I’ve Got No Idols – Layne Staley

Share

(1967 – 2002)

Layne Staley was born in Kirkland, Washington in 1967. In the mid-1980s, he fronted the glam metal band Sleze, then formed Alice in Chains with guitarist Jerry Cantrell, bassist Michael Starr & drummer Sean Kinney.

Their debut album “Facelift” was a hit, and featured the now-classic “Man in the Box.” Their newfound fame led to a cameo in the movie “Singles” (1992) and their follow up album, “Dirt”, going multi-platinum. After changing bassists to Mike Inez, the group, led by Staley, released two EPs, “Sap” and “Jar of Flies”, and an eponymous LP. They toured little, however, as rumors of Staley’s struggle with heroin addiction ran wild. Staley and the band appeared on “Alice in Chains: MTV Unplugged” in 1996. This would be their final television appearance. The band played just four more shows together, opening for KISS on June 28, 30, July 2 and 3, 1996.

Layne 2 After the death of his girlfriend and former fiancé, Demri Parott, in October 1996, Staley was said to have basically given up in his battle with drug addiction. This, however, did not stop him from working with Mad Season and recording vocals for “Another Brick in the Wall” for the soundtrack to The Faculty (1998). Unable to get Staley into the studio to record, Jerry Cantrell released “Boggy Depot” in March 1997. Aside from recording the songs “Died” and “Get Born Again” in October 1998, Layne Staley remained elusive, with only sporadic ‘reported’ sightings of him around Seattle surfacing from time-to-time.

On 20 April 2002, Seattle Police were summoned to the home of Layne Staley after friends and family members were unable to contact him. Inside, Staley’s decomposing body was found lifeless, the victim of an apparent drug overdose. Layne Staley was 34 years old. – imdb

To see archives of ‘I Got No Idols’ go here.