To honor ten years since Scott Weiland‘s passing, If I Could Fly, a previously unreleased track written in 2000 after the birth of his son, is out today on all digital streaming platforms through Primary Wave/Virgin.
This is the first unheard song from Weiland‘s archive since he left us. It is personal, raw and a reminder of the heart that ran through all his work.
Weiland‘s legacy spans Stone Temple Pilots, Velvet Revolver, a stack of awards, and more than 50 million albums sold. But it’s songs like this that show why people stayed connected to him for decades.
If I Could Fly bridges two generations of listeners and gives back a piece of Weiland’s that’s been held close for 25 years.
Weiland was found dead on his tour bus in at the age of 48 from a toxic mix of drugs and alcohol. The vocalist was also dealing with self-medication, estrangement from his children, financial difficulties and a steadily increasing drinking problem. The singer was on tour with The Wildabouts in Minnesota when he was found unresponsive on the group’s tour bus shortly before 9:00 p.m. on December 3rd, 2015. They had been scheduled to perform that night at the Medina Entertainment Center in Medina, Minnesota. However, that concert was canceled more than a week earlier because of slow ticket sales, according to StarTribune.com. The group was set to perform in Rochester the following night (December 4th) at the Wicked Moose.