Chester Bennington

Chester Charles Bennington (born March 20, 1976) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He is the lead vocalist in the rock bands Linkin Park and Dead by Sunrise, he was previously associated with the band Grey Daze, among others. As of 2009 Bennington has released three studio albums with Linkin Park and released his debut album with Dead by Sunrise in 2009. Bennington's first release with Linkin Park, Hybrid Theory, was a commercial success, and he has released several major albums and singles since then. In 2007, Bennington was placed at 46th on Hit Parader's list of "Heavy Metal's All-Time Top 100 Vocalists".RoadRunnerRecords.com, Rob Halford, Robert Plant, Bon Scott, Ozzy Are Among 'Heavy Metal's All-Time Top 100 Vocalists' - December 1, 2006, Retrieved on December 5, 2007.

Biography

Early years

Bennington was born in Phoenix, Arizona.Apar, Corey, Chester Bennington Biography, mtv.com, Retrieved on June 27, 2007. 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. Bennington eventually overcame his drug addiction, and would go on to denounce drug use in future interviews

. He worked at a Burger King restaurant before starting his career as a professional musician.

Before joining Linkin Park, Bennington was a vocalist in Grey Daze, a post-grunge band from Phoenix, Arizona.Rolling Stone Magazine, Linkin Park - Biography (March 14, 2002), The Linkin Park Times; retrieved on June 24, 2007. He left Grey Daze in 1998, but struggled to find another band to play in. 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. 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". Bennington and Mike Shinoda, the band’s other vocalist, made significant progress together, but failed to find a record deal. 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.

Linkin Park

off topic

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.Fricke, David. “Rap Metal Rulers”, Rolling Stone No. 891, March 14, 2002 Shinoda characterized the lyrics as interpretations of universal feelings, emotions, and experiences, and as “everyday emotions you talk about and think about.”BBC Radio 1, Evening Session Interview with Steve Lamacq, June 13, 2001title=BBC Session Interview 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.title=All Music review It entered the U.S. Billboard 200 charts at #16 in late 2000,title= 2000 charts and was certified gold by the RIAA five weeks after its release.title=Everybody loves a success story. In 2001, Hybrid Theory sold 4.8 million copies in the United States, making it the best-selling album of the year,title= MUSIC; New Ideas From the Top of the Chartstitle=Hybrid Theory tops best-sellers of 2001 and it was estimated that the album continued selling 100, 000 copies per week in early 2002. 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.title=Gold and Platinum: Diamond Certified Albums It has sold 16 million copies worldwide as of 2007,title=Hybrid Theory total sales 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.title=Sputnikmusic review
Bennington performing in Houston, Texas.
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.Warner Bros. Records, "The Making of Meteora" (2003) [1], Released on March 25, 2003. 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. 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. Linkin Park's second album debuted on March 25, 2003 and instantly earned worldwide recognition,AskMen.com, Linkin Park – Biography Retrieved on March 20, 2007 going to #1 in the US and UK, and #2 in Australia.title=Linkin Park - band history and biography

Linkin Park returned to the recording studios in 2006 to work on new material. To produce the album, the band chose producer Rick Rubin. Despite initially stating the album would debut sometime in 2006, the album was delayed until 2007.MTV.com, Mike Shinoda Says 'No New Linkin Park Album In 2006 After All', Retrieved on June 9, 2007 The band had recorded thirty to fifty songs in August 2006, when Shinoda stated the album was halfway completed. Bennington later added that the new album would stray away from their previous nu metal sound. 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. 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. 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.Billboard.com, Linkin Park Scores Year's Best Debut With 'Midnight', Retrieved on May 28, 2007

In an interview with Q101's Kevin Manno at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards, Bennington stated Linkin Park will be returning to the studio sometime in November to begin recording for their next album, In May the band released New Divide for the new Transformers film and a music video in June. Bennington recently announced that the band are now working on their fourth studio album that will be released in early 2010.

Personal life

Bennington married his first wife, Samantha, on October 31, 1996.Chester Bennington Profile, celebritywonder.com; retrieved on June 27, 2007. They had one child, named Draven Sebastian, who was born on April 19, 2002. Bennington’s relationship with his first wife declined during his years with Linkin Park, leading to their divorce in 2005. After divorcing his first wife, Bennington married Talinda Bentley, a former Playboy model, with whom he has had one child, Tyler Lee, and has two children from a previous relationship, Jaime and Isaiah. Bennington and his family live in a sqft house in Newport Beach Orange County when he is not on tour.Kushner, David, Linkin Park's Mysterious Cyberstalker (May 15, 2007), Wired magazine; retrieved on June 27, 2007. He is also a tattoo enthusiast. Bennington has done work and promotions with Club Tattoo, a recognized tattoo parlor in Tempe, Arizona. 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 making threatening messages, and was sentenced to two years in prison. Bennington also made a cameo in the 2006 film Crank as a customer in a pharmacy. He later appeared as a horsetrack spectator in the film's 2009 sequel, Crank: High Voltage.

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. Bennington was plagued with poor health during the making of Meteora, and struggled to attend some of the album’s recording sessions. He fell ill during the summer of 2003, and eventually underwent surgery. 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.

Bands

Grey Daze - Lead Vocals, Guitar (1993-1998)
Linkin Park - Lead Vocals (1999-Present)
Dead by Sunrise - Vocals, Guitar (2005-Present)
Julien-K - Production (2005-Present)

Solo work

Chester Benninton 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 Coachella 2005.

Chester 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 2009.
"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," explains Ryan Shuck. "Dead by Sunrise is Chester's Julien-K if that makes any sense."

He has also played minor roles in the movies Crank and Crank: High Voltage and sang for a couple of gigs with "Camp Freddy".Citation needed
A tour with Eric Burdon is scheduled for late 2009.

Dead by Sunrise's first album was released October 13, 2009.

Singles

"Walking Dead" - with Z-Trip on the album Shifting Gears (2005) - US Top Ten Single

Featured vocals

"Karma Killer" - Cyclefly on the album Crave (2002)
"System" - Written by Jonathan Davis of Korn (2002)
"Wonderful" (the Family Values tour 2001 album)- Stone Temple Pilots (2001)
"State of the Art" - DJ Lethal of Limp Bizkit (2002)
"Rock 'N' Roll (Could Never Hip-Hop Like This) Part 2" - Handsome Boy Modeling School on the album White People (2004)
"Walking Dead" - DJ Z-Trip on the album Shifting Gears (2005)
"Home Sweet Home" (remake) - Mötley Crüe (2005)
"Slow Ya Roll" - Young Buck (2007)
"We Made It" - Busta Rhymes (2008)
"Head Like A Hole (Nine Inch Nails cover)" - Korn (TBA)
"Highway To Hell (AC/DC cover)" - with Camp Freddy
"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
"Whole Lotta Love (Led Zeppelin cover)"- with Camp Freddy
"Let Down" Dead By Sunrise "ReAct Now: Music & Relief," September 10, 2005
"Wonderwall"([2] cover)

Signed Music Artists