RIP: Scott Weiland Former Singer of Stone Temple Pilots Dead at 48

Scott Weiland, best known as the lead singer of modern rock legends Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver, has passed away in his sleep at the age of 48. His wife Jamie Weiland and manager Tom Vitorino confirmed such through the Los Angeles Times, with the former simply stating: “I can’t deal with this right now. It’s true.”

His Instagram profile was purely business in regards to announcing his death:

Weiland passed away in his sleep in Bloomington, MN while on tour with one of his more recent bands, The Wildabouts. At this time, the Weiland family is asking for their privacy to be respected in this tragic time of mourning.

Scott Weiland joined forces with Robert DeLeo in 1989 to form the modern rock powerhouse that Stone Temple Pilots became. Fueled by a powerful early single in “Plush,” the band sold platinum album after platinum album with Core, Purple, Tiny Music, and No. 4.  While the band released Shangri-La Dee Da in 2001 and a comeback album, Stone Temple Pilots, in 2010, they never were able to re-capture the commercial success of the 90s. In 2002, Weiland joined with Slash to form the super-group Velvet Revolver, finding success with the single “Slither.” While the reunion five years ago was a decent success, bad blood remained between the founding members of Stone Temple Pilots. In fact, Weiland was fired by the three other members of the band (and replaced by Chester Bennington of Linkin Park), and countered with a civil suit against the band.

Weiland has famously struggled with drug addiction, a problem that was a major derailment with his work in Stone Temple Pilots. The singer has reportedly been mostly drug free since 2002. His guitarist in the Wildabouts, Jeremy Brown passed away on tour about nine months ago, of undisclosed causes.

UPDATE 1 (11:08 AM PST):

The cause of Weiland’s death was cardiac arrest, according to TMZ-obtained audio between Hennepin County sheriffs and Bloomington police:

The clip also points out that Weiland was not breathing when responders arrived at the scene. Weiland’s wife Jane has told reporters that her husband was drug-free and only socially drinking at the time of his passing.

UPDATE 2 (11:01 AM PST):

Scott Weilend’s ex-band mates in Stone Temple Pilots have released a statement:

Dear Scott,

Let us start by saying thank you for sharing your life with us.

Together we crafted a legacy of music that has given so many people happiness and great memories.

The memories are many, and they run deep for us.

We know amidst the good and the bad you struggled, time and time again.

It’s what made you who you were.

You were gifted beyond words, Scott.

Part of that gift was part of your curse.

With deep sorrow for you and your family, we are saddened to see you go.

All of our love and respect.

We will miss you brother,

Robert, Eric, Dean

UPDATE 3 (12:48 PM PST):

The toxicology report on Weiland is still pending and could take “four to eight weeks” to be released. While Weiland’s wife claimed her husband was drug free at the time of his passing, a TMZ report makes it clear that he was surrounded by some significant drug use while on tour with his band, Scott Weiland & The Wildabouts. The news site obtained a copy of the search warrant used to enter the band’s tour bus, and it states that cocaine, Viagra, sleeping pills, a generic brand of Xanax, and a leafy green substance, and Ziprasidone were found in one of the bus’ bedrooms. Ziprasidone is a drug used to treat schizophrenia and bi-polar disorder, the latter of which Weiland had been diagnosed with in 2001.

Weiland was discovered in a bedroom of the bus; while it is not clear which bedroom of the bus , we do know that his band member Tommy Black was arrested on charges of cocaine possession after the bus was searched.

Meanwhile, biographer David Ritz, who co-authored the 2011 Weiland memoir Dead & Not For Sale, penned reflective post on his time with the troubled singer:

Because of my own history, I felt especially close to Scott’s dilemma. Months passed when, in lieu of working on the book, we attended 12-step meetings together. It was more important to be cohorts in recovery than coauthors of a memoir. Besides, recovery was obviously a major theme of his memoir. I realized that before Scott wrote about recovery he’d had to live it more fully.

Regarding his struggle with sobriety, Ritz explained:

He approached sobriety with absolute sincerity and determination. At the same time, his obsession with opiates was epic.

After spending weeks alone with Weiland at the singer’s remote cabin above Lake Chelan in Washington to work on the long-delayed memoir, Ritz was left with a very positive impression:

I came to see that character as one of essential goodness. Scott open-heartedly sought love. He also sought to be an attentive and loving father to his children, Noah and Lucy, whom he adored. He sought ultimate reconciliation with his former wives and former band mates. A believing Catholic, he sought reconciliation with the God of love…

Scott had exceptional taste. He had the heart, mind and disposition of a pure artist. He clearly saw the irreconcilable contradictions of leading a life devoted to artistic truth, a life in which the unchecked pursuit of romantic ecstasy drowns out common sense. Though he yearned for simple domestic happiness, he feared that, given his untamed soul, such happiness could never be his.

Weiland’s second wife and the mother of his two children recently published statement on his passing. In it she very candidly discusses the manner in which Weiland’s character deteriorated in the years before his death, just after the period of time described that was colorfully described by Ritz.

UPDATE 4 (December 13 1:40 PM PST):

According to Billboard, Scott Weiland’s funeral was held on Friday at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. In attendance were members of Velvet Revolver and Stone Temple Pilots, late singer’s more prominent projects.