Rock Music Lost One Of The Greatest Frontmen Of Our Generation

Waking up this morning and hearing the news that former Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland had passed away was a little surreal. STP was a huge part of my college years, and I even skipped Thanksgiving dinner in ’96 so I could go see them perform at the Spectrum, where they absolutely brought the house down.

But as many of his fan knew, Weiland spent much of his life battling substance abuse, which caused turmoil both professionally (getting kicked out of STP and Velvet Revolver) and personally (getting divorced, thrown in jail, etc) for him. We don’t know the cause of his death just yet, but given his troubled history, it would not surprise anyone if it turned out to be drug-related.

Weiland told Rolling Stones in a 2008 interview about Stone Temple Pilots that “Ultimately, our goal was to create a legacy,” and there’s no doubt that they succeeded on that front, with a number of wildly successful records and countless hit singles.

He was truly one of the greatest frontmen of our generation, and he will be missed. RIP Scott.