Stone Temple Pilots built a fan base in San Diego bars in order to steer clear of the Los Angeles corporate music scene and build up their technique and following in the clubs. In 1992, Stone Temple Pilots signed with Atlantic Records. Their first album, Core, was released in September of same year. Although the album was an instant success producing several big hits like "Sex Type Thing," "Plush," and "Creep," critics condemned Stone Temple Pilots as rip-off artists whose greatest ability lay in copying other grunge bands like Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains, and Soundgarden.

The loyalty of the band's fans and the animosity of its critics came to a head in January 1994 when the band was simultaneously voted Best New Band by Rolling Stone's readers and Worst New Band by the magazine's music critics. The tie was broken the next month, when Stone Temple Pilots won Favorite Pop/Rock New Artist and Heavy Metal/Hard Rock New Artist at the American Music Awards. On March 1, at the Grammy Award ceremonies, "Plush" won the band its first Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance with Vocal.

(From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)