He took his stepfather's surname while enrolled in Meadowdale High School in Lynnwood, and was known for some time as Layne Elmer. Staley was seven years old when his parents divorced, after which he was raised by his mother and stepfather, Jim Elmer. Seuss book, All About Me, that he wanted to be a singer. Staley joined a rhythm band in Bellevue when he was two or three years old, and was the youngest in the group. He legally changed his middle name to "Thomas" during his teens because he was a fan of Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee. Staley did not like his middle name "Rutherford" and would get angry every time someone called him by this name. His parents are Phillip Blair "Phil" Staley and Nancy Elizabeth Staley (née Layne). Staley was born at Overlake Hospital in Bellevue, Washington, on August 22, 1967. Staley earned six Grammy Award nominations as a member of Alice in Chains. Seattle officially declared August 22, 2019, as "Layne Staley Day". 42 on Complex's magazine list of "The 50 Best Lead Singers of All Time" in 2012. 27 on Hit Parader 's list of "Heavy Metal's All-Time Top 100 Vocalists" in 2006, and at No. Staley struggled with depression and addiction for much of his adult life and later died from a speedball overdose on April 5, 2002, at the age of 34. From mid-1996 onwards, Staley was out of the public spotlight, never to perform live again. On April 10, 1996, the band returned with a performance on MTV Unplugged in New York it was their first concert in two-and-a-half years. ĭuring 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. 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. However, Staley's deteriorating condition due to heroin abuse led him to enter a rehabilitation clinic. 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. " 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 also a member of the glam metal bands Sleze and Alice N' Chains, and the supergroups Mad Season and Class of '99. He was known for his distinctive vocal style and tenor voice, as well as his harmonizing with guitarist/vocalist Jerry Cantrell. Layne Thomas Staley (born Layne Rutherford Staley Aug– April 5, 2002) was an American musician, songwriter and the original lead singer of the rock band Alice in Chains, which rose to international fame in the early 1990s as part of Seattle's grunge movement.
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