Layne Thomas Staley born Layne Rutherford Staley ; August 22, β April 5, [ 2 ] [ 3 ] was an American singer and songwriter who was the original lead vocalist of Alice in Chains , which rose to international fame in the early s as part of Seattle 's grunge movement. He was known for his distinctive vocal style as well as his harmonizing with bandmate Jerry Cantrell. He was also a part of the supergroups Mad Season and Class of ' 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.
Aside from recording two more songs with Alice in Chains β " Get Born Again " and " Died " β and a cover of Pink Floyd 's " Another Brick in the Wall " with Class of '99 during , Staley had been out of the public spotlight by the late s. Staley struggled with drug addiction for much of his adult life; he later died from a speedball overdose on April 5, , at the age of He was ranked at No. Seattle officially declared August 22, , as "Layne Staley Day".
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Staley earned six Grammy Award nominations as a member of Alice in Chains. Staley disliked his middle name "Rutherford" and would get angry every time someone called him by this name. Staley joined a rhythm band in Bellevue when he was two or three years old, and was the youngest in the group.
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. Staley was raised as a Christian Scientist. 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.
Staley also stated in a 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. 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. We were just blown away by him β he had 'star qualities' even then. He was much more timid β he looked down while he sang.
