Layne Staley

**Layne Thomas Staley** (August 22, 1967 - April 5, 2002, née Layne Rutherford Staley) was an American vocalist best known for his work with American grunge band Alice in Chains.

## Layne Staley

### Born

Layne Rutherford StaleyAugust 22, 1967
Bellevue, Washington, USA

### Death

April 5, 2002 (age 34)University District, Seattle, Washington, USA

## Early Life

Layne was born on August 22, 1967 to Phillip Blair and Nancy Elizabeth Staley at the Overlake Hospital in Bellevue, Washington. The first indications of Layne's musical inclinations came as a toddler, where he joined a local rhythm band at the age of 2. At the age of 7, the Staleys divorced and Layne lived with his mother, who would marry Jim Elmer. At the age of 9, Layne was gifted a Dr. Seuss book, *All About Me*, in which he had written that he wanted to be a singer.

At the age of 12, Layne began playing the drums and would become part of several glam rock bands as a teenager. Due to people constantly referring to him as his middle name Rutherford, Layne would legally change his middle name to Thomas as a teenager, citing Tommy Lee from Motley Crüe as an influence in the decision. In 1984, Layne would make an audition for the first time as a vocalist for glam rock cover band Sleze. Layne's stepbrother, Ken Elmer, had suggested to the band's drummer, James Bergstrom, to have Layne audition. The audition was a success with Layne remaining with Sleze until 1986, when the band would break up on friendly terms.

## Career

### Alice in Chains

In 1987, Staley was approached by guitarist Jerry Cantrell during a party at the Music Bank rehearsal studios in Seattle. Jerry had noticed Layne during his time with Sleze and had attended a concert in Tacoma before their disbanding. As he had recently been kicked out of his parents' home, Jerry invited Layne to live with him while he got settled into the Music Bank. Later that year, Layne would join a funk band and would ask to include Jerry as a sideman as the band needed a guitarist. Jerry would agree to join on the condition that the band hired Sean Kinney as a drummer and Michael Starr as a bassist. Once Layne's band fell through, he would join Jerry's band after the band intentionally brought in terrible vocalists to anger him, with the final straw being a male stripper auditioning.

The band would initially go under the name Diamond Lie before Staley suggested the name Alice N' Chains, which was the final name Sleze used before disbanding and the band would receive a final name of Alice in Chains after receiving permission from bandmates. The band would begin receiving attention in the Seattle rock scene of the late-80's and early-90's and would record a demo tape in 1988, simply labelled the TreeHouse Tapes, after gaining the attention of local promoter Randy Hauser at a concert. The band initially planned to record at Music Bank, but was forced to switch studios after Music Bank was shut down in a drug raid the day before recording was intended to start.

Copies of the tape would end up in the hands of Kelly Curtis and Susan Silver, who managed fellow Seattle band Soundgarden. After the tape interested them, they sent the tape to Nick Terzo, an A&R representative for Columbia Records. Terzo would set up an appointment with label president Don Ienner and Alice in Chains would be signed to Columbia Records in 1989. The band would soon become a top priority for Columbia, releasing the *We Die Young* EP in July 1990. After the song became a hit on mainstream rock radio stations, the label would rush the band to the studio to record their debut album, titled *Facelift*. The album would release on August 21, 1990 and after not seeing much success, the band's popularity would skyrocket in early 1991 after the album's second single, *Man in the Box*, would receive regular airplay on MTV. *Man in the Box* would reach #18 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock charts, with the follow-up single, *Sea of Sorrow*, reaching #27. *Facelift* would be certified 3x Multi-Platinum by the RIAA on August 5, 2022. The band would continue to reach a wider audience in 1991, joining Anthrax, Megadeth, and Slayer for the Clash of the Titans tour's North American leg. Cantrell would later reminisce about the tour even though the band received a very poor reception. The band would have objects thrown at them regularly during performances, but would persevere and perform until the tour finished. On July 30, 1991, the band would release their first video album, *Live Facelift*, which would be certified Gold by the RIAA on October 17, 2001.

The band would release an EP, *Sap*, on February 4, 1992 with recording taking place in November 1991. The band got the idea for the EP after having 9 additional tracks fleshed out while recording *Would?*, a song for the American romance film *Singles* (1992). The five-track EP would be released without any promotion, with the band wanting to see if anyone would seek out their music without being told of a new release. The EP would receive a Gold certification from the RIAA on January 18, 1994 in part due to the growing popularity of the Seattle rock scene after Nirvana's single *Smells Like Teen Spirit* cast a spotlight on the scene. The EP would see a resurgence in sales after the 1994 film *Clerks* used the track *Got Me Wrong* in its soundtrack. Sap was re-released on March 21, 1995.

