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Stone Temple Pilots Singer Scott Weiland Dies At 48: Fellow Musicians Express Condolences

By Jennifer Ricketts
Published on: 05:19 PST, Dec 4, 2015

Scott Weiland, former frontman for the bands Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver, has died at the age of 48. The singer reportedly died in his sleep on a tour bus in Bloomington, Minnesota. Scott and his band the Wildabouts were to perform in nearby Medina, at the Medina Ballroom, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The ex-STP singer had just turned 48 on October 27.

A source who claimed to be connected to the Wildabouts told TMZ Weiland was found unresponsive on the tour bus Thursday night around 9 p.m. The band also had shows scheduled for Reno, Nevada, on December 18 and City Winery in Napa on December 19.

According to a statement released by the Bloomington, Minnesota, Police Department, officers responded to a report of an unresponsive adult male on December 3 at 8:22 p.m. “Officers arrived and determined the adult male was deceased,” the statement read.

BBC News reports the address Weiland was found at may correspond to a local Country Inn & Suites hotel. Weiland’s death will be investigated further.

News of the 48-year-old singer’s death was confirmed by his manager on his Facebook page, as well as his Instagram account, early Friday morning (December 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. At this time we ask that the privacy of Scott’s family be respected.”

The LA Times reports the singer’s death is the second for The Wildabouts. On March 30, guitarist Jeremy Brown, 34-years-old, died as a result of intoxication from multiple drugs. Brown’s death was ruled accidental and was before the band’s debut album released.

Many music fans first learned of the STP singer’s death late Thursday night, after Jane’s Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro broke the news on Twitter at 9:01 p.m. PT, according to Billboard.

“Just learned our friend Scott Weiland has died. So gutted, I am thinking of his family tonight,” Navarro tweeted.

The tweet later appeared to be deleted.

In the late 1980s, Scott Weiland formed the Stone Temple Pilots with brothers Robert and Dean DeLeo. The band was originally called Mighty Joe Young until a blues musician who went by the same moniker had them change their name. Thus, Stone Temple Pilots was born.

STP singer Scott Weiland
Singer Scott Weiland performs on December 13, 2008 with his former band STP (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

Multiple sources cite Weiland’s distinctive lower register singing style as part of STP’s success in the 1990s. STP’s debut album Core landed at the No. 3 spot on the Billboard 200, and their second album, Purple, was No. 1 on the Billboard charts the next year. STP sold 13.5 million albums in the U.S. alone, according to Nielsen Music.

With infighting among band members, STP ended up taking several hiatuses. The band broke up in 2002, reunited in 2008, but broke up again in 2013.

Scott co-founded Velvet Revolver with former Guns N’ Roses members Slash, Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum in 2002 after STP broke up. The singer also released four solo albums. The fourth album was with his band The Wildabouts.

Scott Weiland with Velvet Revolver member Slash
Former Velvet Revolver members, singer Scott Weiland and guitarist Slash, pose for a photo. (Photo by David Livingston/Getty Images)

The STP singer infamously suffered from substance abuse issues off and on over the years. Weiland struggled with bipolar disorder and turned to heroin, running into many problems with the law.

  • 1995 – convicted of buying crack cocaine and sentenced to probation.
  • 1999 – jailed for violating probation after being convicted of heroin possession in 1998
  • 2003 – sentenced to three years’ probation for drug possession
  • 2003 and 2007 – arrested for D.U.I.
  • 2007 – checked into rehab but didn’t finish
  • 2008 – sentenced to eight days in jail after pleading no contest to a drink driving charge

News of the singer’s death has hit the music world hard with tributes to the late singer pouring in from all over.

The STP singer is survived by his two children, Noah and Lucy, whom he had with his ex-wife Mary Forsbergand, and his third wife, Jamie Wachtel.

[Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images]

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