Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington dies in L.A. at 41
LOS ANGELES — Linkin Park lead singer Chester Bennington, who sold millions of albums with an ever-changing mix of hard rock, hip-hop and rap, was found dead in his home near Los Angeles on Thursday, the Los Angeles County coroner said Thursday.
Coroner spokesman Brian Elias said authorities are investigating Mr. Bennington’s death as an apparent suicide at Palos Verdes Estates, a small coastal city near Los Angeles but no additional details are available.
Chester Bennington was an artist of extraordinary talent and charisma, and a human being with a huge heart and a caring soul.
The Grammy Award-winning group sold 10 million copies of their 2000 debut, “Hybrid Theory,” and then another 4 million with 2003’s multiplatinum “Meteora.”
The band also sold millions with its remix album, “Reanimation,” and its mash-up record with Jay-Z, “Collision Course.”
“One More Light” became the band’s fifth No. 1 album debut on the Billboard 200.
If you’re saying we’re doing what we’re doing for a commercial or monetary reason, trying to make success out of some formula ... then stab yourself in the face! he told NME magazine.
A music executive sent him a demo from the band Xero, who needed a lead singer.
Mr. Bennington told the Associated Press in 2010 that because of the sound the band is known for — fusing sounds from nu-metal, punk, rock, pop and hip-hop — it was virtually impossible to satisfy their many kinds of fans.