Frontman of Linkin Park
Born: March 20, 1976;
Died: July 20, 2017
CHESTER Bennington, who has died aged 41, was a rock star and the frontman of Linkin Park whose gravelly voice captured the band's signature sound of hard rock, hip-hop and rap. They had several massive hits including Crawling and In The End.
The band was propelled to success by their first album, Hybrid Theory, which was released in 2000 and went on to sell 10 million copies.They followed up that success with 2003's Meteora.
They won two Grammys – their first one for 2001's hit song Crawling and their second for Numb/Encore, a remix of the original song featuring Jay-Z, in 2005. The band also won five American Music Awards, four MTV VMA Awards, 10 MTV Europe Music Awards and scores of other accolades.
Chester Charles Bennington was born in Phoenix, Arizona and when he joined Linkin Park nearly 20 years ago, his unique voice immediately set him apart.
He was signed up to front the-then named Hybrid Theory, which later changed its name to today's famous moniker, Linkin Park.
The singer and the band's co-founder, Mike Shinoda, went on to become close friends.
In May this year, Bennington mourned the loss of one of his good friends, Audioslave and Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell, who was found dead in his Detroit hotel room after a concert.
Throughout his life, Bennington struggled with drug and alcohol problems. In 2008, he is quoted as having told music magazine Kerrang that he was abused as a young child, although he never revealed who the alleged abuser was.
His parents separated when he was just 11 years old, and Bennington spoke frankly in his later life about turning to drugs at a young age as a result of their divorce.
In May this year the band released their seventh album, One More Light, ending the three-year wait for fans since their previous album, The Hunting Party.
Bennington also lent his voice to other music projects, which saw him front rock band Stone Temple Pilots for a short stint. He also formed a band called Dead By Sunrise.
Linkin Park recently performed in the UK on the European leg of their One More Light world tour, which saw them play to packed stadiums in London, Birmingham and Manchester. The band released their seventh album, One More Light, in May this year.
In April this year, while promoting the tour in London, Bennington opened up during a Q&A session following a playback of a few tracks from One More Light.
The singer spoke openly about his state of mind when they started working on the new album.
He admitted to "hating the world", adding: "I had a song in my phone at the start of the process called I Hate The World Right Now. "
"Mostly the suffering that I was bringing on was self-imposed. All these thoughts were stuck in my head. It was not healthy. I remember thinking that I wanted to be left alone."
Bennington died of suspected suicide and had spoken of feeling suicidal when working on One More Light, although he said he had had a new positive outlook on life after changing his perspective and talking about his feelings.
"At the end of the process, I was surprised I was ever in this place," he said.
"I was like 'wow, I can't see myself getting in that place again because I have such good friends'. I have a beautiful wife, great kids, awesome job."
He is survived by six children and his wife, Talinda Ann Bentley.
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