LOS ANGELES – Chester Bennington, the lead singer of the rock band Linkin Park, was found dead Thursday according to a spokesman for the LA County Coroner.
The coroner’s office was called out to a home in Palos Verdes Estates shortly after 9 a.m. Thursday. Authorities said they were treating the case as a possible suicide.
Bennington’s band found success in 2000 with their album “Hybrid Theory” with Bennington’s heartfelt vocals leading the way.
That voice, it turned out, was fueled by anguish.
Bennington was open about his troubled life, including an introduction to smoking pot after his parents divorced when he was 11, which escalated to cocaine and methamphetamine use.
He also suffered sexual abuse as a child, he said.
“When I was young, getting beaten up and pretty much raped was no fun,” he told The Guardian in 2011. “No one wants that to happen to you and honestly, I don’t remember when it started.”
Spotting a photo of himself as a child at his mother’s house from around the time of the abuse brought it all back, Bennington recalled.
“I remember that stuff happening to me at that stage and even thinking about it now makes me want to cry,” he said. “My God, no wonder I became a drug addict. No wonder I just went completely insane for a little while.”
The group enjoyed cross-over success with the 2004 mash up “Numb/Encore” which combined their song “Numb” with rapper Jay-Z’s “Encore.”
The single was featured on a collaborative album, “Collision Course,” and won an award for best rap/sung collaboration at the 2006 Grammy Awards.
The news caused an outpouring of grief among celebrities, especially coming so soon on the heels of the death of Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell, a close friend of Bennington’s who committed suicide by in May.
Bennington had reportedly performed Leonard Cohen’s “Hallejulah” at Cornell’s memorial service.
Shocked and heartbroken, but it's true. An official statement will come out as soon as we have one. — Mike Shinoda (@mikeshinoda) July 20, 2017
Bennington’s bandmate Mike Shinoda tweeted “Shocked and heartbroken, but it’s true. An official statement will come out as soon as we have one.”
Late night host Jimmy Kimmel wrote, “Chester was one of the kindest men I’ve had on my show. My heart breaks for his family and friends. He will be missed terribly.”
Bennington has six children from two relationships.
Linkin Park’s latest album, “One More Light,” was released in May. The band was set to kick off a tour in Boston next week.
If you are depressed and need someone confidentially to talk to, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is open 24/7 at 1-800-273-8255.
Lillieon on July 20th, 2017 at 20:23 UTC »
Learning about this really hit me in the gut.
I'm 30 years old now and I got into Linkin Park when I was just a freshman back in highschool in 2000. I had a very rough childhood because I have a scar that disfigures part of my face, I was teased for much of my life and I was always the 'odd' kid. Highschool made it all worse and I didn't have anyone to really...fall back on. I came from a poor family, my mom was a drug addict, my dad fell back into alcoholism when my nanny (his mother) died. I didn't have very many friends. All I had were my books. I was really struggling and I had a few acquiescence I had made with some goth and punk kids.
Well, one day, one of them I'd say I was friends with came to me and gave me this beat up discman. It was blue and silver and covered in stickers. They also gave me a burned copy of Hybrid Theory and told me "you should really listen to this". I did and like...I just remember having this intense, tingling feeling rush through me. For as much as people make fun of linkin park's lyrics these days, to someone in that mind state it really...speaks to them.
As I listened to the songs I realized everything they sung about was what I was going through and that meant there were people out there who did understand. They understood, they made it through and now here they are, singing about it. That revelation stopped me from ending my life.
One of their songs asks "What am I leaving when i'm done here?". I wish more than anything I would have been able to tell Chester and the rest of the band that atleast ONE thing, of many, they left was a young girl who found a way to fight through their depression and keep going forward.
troyxabed on July 20th, 2017 at 20:16 UTC »
I was a 14 year old boy from Pakistan when I first listened to Hybrid Theory on cassette. I couldn't understand half of what they were saying, I couldn't understand any of the feelings they were trying to express. "In the end" was catchy as hell and so I persisted with the album. I'd try to sing along and sing aloud, I would try to scream like Chester, I would try to rap like Mike. I'm now a 30 year old who lives in Atlanta, GA. I'm fluent in English only because I tried to impersonate Chester. His music is what I used as a springboard to American culture. This one hurts.
DamageAndJoy on July 20th, 2017 at 18:57 UTC »
toured with him when LP were on the 2001 Ozzfest.
he was was nothing but affable and nice and quick with the puns.
he was on my bus a few times, shot the shit about dumb shit like movies (i had just bought the kubrick dvd boxset) and video games.
he knew his band was being mocked on that tour by the veterans and some fans. he didn’t care. paying your bills by performing music is a dream to anyone.
we all have our demons. artists, musicians et al.
it’s outpacing them and acknowledging when you need help.
wishing the best to his family now.