Stone Temple Pilots (abbreviated STP) were a popular alternative metal band formed in 1990, after Scott Weiland and Robert DeLeo met at a Black Flag concert in Long Beach, California and discovered that they were dating the same woman. They got to know each other, rather than fight over the woman, who eventually fled to Texas; the two moved into her old San Diego apartment and started playing together. Robert got his brother Dean DeLeo to join their jamming sessions and also found Eric Kretz, who was then with another band, to play drums.
In 1990, going by the name Mighty Joe Young, they played at Whisky in Los Angeles, California. In 1992, Don Mullen, a booking agent for Triad Artists, saw them perform and led them to Atlantic Records. On April 1, 1992, they signed a contract and began recording tracks with Brendan O'Brien. During the recording, STP's lawyer called and told them there was a blues musician who had already claimed the name Mighty Joe Young. They changed the band's name to Shirley Temple Pussy after seeing the STP Motor Oil Company logo, but ended up changing it because of pressure from the record label. Wanting to keep the band's initials, they came up with Stone Temple Pilots. In September 1992, they released their first album, Core, including the hit songs "Plush", "Creep", "Wicked Garden", and "Sex Type Thing". The critics initially disregarded the group, writing them off as a derivative of grunge bands such as Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and Alice in Chains. After the "Plush" video appeared on MTV, showing the band through a distorted lens, many supposed Scott Weiland and Pearl Jam lead singer Eddie Vedder were the same person. The still long-haired Vedder reported receiving messages complimenting him on his new short, red hairdo.