Layne Staley

Layne Thomas Staley (born Layne Rutherford Staley; August 22, 1967 – April 5, 2002) was an American singer and songwriter who was the original lead vocalist of Alice in Chains, which rose to international fame in the early 1990s as part of Seattle's grunge movement.

He was known for his distinctive vocal style as well as his harmonizing with bandmate Jerry Cantrell.

Prior to his success with Alice in Chains, Staley was also a member of the glam metal bands Sleze and Alice N' Chains.

He was also a part of the supergroups Mad Season and Class of '99.

Staley was born on August 22, 1967, at Overlake Hospital in Bellevue, Washington.

His parents are Phillip Blair "Phil" Staley and Nancy Elizabeth Staley (née Layne).

Staley disliked his middle name "Rutherford" and would get angry every time someone called him by this name.

He legally changed his middle name to "Thomas" during his teens because he was a fan of Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee.

Staley joined a rhythm band in Bellevue when he was two or three years old, and was the youngest in the group.

At nine years old, he wrote in his Dr. Seuss book, All About Me, that he wanted to be a singer.

Staley was seven years old when his parents divorced, after which he was raised by his mother and stepfather, Jim Elmer.

He took his stepfather's surname while enrolled in Meadowdale High School in Lynnwood, and was known for some time as Layne Elmer.

In 1984, Staley joined a group of Shorewood High students in a band called Sleze, which also featured future members of The Dehumanizers and Second Coming.

In 1985, Staley and his band Sleze made a cameo in Father Rock, a low-budget movie from Seattle's Public Access Channel.

In 1986, Sleze morphed into Alice N' Chains, a band which Staley said "dressed in drag and played speed metal."

The new band performed around the Seattle area playing Slayer and Armored Saint covers.

Staley met guitarist Jerry Cantrell at a party in Seattle while working at Music Bank rehearsal studios in 1987.

A few months before that, Cantrell had watched Staley performing with his then-band, Alice N' Chains, in his hometown at the Tacoma Little Theatre, and was impressed by his voice.

Cantrell was homeless after being kicked out of his family's house, so Staley invited Cantrell to live with him at the Music Bank.

The two fast friends lived as roommates for over a year in the dilapidated rehearsal space they shared.

Alice N' Chains soon disbanded and Staley joined a funk band, which at the time also required a guitarist.

He asked Cantrell to join as a sideman.

"Man in the Box", the second single from Alice in Chains' debut album, Facelift (1990), garnered Staley critical recognition for his vocal style.

Staley was raised as a Christian Scientist, but was critical of religion in his adult life, stating in a 1991 interview: "I have a fascination with how brainwashed people get with religion and how they'll give up their money, their time and their whole life for a cause that they're sure is right, but I'm sure is wrong. I think there's a lot of people who are scared of life and living and they want to make sure they get to Heaven or whatever. I try to stay away from it as much as I can. I was raised in the church until I was 16 and I've disagreed with their beliefs as long as I can remember, so when I had the choice I chose not to believe in anything apart from myself."

Alice in Chains' EP Jar of Flies (1994), debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, making it Alice in Chains' first record—and the first-ever EP—to top the chart.

However, Staley's deteriorating condition due to heroin abuse led him to enter a rehabilitation clinic.

He began to work on a side project with several Seattle musicians, Mike McCready of Pearl Jam, Barrett Martin of Screaming Trees, and John Baker Saunders of The Walkabouts, which came to be Mad Season, while Alice in Chains went into hiatus.

During Alice in Chains' hiatus, reports of Staley's drug addiction began to gain widespread circulation in fan and media communities, in part due to changes in his physical condition brought on by prolonged heroin abuse.

On April 10, 1996, the band returned with a performance on MTV Unplugged in New York; it was Alice in Chains' first concert in two-and-a-half years.

The band performed three more shows, supporting Kiss on their reunion tour, with Staley's final live performance on July 3, 1996 in Kansas City, Missouri.

Aside from recording two more songs with Alice in Chains – "Get Born Again" and "Died" – and a cover of Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall" with Class of '99 during 1998, Staley had been out of the public spotlight by the late 1990s.

Staley also stated in a 1999 interview that the song "Get Born Again" is about "religious hypocrisy".

He approached music through his parents' collection, listening to Black Sabbath (regarded by him as his first influence) and Deep Purple.

Other favorite bands include hard rock and metal bands like The Stooges, Anthrax, Judas Priest, Saxon, Rainbow, Mercyful Fate, Twisted Sister, Van Halen, and industrial/new wave acts such as Ministry, The Lords of the New Church and Skinny Puppy.

He also cited Prince and David Bowie as two of his biggest idols.

Staley began playing drums at age 12; he played in several glam bands in his early teens, but by this point, Staley had aspirations of becoming a singer.

Staley struggled with drug addiction for much of his adult life and later died from a speedball overdose on April 5, 2002, at the age of 34.

He was ranked at No. 27 on Hit Paraders list of "Heavy Metal's All-Time Top 100 Vocalists" in 2006, and at No. 42 on Complexs magazine list of "The 50 Best Lead Singers of All Time" in 2012.

Seattle officially declared August 22, 2019, as "Layne Staley Day".

Staley earned six Grammy Award nominations as a member of Alice in Chains.