In March 1992, the band would return to the recording studio in order to begin working on the band's second album, *Dirt*. The album released on September 29, 1992 and received massive commercial and critical success, debuting at #1 on the Billboard 200 and was certified 5x Multi-Platinum on August 5, 2022 by the RIAA. Tensions between the band grew as Layne relapsed on heroin while Sean and Mike became alcoholics while recording the album. The album's producer, Dave Jerden, would later talk about Layne's behavior during recording, saying that he felt there was a lot of animosity towards him due to Dave constantly asking Layne to stop using. The album was voted as the Kerrang! Critic Choice Album of the Year for 1992 and had been nominated for a Grammy in 1993 for Best Hard Rock Performance, but would ultimately lose. Would? won an MTV Video Music Award for Best Video from a Film at the 1993 VMA's. The album would see a resurgence in sales after a 30th-anniversary reissue of the album released in September 2022, with the album reaching #9 on the Billboard 200 on October 2, 2022.

The band agreed to be openers for Ozzy Osbourne's *No More Tours* tour in 1992 and Layne would become injured in a backstage accident and would perform the rest of the tour on a wheelchair and crutches. Mike would be let go from the band after a performance at the Hollywood Rock festival in Rio de Janeiro on January 22, 1993. The band initially stated that Mike left to spend more time with family, but Mike would say several years later that he was fired for being addicted to drugs. The band would replace him with former Ozzy Osbourne bassist Mike Inez and continue the tour in London. Afterwards, the band would return to the recording studio in order to make some acoustic songs over a few days. After the label took a liking to the recordings, they would be released as the band's third EP, *Jar of Flies*, on January 25, 1994. The EP would continue the band's success, debuting at #1 on the Billboard 200 (becoming the first EP in Billboard history to do so) and would be certified 4x Multi-Platinum by the RIAA on August 5, 2022.

The band would go on hiatus due to Staley's growing addiction to heroin after the release of *Jar of Flies* before regrouping in 1995. The band would release what would become their final studio album with Layne, *Alice in Chains*, on November 7, 1995 as well as an accompanying home video movie, *The Nona Tapes*. The album would see a lesser success than *Dirt*, staying in the Billboard 200 for 46 weeks compared to Dirt's multi-year run although both debuted at #1. The album itself would be certified 2x Multi-Platinum by the RIAA on March 4, 1997. The band would remain quiet with no performances until April 10, 1996, when the band made an acoustic performance for MTV's acoustic concert series *Unplugged*. Layne's final performance with Alice in Chains would happen soon afterwards, with the band taking a hiatus after a concert in Kansas City on July 3, 1996 with an *Unplugged* live album being released on July 30. Layne would have 2 new tracks with the band, *Died* and *Get Born Again*, for the 1999 box set *Music Bank* which would be his final contributions to the band before passing away.

### Mad Season

While in rehab for drug addiction in 1994, Layne would begin to work on a side project with Mike McCready of Pearl Jam, Barrett Martin of Screaming Trees, and John Baker Saunders of The Walkabouts. The band would begin performing under the name The Gacy Bunch in October 1994 before quickly changing their name to Mad Season. As Alice in Chains was on hiatus, Layne would continue to work with Mad Season and released an album, *Above*, on March 12, 1995. Mad Season would go on hiatus due to concerns regarding Layne's health as well as Alice in Chains' brief reunion, but would release a live album, *Live at the Moore*, on August 29, 1995.

### Solo

Layne had other works, beginning in 1993 by recording a duet cover of Bob Dylan's *Ring Them Bells* with Ann Wilson for Heart's 1993 album *Desire Walks On.* Layne would also appear on American hard rock band Second Coming's 1994 debut album, *L.O.V.Evil*, having vocals on the track *It's Coming After*. One of the final songs Layne took part in recording was with supergroup Class of '99, performing a cover of Pink Floyd's *Another Brick in the Wall* for the soundtrack of 1998 horror/science-fiction film *The Faculty*.

## Personal Life

Layne was known for his drug use, having gone to several rehab facilities for heroin and cocaine addiction throughout the early 1990's, but never remaining clean for long. At one point, the band would fly from Seattle to Los Angeles for weekly therapy during Layne's rehabilitation. During the band's tour for *Dirt*, Susan Silver hired bodyguards to try and dissuade people from giving Layne drugs, but he managed to relapse during the tour. He was briefly scared into sobriety after the April 1994 suicide of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain, but would relapse soon afterwards. His drug use spiralled out-of-control in late 1996 after Layne's former fiancée, Demri Lara Parrott, died due to a drug overdose on October 29, 1996. Layne was placed on a 24-hour suicide watch immediately following her passing, with Mark Lanegan of Screaming Trees remarking that Layne never fully recovered from her death and a friend of Layne saying that he took her passing extremely badly. *Died* was written by Layne in regards to Demri's death.

### Later Years

After appearing with the band for the 1996 Grammy Award on February 10, 1997, Layne purchased a condo apartment in the University District of Seattle via a trust. Layne would rarely leave his apartment during his final years, becoming more and more of a recluse as time went on. In 1998, rumors began circulating that Layne had contracted gangrene and had lost the ability to ingest food with bandmates denying those claims, saying that they had regularly visited Layne at his apartment.

