Chester Bennington
Bennington was born in Phoenix, Arizona He attended the Ironwood High School and Centennial High School . 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 grunge band from Phoenix, Arizona.He left Grey Daze in 1998, but struggled to find another band to sing 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.
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 materialShinoda characterized the lyrics as interpretations of universal feelings, emotions, and experiences, and as “everyday emotions you talk about and think about.”
Hybrid Theory was released in the United States on October 24, 2000 following the debut of "One Step Closer" on the radio. It entered the U.S. Billboard 200 charts at #16 in late 2000, and was certified gold by the RIAA five weeks after its release. In 2001, Hybrid Theory sold 4.8 million copies in the United States, making it the best-selling album of the year, 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. It has sold 24 million copies worldwide as of 2009, 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.
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. 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, going to #1 in the US and UK, and #2 in Australia.
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. 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. Linkin Park's newest album, A Thousand Suns, was also co-produced with Rick Rubin and was released on September 14, 2010, with its first single, "The Catalyst", a success.
Personal lifeChester Bennington has two children from a previous relationship with Elka Brand, Jamie and Isaiah. Bennington married his first wife, Samantha Marie Olit, on October 31, 1996. They have one child together, Draven Sebastian, who was born on April 19, 2002. Bennington’s relationship with his first wife declined during his early years with Linkin Park, and they divorced in 2005.After divorcing his first wife, Bennington married Talinda Ann Bentley, a former Playboy model, with whom he has had a child, Tyler Lee. 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.
Chester and Talinda 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.
Bennington is a tattoo enthusiast. Bennington has done work and promotions with Club Tattoo, a recognized tattoo parlor in Tempe, Arizona.
Health
Bennington performing at Sonisphere Festival in Kirjurinluoto, Pori, Finland, 2009Despite having 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. Bennington also injured his back once, while performing a live show.
Recently, in 2011, Bennington fell ill again, and Linkin Park were forced to cancel three shows and reschedule two from the A Thousand Suns World Tour.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yw1Tgj9-VU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXYiU_JCYtU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51iquRYKPbs
Work done by: Claudio N: 3 7B
