Chester Charles Bennington, perhaps the most unlikely-named star in rock music, is the lead singer and songwriter for Linkin Park, his side group, Dead By Sunrise, and did a two-year stint as lead singer for Stone Temple Pilots. Chester has also collaborated with Z-Trip, Young Buck, Chris Cornell and Santana, among others.

Chester, was born on March 20, 1976, in Phoenix, AZ, the son of a nurse and a police detective, who divorced when he was 11. In his teens, Chester was into Depeche Mode and dreamed of singing with Stone Temple Pilots. He developed a whole range of substance abuses before beating addiction. He drank heavily during early Linkin Park tours, but quit in 2011. In his middle age, Chester has become a family man, albeit one with a cool job and a tattoo parlor.

Bennington punched his lucky ticket in 1999. He was knocking around Phoenix after his post-grunge band, Grey Daze, broke up, and was having trouble finding a new gig. Almost ready to abandon his rock and roll dream, he received an offer of an audition with Xero, Mike Shinoda’s band in Agoura Hills, CA. Chester was hired and he and Shinoda went to work writing songs for the new group, re-named Linkin Park. Their debut album, Hybrid Theory, was released in 2000, and became the biggest seller of the 21st century (>27 million worldwide). Linkin Park has released 5 more studio albums, 4 of them Billboard #1s, and has now sold >68 million albums worldwide.

Following Linkin Park’s last album in 2013, Chester’s teenage dream came true when Stone Temple Pilots invited him to replace Scott Weiland as lead singer. He held the job until 2015, when his duties in Linkin Park called him back. LP’s website says they are working on a new studio album.

Happy 40th Birthday to Chester Bennington!