On June 22, 1998, Layne would make a phone call to Seattle radio station Rockline in order to promote Jerry Cantrell's solo album, *Boggy Depot*, which had released 2 months prior. In October of 1998, Layne would join his fellow bandmates for a 2-day recording session with the band hoping him getting back into recording would help curtail his drug use. Layne would make his final public appearance on Halloween 1998, attending a Jerry Cantrell solo concert in Seattle. Layne declined to sing onstage although Jerry had asked him to and a photo taken backstage after the concert is the most recent photo of him published online. Later photos exist, with the last known one being a family photo of Layne holding his niece in his arms shortly before his death, but have yet to surface.

## Death

On April 4, 2002, Layne and Mike Starr were hanging out in Layne's apartment to celebrate Mike's birthday when an argument erupted over Layne refusing to call 911 although he was extremely sick. Mike would storm off in anger, with Layne supposedly calling him later that night, with Layne's final words being "Not like this, don't leave like this". It is believed that Layne passed away the next day on April 5, 2002 in his apartment at the age of 34 due to an overdose on speedball, a mixture of heroin and cocaine.

## Aftermath

On April 17, 2002, Susan Silver would knock on Layne's door to inform him about the death of Demri's brother, but left after not hearing a word. After noticing that there were no transactions on Layne's bank accounts for 2 weeks, Susan Silver called Layne's mother and asked for her to check on him 2 days later. Nancy would arrive in Seattle with Jim to perform a welfare check, with Nancy calling 911 after not hearing a response from Layne but hearing the meows of his cat Sadie, believing it was Layne crying in distress. Once police arrived, Layne's partially-decomposed body was found within his apartment. It's believed that Layne was skeletally thin at his time of death, only weighing 86 pounds.

A memorial was held for Layne on April 20, 2002 at the Seattle Center and a private funeral was held on April 28, 2002 in Bainbridge Island, Washington. Jerry Cantrell would dedicate his next solo album, 2002's *Degradation Trip*, in honor of Layne's memory and Alice in Chains would refuse to perform as a group out of respect for Layne. Jerry would also take Sadie into his care, where she passed away in 2010 at the age of 18. Layne's parents received donations from fans and worked with Seattle's Therapuetic Health Services clinic to create a Layne Staley Memorial Fund to help heroin addicts and their families in Seattle's music scene.

Starr would begin a downward spiral after Layne's death, constantly being in-and-out of rehab facilities and making an appearance on VH1's *Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew* in 2010, where he would apologize to Layne's mother for not calling 911 on the night before Layne passed with Mike being told he was never blamed by their family for what happened to Layne and that he would forgive Mike for what happened. Mike would also be arrested on drug charges before passing away at the age of 44 on March 8, 2011 due to drug overdose in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Alice in Chains would reunite in the late 2000s, with William DuVall being named as the new lead singer for the band and their first album since 1995's Self-Titled, 2009's *Black Gives Way to Blue*, reflects on the band's feelings regarding Layne and his final years as well as paying tribute to the late frontman.

## Discography

### With Alice in Chains

* *The TreeHouse Tapes* (1988, demo)
* *Untitled* (1990, demo)
* *We Die Young* (1990, single/EP)
* *Facelift* (1990, album)
* *Man in the Box* (1991, single)
* *Bleed the Freak* (1991, single)
* *Sea of Sorrow* (1991, single)
* *Live Facelift* (1991, live album)
* *Sap* (1992, EP)
* *Would?* (1992, single)
* *Dirt* (1992, album)
* *Them Bones* (1992, single)
* *Angry Chair* (1992, single)
* *Rooster* (1993, single)
* *Down in a Hole* (1993, single)
* *What the Hell Have I* (1993, single)
* *Jar of Flies* (1994, EP)
* *No Excuses* (1994, single)
* *I Stay Away* (1994, single)
* *Don't Follow* (1994, single)
* *Get Me Wrong* (1994, single)
* *Grind* (1995, single)
* *Alice in Chains* (1995, album)
* *Heaven Beside You* (1996, single)
* *Again* (1996, single)
* *Over Now* (1996, single)
* *Unplugged* (1996, live album)
* *Music Bank* (1999, boxset)
* *Nothing Safe: Best of the Bank* (1999, compilation album)
* *Live* (2000, live album)
* *Greatest Hits* (2001, compilation album)
* *The Essential Alice in Chains* (2006, compilation album)

### With Mad Season

* *River of Deceit* (1995, single)
* *Above* (1995, album)
* *I Don't Know Anything* (1995, single)
* *Long Gone Day* (1995, single)
* *Live at the Moore* (1995, live album)

### Other Works

* *Singles* (1992, soundtrack album, *Would?*)
* *Desire Walks On* (1993, Heart album, guest vocals on *Ring Them Bells*)
* *L.O.V.Evil* (1995, Second Coming album, vocals on *It's Coming After*)
* *Working Class Hero: A Tribute to John Lennon* (1995, compilation album, vocals on *I Don't Wanna Be a Soldier*)
* *The Faculty: Music From the Dimension Motion Picture* (1998, soundtrack album, vocals on *Another Brick in the Wall, Parts 1 and 2*)