MAIN Art & ... Pop Culture Pop Music Linkin Park

Comprising what Rolling Stone Magazine once described as the "guitar-swinging, lyric-dropping scratch wizards" of rock/rap are lead vocalists Chester Bennington and Mike Shinoda, bassist Phoenix Farrell, guitarist Brad Delson, turntablist Joe Hahn and drummer Rob Bourdon.

Linkin Park got its start with high school friends Mike Shinoda, Brad Delson, and Rob Bourdon. Shinoda later met Joe Hahn at the Art Center College in Pasadena where the two studied illustration. Meanwhile, Delson met bassist Phoenix Farrell while both attended UCLA. Together, they recorded demo tapes under the name Xero.

Chester Bennington later joined the band, adding a stronger vocal component to the band now calling itself Hybrid Theory, based on their original mix of rock and rap. However, another band called Hybrid threatened tradmark infringement.

Finally deciding to call themselves after the landmark near their Santa Monica recording studio, the band quickly discovered that lincolnpark.com was unavailable as a Web site address.

With a slight change in the spelling, Linkin Park was born.

The band eventually signed on with Warner Brothers in 1999, releasing their first album, Hybrid Theory, in 2000 which immediately began to climb the charts. By the following year, it became the top-selling album in the United States spinning off hit singles such as Points of Authority, Crawling, One Step Closer, Papercut, and In the End.

In 2002, Linkin Park were back with a remix of their first album and a year later released their highly anticipate second album, Meteora, which immediately charted at no. 1 in the U.S. and the U.K. featuring single hits such as Somewhere I Belong, Breaking the Habit, Faint, and Numb.

In 2004, Linkin Park toured with P.O.D., Hoobastank, and Story of the Year on the Meteora World Tour, later releasing their third album, Collision Course, in collaboration with music producer Jay-Z.

Following a three-year dispute with record label Warner Bros., the band finally came out with a mix of rock, punk and hip hop songs in Minutes to Midnight, released in May 2007, and are multiple nominees at the 2007 AMA Awards.

Linkin Park - The official site offering the latest news, tour schedule and photo gallery, complete lyrics and an online store.

Linkin Park Lyrics: pictures, lyrics, and news - Lyrics from the Hybrid Theory and Meteora albums, vital stats and pictures of band members in several galleries.

The Linkin Park Times - Tour schedule and TV appearance info, band history and picture galleries featuring video captures, magazine scans, photo shoots and public appearances, plus feature articles and interviews, related links.

LP Underground - The official fan club with registration details.

Linkin Park News - The latest news headlines and related feature stories from various sources around the Web.

also see -> Black Eyed Peas | Beyonce | Mariah Carey

Ciara | Destiny's Child | Eminem | Janet Jackson | Jay-Z | JoJo

Lil Jon | Ludacris | Nelly | Outkast | Shakira

Snoop Dogg | Usher | Kanye West