I am sure I told you before that Layne Staley of Alice in Chains was in my PE class in 1985. Roll call we lined up in alphabetical order so he was just a few kids down. Said he was going to open up for Van Halen one day and everyone would laugh.
Alice in Chains famously opened for Van Halen on the North American leg of their For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge (F.U.C.K.) Tour, which ran from August 1991 to May 1992.
Didn't end well for him though:
On April 17, 2002, Staley's mother went to his apartment to inform him about the death of Demri Lara Parrott's brother, but there was no answer. On April 19, Staley's accountants contacted his former manager, Susan Silver, and told her that no money had been withdrawn from the singer's bank account in two weeks. Silver then contacted Staley's mother, who went back to his apartment and discovered delivered mail by his door. Staley owned a cat named Sadie at the time, who was usually quiet; upon hearing Sadie meow, Staley's mother became worried the animal was distressed and that Staley might be in trouble. Still not receiving an answer, McCallum called 9-1-1 to say she had not heard from him "in about two weeks".[16] She entered the apartment with police and her ex-husband, Jim Elmer.[92][93]
It was reported that the 6-foot (183 cm) Staley weighed only 86 pounds (39 kg) when his partially decomposed body was discovered.[94] Medical examiners had to identify the body by comparing dental records.[95] The autopsy and toxicology report revealed that Staley had died from a mixture of heroin and cocaine, known as a speedball.[96] The autopsy concluded that Staley had died two weeks before his body was found, on April 5—the same day fellow grunge musician Kurt Cobain committed suicide eight years prior.[97] His death was classified as "accidental"
