probation.
He was jailed in 1999 for violating his probation after being convicted of heroin possession in 1998, and four years later, in 2003, sentenced to three years’ probation for drug possession.
In 2008, Scott Weiland was sentenced to eight days in jail after pleading no contest to a drink driving charge.
Velvet Revolver had to frequently alter its schedules to accommodate Scott Weiland’s court appearances and spells in rehab and the band’s 2007 release, Libertad, was the last to feature Weiland on vocals.
They split with Scott Weiland the following year, blaming the singer’s “erratic behavior”.
Scott Weiland later returned to the reformed Stone Temple Pilots – but in 2013, they too ejected him from the band, claiming he had been “misappropriating” their name to further his solo career.
Reports of Scott Weiland’s death began to circulate after musician Dave Navarro reportedly tweeted: “Just learned our friend Scott Weiland has died. So gutted, I am thinking of his family tonight.”
That tweet later appeared to have been removed.
No immediate cause of death was given in the official statement. The statement asked for “the privacy of Scott’s family be respected”.
Scott Weiland’s current band, Scott Weiland & the Wildabouts, were scheduled to play at a Medina, Minnesota, concert venue, on December 3. The event was canceled.