Chester Bennington

Chester Bennington
Bennington performing in Houston, Texas.
Background information
Birth name	Chester Charles Bennington
Born	March 20, 1976 (1976-03-20) (age 34)
Origin	Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.
Genres	Nu metal, alternative rock, alternative metal, hard rock, rap rock, rap metal, electronic rock, post-grunge
Occupations	Singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, keyboard
Years active	1993–present
Labels	Warner Bros.
Associated acts	Linkin Park, Dead by Sunrise, Julien-K, Z-Trip, Camp Freddy, Grey Daze, Church, Hellflower
Website	www.cbennington.com

Chester Charles Bennington (born March 20, 1976) is an American musician and singer-songwriter. He is best known as the lead vocalist and songwriter of the rock band Linkin Park.

Bennington became known as a vocalist with Linkin Park's debut album, Hybrid Theory, in 2000, which was a massive commercial success. Unlike the unseen events before he had been involved with The album was certified Diamond by the RIAA in 2005, making it the best-selling debut album of the decade.^[1] Linkin Park's following studio albums, Meteora and Minutes to Midnight, released in 2003 and 2007 respectively, continued the band's success. 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.

In 2007, Bennington was placed at #46 on Hit Parader's list of "Heavy Metal's All-Time Top 100 Vocalists".^[2]

Early life

Bennington performing in Dallas, Texas

Bennington was born in Phoenix, Arizona.^[3] He took interest in music at a young age, citing Depeche Mode and Stone Temple Pilots as early inspirations. Bennington's parents separated in the late 1980s. He later struggled with cocaine and methamphetamine addictions.^[3] Bennington eventually overcame his drug addiction, and would go on to denounce drug use in future interviews.^[4] He worked at a Burger King restaurant before starting his career as a professional musician.^[3]

Before joining Linkin Park, Bennington was a vocalist in Grey Daze, a post-grunge band from Phoenix, Arizona.^[5] He left Grey Daze in 1998, but struggled to find another band to sing in.^[5] After nearly quitting his musical career altogether, Jeff Blue, the vice president of A&R at Zomba Music in Los Angeles, offered Bennington an audition with the future members of Linkin Park.^[5] Bennington quit his day job, and took his family to California, where he had a successful audition with Linkin Park, who were then called "Xero".^[5] Bennington and Mike Shinoda, the band’s other vocalist, made significant progress together, but failed to find a record deal.^[5] After facing numerous rejections, Jeff Blue, now a vice president of A&R at Warner Bros., intervened again to help the band sign with Warner Bros. Records.^[5]

Linkin Park

On October 24, 2000 Linkin Park released their debut album through Warner Bros. Records. Bennington and Shinoda wrote the lyrics to Hybrid Theory based on some early material.^[6] Shinoda characterized the lyrics as interpretations of universal feelings, emotions, and experiences, and as “everyday emotions you talk about and think about.”^[7][8] Bennington later described the songwriting experience to Rolling Stone magazine in early 2002:

Hybrid Theory was released in the United States on October 24, 2000 following the debut of "One Step Closer" on the radio.^[9] It entered the U.S. Billboard 200 charts at #16 in late 2000,^[10] and was certified gold by the RIAA five weeks after its release.^[11] In 2001, Hybrid Theory sold 4.8 million copies in the United States, making it the best-selling album of the year,^[12][13] and it was estimated that the album continued selling 100, 000 copies per week in early 2002.^[6] Throughout the following years, the album continued to sell at a fast pace and was certified diamond by the RIAA in 2005 for selling 10 million copies in the U.S.^[14] It has sold 24 million copies worldwide as of 2009,^[15] including over 10 million in the U.S. which makes it the band's best-selling album and the best-selling debut album of the 21st century.^[16]

The follow up to Hybrid Theory would ultimately become Meteora. The band began to work on new material amidst their saturated schedule, spending a sliver of their free time in their tour bus' studio.^[17] The band officially announced the production of a new studio album in December 2002, revealing their new work was inspired by the rocky region of Meteora in Greece, where numerous monasteries have been built on top of the rocks.^[18] Meteora featured a mixture of the band's previous nu metal and rapcore styles with newer innovative effects, including the induction of a shakuhachi (a Japanese flute made of bamboo) and other instruments.^[19] Linkin Park's second album debuted on March 25, 2003 and instantly earned worldwide recognition,^[19] going to #1 in the US and UK, and #2 in Australia.^[20]

Linkin Park returned to the recording studios in 2006 to work on new material. To produce the album, the band chose Rick Rubin. Despite initially stating the record would debut sometime in 2006, it was delayed until 2007.^[21] The band had recorded thirty to fifty songs in August 2006, when Shinoda stated the album was halfway completed.^[22] Bennington later added that the new album would stray away from their previous nu metal sound.^[23] Warner Bros. Records officially announced that the band’s third studio album, entitled Minutes to Midnight, would be released on May 15, 2007 in the United States.^[24] After spending fourteen months working on the album, the band opted to further refine their album by removing five of the original seventeen tracks. The album’s title, a reference to the Doomsday Clock, foreshadowed the band's new lyrical themes.^[25] Minutes to Midnight sold over 600,000 copies in its first week, making it one of the most successful debut week albums in recent years. The album also took the top spot on the Billboard Charts.^[26] Linkin Park's next album, A Thousand Suns, was also co-produced with Rick Rubin and is due for release on September 14, 2010, with its first single, "The Catalyst", a success.

