Stone Temple Pilots (often abbreviated as STP) is an American rock band from San Diego, California, that originally consisted of Scott Weiland (lead vocals), brothers Dean DeLeo (guitar) and Robert DeLeo (bass, backing vocals), and Eric Kretz (drums). From the band's formation in 1989, its line-up remained unchanged until the firing of Weiland in February 2013. Linkin Park vocalist Chester Bennington joined the band in May 2013. In November 2015, Bennington left the band to focus solely on Linkin Park.

Two conflicting stories of how frontman Scott Weiland and bassist Robert DeLeo met have been described by the band; one was that Weiland and DeLeo met at a Black Flag concert in Long Beach, California in 1985. They began discussing their girlfriends, only to realize they were dating the same woman. However, instead of letting this come between them, they developed a bond and formed a band after they each subsequently broke it off with the girl. Weiland presented a different version of meeting Robert in his autobiography, stating that Weiland and his friends--guitarist Corey Hicock and drummer David Allin--pursued Robert after witnessing him play live with him sitting in during sets at various gigs with their band Soi Disant. However, after a few years Allin went his separate way pursuing other interests. The remaining members witnessed drummer Eric Kretz play in a Long Beach club and convinced him to join the band. Guitarist Hicock eventually left the band in 1989; in need of a replacement and auditioning many guitarists, Robert suggested his older brother, Dean. At the time, Dean was a successful businessman who had left behind his previous career as a musician, but still played guitar as a hobby. The band managed to convince Dean to play guitar for Swing, completing the original STP lineup. Dean reportedly refused to continue playing in a band called "Swing," and shortly afterwards the band became Mighty Joe Young. The band recorded a demo tape that was completed around 1990. The Mighty Joe Young demo features tracks that would go on to be re-recorded for the band's first studio album, as well as some musical styles that would not be featured on any of STP's studio albums, such as funk and yodeling. Mighty Joe Young played several gigs in the San Diego area, building up a fanbase. Their first show was supporting Henry Rollins at the Whisky a Go Go. The group then began to work on their debut album with Brendan O'Brien. During the recording, they received a call from their lawyer who informed them that there was a bluesman who had already claimed the name Mighty Joe Young. Inspired by the STP Motor Oil stickers that the band members were fans of in their youth, various ideas on the initials "STP" were shared by the band, including "Shirley Temple's Pussy" and Stereo Temple Pirates. They eventually settled on the name "Stone Temple Pilots."

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