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. The group then began to work on their debut album with Brendan O'Brien. Their first show was supporting Henry Rollins at the Whisky a Go Go. Mighty Joe Young played several gigs in the San Diego area, building up a fanbase. 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. Dean reportedly refused to continue playing in a band called "Swing", and shortly afterwards the band became Mighty Joe Young. The band managed to convince Dean to play for Swing, completing the original STP lineup. At the time, Dean was a successful businessman who had left behind his previous musical career but still played guitar as a hobby. Guitarist Hicock eventually left the band in 1989 in need of a replacement and auditioning many guitarists, Robert suggested his older brother, Dean.
The remaining members witnessed drummer Eric Kretz play in a Long Beach club and convinced him to join the band. However, after a few years, Allin left to pursue other interests. Weiland presented a different version of meeting Robert in his autobiography, stating that Weiland and his friends in their band Soi Disant, guitarist Corey Hicock and drummer David Allin, pursued Robert after witnessing him play live at various gigs. 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. They began discussing their girlfriends, only to realize they were dating the same woman. 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. History 1985–1992: Formation and early years as Mighty Joe Young 1.8 2016–2018: New singer Jeff Gutt and second self-titled album.1.7 2013–2015: Chester Bennington era and Weiland's death.1.6 2011–2013: Split with Weiland and legal proceedings.1.4 2003–2008: Separation and members' other projects.1.1 1985–1992: Formation and early years as Mighty Joe Young.The band's evolution throughout the 1990s and early 2000s involved periods of commercial highs and lows, brought about in part by Weiland's well-publicized struggles with drug addiction. While initially rising to fame as part of the grunge movement of the early 1990s, further releases from the band expressed a variety of influences, including psychedelic rock, bossa nova, and classic rock.
STP has released two albums with Gutt on vocals: its second self-titled album on Ma and eighth studio album Perdida on February 7, 2020. The band's only material with Bennington was the EP High Rise in 2013. The band eventually reconvened in 2008 for a reunion tour, released their self-titled sixth album in 2010, and actively toured until Chester Bennington's departure. Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop (1996), No. 4 (1999), and Shangri-La Dee Da (2001), before separating in 2003, after which the band members partook in various projects (most notably Velvet Revolver and Army of Anyone). The band released four more studio albums: Purple (1994), Tiny Music. The band's debut album, Core, released in 1992, was a major commercial success and STP went on to become one of the most commercially successful bands of the 1990s, selling more than 18 million albums in the United States and 40 million worldwide. In 2016, the band launched an online audition for a new lead vocalist and announced Jeff Gutt as the new lead singer of the band on November 14, 2017.Īfter forming in 1989 under the name Mighty Joe Young, the band signed with Atlantic Records and changed its name to Stone Temple Pilots.
Linkin Park vocalist Chester Bennington joined the band in May 2013 but left amicably in November 2015. The band's line-up remained unchanged from its formation in 1989 until the firing of Weiland in February 2013. Stone Temple Pilots (also known by the initials STP) is an American rock band from San Diego, California, that originally consisted of Scott Weiland (lead vocals), brothers Dean DeLeo (guitar) and Robert DeLeo (bass, backing vocals), and Eric Kretz (drums).