Personal life

Bennington married his first wife, Samantha, on October 31, 1996.^[27] They had one child, named Draven Sebastian, who was born on April 19, 2002.^[27] Bennington’s relationship with his first wife declined during his years with Linkin Park, leading to their divorce in 2005.^[28] After divorcing his first wife, Bennington married Talinda Bentley, a former Playboy model,^[27] with whom he has had one child, Tyler Lee; Talinda Bentley has two children from a previous relationship, Jamie and Isaiah.^[27] The wedding ceremony was custom designed and performed by Mary Jean Valente of "A Ceremony of the Heart". Bennington and his family live in a house in Gilbert, Arizona when he is not on tour.^[29] He is also a tattoo enthusiast.^[29] Bennington has done work and promotions with Club Tattoo, a recognized tattoo parlor in Tempe, Arizona.^[30][31] Bennington and his second wife were harassed by a cyberstalker, Devon Townsend, for almost a year. Townsend was found guilty of tampering with the couple's email, as well as sending threatening messages, and was sentenced to two years in prison.^[29]

Health

Chester Bennington performing at Sonisphere Festival in Kirjurinluoto, Pori, Finland.

Despite having prodigious success in the early 2000s, Bennington has had medical issues outside of the limelight. He suffered a severe bite from a recluse spider while touring with the OzzFest in 2001.^[32] Bennington was plagued with poor health during the making of Meteora, and struggled to attend some of the album’s recording sessions.^[33] He fell ill during the summer of 2003, and eventually underwent surgery.^[34] Bennington sustained a wrist injury in October 2007 while attempting to jump off a platform during a show in Melbourne, Australia at the Rod Laver Arena. Despite the injury, he continued to perform the entire show with a broken wrist, before heading to the emergency room.^[35]

Bands

• Grey Daze – lead vocals, guitar (1993–1998)
• Linkin Park – lead vocals (1999–present)
• Dead by Sunrise – lead vocals, guitar, keyboard (2005–present)
• Julien-K – production (2003–present)

Solo work

Bennington joined Z-Trip in 2005 for the single "Walking Dead", released on Z-Trip's major label album Shifting Gears. "Walking Dead" was a Top Ten Single in the US. Bennington also made a surprise appearance during Z-Trip's performance at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in 2005.

Bennington teamed up with original Orgy guitarists Ryan Shuck and Amir Derakh, who perform together as Julien-K, for a solo project. Chester's band is called Dead By Sunrise, formerly known as Snow White Tan. Dead By Sunrise has since released their debut album "Out of Ashes" in October 13, 2009.^[36] In 2009, Ryan Shuck said:

"Both bands are the same. The one where Chester sings and writes is Dead By Sunrise, but when I sing, and Amir and I are the primary writers, it becomes Julien-K and it's more electro and much darker... Julien-K and Dead by Sunrise are basically a creative collective, we're sort of a Warhol-style factory in that sense... Dead by Sunrise is Chester's Julien-K if that makes any sense"^[37]

He has also sang for a couple of gigs with Camp Freddy.

Featured vocals

Album contributions

Live performances

• "Highway To Hell (AC/DC cover)" – with Camp Freddy & Slash
• "Mountain Song (Jane's Addiction cover)" – with Camp Freddy
• "Ace of Spades (Motörhead cover)" – with Camp Freddy
• "Paradise City (Guns N' Roses cover)" – with Camp Freddy
• "Man in the Box" - with Alice In Chains
• "Whole Lotta Love (Led Zeppelin cover)"- with Camp Freddy
• "Let Down" Dead By Sunrise "ReAct Now: Music & Relief," September 10, 2005
• "Walk (Pantera cover)" - with Disturbed
• "Wonderwall (Oasis cover)" – with Bucket Of Weenies

Music producer

Chester Bennington executive produced the E.P for Los Angeles, Tripduster band Hellflower, which is fronted by his long time friend and Director of Activties (D.O.A), Church.^[38]

Television

Chester Bennington is currently working with his long time friend and Director of Activities (D.O.A), Church, on developing an upcoming television show titled Mayor of the World, with executive producers Trip Taylor.^[39]

Acting career

Bennington also made a cameo in the 2006 film Crank as a customer in a pharmacy.^[40] He later appeared as a horsetrack spectator in the film's 2009 sequel, Crank: High Voltage ^[41] Bennington will also have a role in the 2010 film Saw 3D.^[42]

Filmography

References

External links

• Official website
• Chester Bennington on Twitter
• Blog
• Chester Bennington at the Internet Movie Database
• Linkin Park website

Linkin Park Chester Bennington · Rob Bourdon · Brad Delson · Dave Farrell · Joseph Hahn · Mike Shinoda Mark Wakefield · Kyle Christener · Scott Koziol Albums Studio albums Hybrid Theory (2000) · Meteora (2003) · Minutes to Midnight (2007) · A Thousand Suns (2010) Remix albums Reanimation (2002) · Collision Course (with Jay-Z) (2004) Live albums Live in Texas (2003) · Road to Revolution: Live at Milton Keynes (2008) EPs Xero (1997) · Hybrid Theory (1999) Videos Frat Party at the Pankake Festival (2001)  · The Making of Meteora (2003) · Live in Texas (2003) · Breaking the Habit (2004) · Collision Course (2004) · Minutes to Midnight (2007) · Road to Revolution: Live at Milton Keynes (2008) Tours Hybrid Theory Tour · Meteora Tour · Minutes to Midnight Tour · Escape the Studio Tour · A Thousand Suns Tour Related articles Discography · Machine Shop Recordings · Music for Relief · Projekt Revolution · Awards and nominations · Dead by Sunrise · Fort Minor · Queen of the Damned (soundtrack) · Download to Donate for Haiti · 8-Bit Rebellion! Category ·  Book · Media · Portal