Stone Temple Pilots, commonly abbreviated as STP, is an American rock band formed in San Diego, California, in 1989.

STP's evolution throughout the 1990s and early 2000s involved periods of commercial highs and lows, brought about in part by Weiland's well-publicized struggles with drug addiction.

In 1985, Scott Weiland and his friends in their band Soi Disant—guitarist Corey Hicock and drummer David Allin—first encountered Robert DeLeo playing live at various gigs, deciding to track him down after witnessing his shows.

At the time, Dean was a successful businessman[citation needed] who had left behind his previous musical career but still played guitar as a hobby.

[16] The same year, Scott Weiland and Dean DeLeo played an acoustic version of "Plush" on the MTV show Headbangers Ball.

[17][18] Despite negative reviews from some critics, Stone Temple Pilots continued to gain fans and toured, opening for bands such as Rage Against the Machine and Megadeth.

The radio-friendly "Interstate Love Song" quickly became a big hit, spending a record-setting fifteen weeks atop the album rock tracks chart.

[20][21] Rolling Stone, a magazine known for its initial dismissal of the band's music, held a favorable opinion of the album, regarding the release as the group's best effort to date.

"[23] Since Weiland, the band recruited Dave Coutts, the frontman of Ten Inch Men, and performed under the moniker Talk Show.

"[26] STP scored one of its biggest hits since the success of Core and Purple with the single "Sour Girl", fueled by a popular music video starring Sarah Michelle Gellar of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame.

During the summer of 2001, the band released its fifth album, Shangri-La Dee Da, which produced one modest rock radio hit in "Days of the Week".

[27] As a capstone to the band's career, Atlantic Records released a greatest hits album, Thank You, with a bonus DVD of archive material and music videos, in 2003.

Likewise, the DeLeo brothers formed the supergroup Army of Anyone with vocalist Richard Patrick of the industrial rock band Filter and session drummer Ray Luzier.

According to Dean DeLeo, steps toward a Stone Temple Pilots reformation started with a phone call from Weiland's wife, Mary Forsberg.

Weiland subsequently left Velvet Revolver in April 2008 and the following month, Stone Temple Pilots announced they were reuniting for a 65-date North American tour.

The group officially reunited for a private gig at the Houdini Mansion and held their first public show on Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Stone Temple Pilots toured throughout the summer and fall, headlining the Virgin Mobile Festival in Baltimore in August of that year as well as the 10th annual Voodoo Experience in New Orleans.

[36] In December 2011, Dean DeLeo told Rolling Stone, "what I'd like to see happen is the band go out and do more intimate shows – really lovely theaters around the country."

[citation needed] On September 17, at a show in Abbotsford, British Columbia, the band arrived nearly two hours late, and cut their set 30 minutes short, angering many fans.

[3][4] On December 3, 2015, Scott Weiland was found dead of an accidental overdose of alcohol, pills, and cocaine on his tour bus in Minnesota.

Steven Tyler and Joe Perry joined the band onstage at a 1996 show in Madison Square Garden for renditions of the Aerosmith songs "Sweet Emotion" and "Lick and a Promise".

During the taping of their VH1 Storytellers performance, Weiland acknowledged artists such as the Rolling Stones, Neil Young, and Robert Plant as their musical heroes.

The band has covered songs by artists such as the Beatles,[63] Led Zeppelin, the Doors, Pink Floyd, James Brown, David Bowie, and Bob Marley both live and in the studio.

Despite assertions by critics that their style in the early–mid 1990s was derived from contemporary artists such as Alice in Chains and Soundgarden, the band maintained that the similarities were coincidental, due in part to having the same musical idols growing up.

After reconvening in the studio for their second album, Purple, the band's style developed, taking influence from psychedelic rock, country music, and jangle pop.

Regarding the evolution of the band's sound, Weiland commented that "the transformation from Core to where we ended up before we took that time off, when I started with Velvet Revolver, was enormous.

In retrospect, MTV writer James Montgomery published an article questioning the validity of music critics' opinions of the band during the 90s, saying, "All I'm suggesting is that perhaps it's time to admit that we were wrong about them from the get-go—that we treated them unfairly.

"[71] After the death of Scott Weiland, Smashing Pumpkins singer Billy Corgan paid official tribute to the band and musician, calling him one of the greatest voices of their generation: "It was, I'd guess you'd say, my way of apology for having been so critical of STP when they appeared on the scene like some crazy, man-fueled rocket.

It was STP's 3rd album that had got me hooked, a wizardly mix of glam and post-punk, and I confessed to Scott, as well as the band many times, how wrong I'd been in assessing their native brilliance.

"[76] Media outlets reported on Weiland's death stating he was a "powerful voice" with a "mercurial vocal style" during his time with the Stone Temple Pilots.