The San Diego quartet originally known as Mighty Joe Young completed its lineup in 1989 when bassist Robert DeLeo invited his guitar-playing brother Dean DeLeo to join his band with singer Scott Weiland and drummer Eric Kretz. In 1992, they signed to Atlantic Records and completed their debut album before realizing they’d have to change their name, which had been well established by a Chicago blues guitarist.
Stone Temple Pilots took a few prolonged hiatuses – sometimes to explore side projects and solo albums, sometimes due to Weiland’s struggles with addiction and stints in rehab. Weiland was fired from STP for the last time in 2013 and replaced by Linkin Park’s Chester Bennington, and tragically, both singers died in the space of two years . The surviving members of Stone Temple Pilots have since soldiered on with singer Jeff Gutt and released new albums in 2018 and 2020.