Chester Bennington

Chester Bennington
Bennington in 2014
Born
Chester Charles Bennington

(1976-03-20)March 20, 1976
Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.
DiedJuly 20, 2017(2017-07-20) (aged 41)
Palos Verdes Estates, California, U.S.
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • actor
Years active1992–2017
Spouses
Samantha Olit
​
​
(m. 1996; div. 2005)​
Talinda Bentley
​
​
(m. 2006)​
Children6[1]
Musical career
Genres
InstrumentVocals
Formerly of
Signature

Chester Charles Bennington (March 20, 1976 – July 20, 2017) was an American singer who was the lead vocalist of the rock band Linkin Park. He was also the lead vocalist of Grey Daze, Dead by Sunrise, and Stone Temple Pilots at various points.

Bennington first gained prominence as a vocalist following the release of Linkin Park's debut album, Hybrid Theory (2000), which was a worldwide commercial success. The album was certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America in 2005, making it the bestselling debut album of the decade, as well as one of the few albums ever to achieve that many sales.[2] He continued as the band's lead vocalist for their next six studio albums, from Meteora (2003) to One More Light (2017), with each charting within the top three spots of the Billboard 200.[3][4]

Bennington formed his own band, Dead by Sunrise, as a side project in 2005. The band's debut album, Out of Ashes, was released on October 13, 2009. He became the lead singer of Stone Temple Pilots in 2013 to release the extended play record High Rise on October 8, 2013, via their own record label, Play Pen, but left in 2015 to focus solely on Linkin Park. As an actor, he appeared in films such as Crank (2006), Crank: High Voltage (2009), and Saw 3D (2010).

Bennington struggled with depression and substance abuse for most of his life, starting in his childhood. On July 20, 2017, he was found dead at his home in Palos Verdes Estates, California. The coroner concluded that his death was a result of suicide by hanging. Hit Parader magazine placed Bennington at number 46 on their list of the "Top 100 Metal Vocalists of All Time."[5] Bennington has been ranked by several publications as one of the greatest rock vocalists of his generation.[6] Writing for Billboard, Dan Weiss stated that Bennington "turned nu-metal universal."[7]

  1. ^ Tracy, Brianne (July 20, 2021). "Chester Bennington's Widow Recalls How He 'Always Made Everything Better' on 4-Year Anniversary of His Death". People. Archived from the original on August 29, 2024. Retrieved August 29, 2024. Talinda then went on to say that she and their kids, 9-year-old twins Lily and Lila and son Tyler, 15, miss Chester "every second of every day." (Chester also had children Jaime, Isaiah and Draven from previous relationships.)
  2. ^ White, Adam (February 16, 2002). "Dido, Linkin Park Lead the Global 20 of 2001". Billboard. Vol. 114, no. 7. p. 42. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
  3. ^ McIntyre, Hugh (August 7, 2017). "Linkin Park Makes History By Placing 23 Songs On The Rock Chart Simultaneously". Forbes. Archived from the original on July 29, 2023. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  4. ^ Caulfield, Keith (July 21, 2017). "Linkin Park's U.S. Music Sales Rise 5,332% After Death of Chester Bennington". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 29, 2023. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  5. ^ Bucher, Chris (July 20, 2017). "Chester Bennington Dead: Top Linkin Park Songs & Albums". Heavy. Archived from the original on September 23, 2020. Retrieved July 29, 2017.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).