Stapp’s new music video features images of Cornell and Bennington performing as well as the late musician, Prince.
Creed frontman Scott Stapp paid tribute to the late Chris Cornell and Chester Bennington—fellow rock vocalists who died by suicide around the same time in 2017—in “Gone Too Soon,” a song off his new album The Space Between the Shadows (July 19).
The music video for the song is a simple but powerful tribute, playing images of Cornell and Bennington performing as well as the late Prince, who died of a drug overdose in April 2016.
Being in recovery from substance use disorder and mental illness himself, the passing of Stapp’s iconic peers affected him deeply.
“When Chris passed, it hit me hard. And then a year later [sic] when Chester died, again, hit me really hard,” said Stapp during an interview with Nightline. “That’s when I began, I was at a place in my recovery… where not only was I feeling the pain of their loss, but I was saying, ‘Man, that very, very easily could’ve been me and should’ve been me.’ And this feeling of just, ‘I can’t ever go back. You know, because that will be my story.’”
Stapp, who marked five years sober in March, endured a very public rock bottom and at one point became known for his erratic behavior. When Creed disbanded in 2014, Stapp reportedly suffered a psychotic break. He admitted to Rolling Stone that around this time he had been abusing alcohol, Xanax and Percocet.
Reflecting On Addiction
He reflected on that period of his life in a 2016 interview with The Fix. “It was a very scary and low point in my life. I was having delusions, hallucinations and massive paranoia. I was lost!” he said. “My bottom was losing my family, sitting in a psych ward thinking I was undergoing experiments at the hands of the CIA. It was the most horrific living nightmare of my life.”
Eventually he found his way. His wife gave him an ultimatum—get help or lose your family. He stopped using drugs and alcohol, and began taking medication for his bipolar disorder.
“My greatest accomplishments in life, my Grammys, are my children and my wife,” he told Nightline. “They mean more to me than anything that I could ever achieve or receive or have received in my entire career. That’s where it’s at. And if I never get another accolade… moving forward, I’ve already achieved it all with the family that I have.”
