To mark the 10th anniversary of Scott Weiland’s death, the late Stone Temple Pilots singer’s vaults have been opened for the first time to share the new song “If I Could Fly.”
Initially released as part of the recent Record Store Day’s Black Friday and now available on streaming, “If I Could Fly” is “the first unheard song from Scott’s archive since he left us,” Weiland’s official social media account said Wednesday.
“To honor ten years since Scott Weiland’s passing, we’re releasing something truly special for the real fans,” the post continued, adding that the song is “a previously unreleased track written in 2000 after the birth of his son.”
“If I could fly I would pick you up and keep you safe from the headlights,” Weiland sings to his then-newborn son Noah on the chorus of the track. “If I could fly I would lift you up and pull you out of the mudslide.”
Weiland died Dec. 3, 2015 at the age of 48 following an accidental drug overdose. In the decade that followed, his estate has withheld the release of any posthumous music from his personal archives until the arrival of “If I Could Fly.”
“Personal, raw, and a reminder of the heart that ran through all his work,” the post added.
“Scott’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 Scott that’s been held close for twenty five years.”
In addition to “If I Could Fly,” Noah Weiland — now 25 and a singer in his own right — will pay tribute to his late father Wednesday with a concert in Orange County, California, where he’ll perform his dad’s “most iconic songs and a few deeper cuts.” Also on the bill is Jakob Nowell, the son of similarly gone-too-soon Sublime singer Bradley Nowell.
