Linkin Park

1996
Originally consisting of three high school friends, Linkin Park’s foundation was anchored by Mike Shinoda, Brad Delson, and Rob Bourdon. After graduating from high school, the California natives began to take their musical interests more seriously, recruiting Joe Hahn, Dave "Phoenix" Farrell, and Mark Wakefield to perform in their band, Xero.

Though limited in resources, the band began recording and producing songs within Shinoda’s make-shift bedroom studio.

Tensions and frustration within the band grew after they failed to land a record deal. The lack of success and stalemate in progress prompted Wakefield, at that time the band's vocalist, to leave the band in search for other projects. Farrell also left to tour with Tasty Snax and other bands.

1999
MAR After spending a considerable time searching for Wakefield's replacement, Xero recruited Arizona vocalist Chester Bennington. Jeff Blue, the vice president of Zomba Music, had referred him to the band.

Bennington, formerly of Grey Daze, became a standout among applicants because of his unique singing style.

The band changed its name from Xero to Hybrid Theory. The newborn vocal chemistry between Shinoda and Bennington helped revive the band, inciting them to work on new material. The band’s renaissance culminated with a change in name; from Hybrid Theory, the band changed its name to Linkin Park, a play on and homage to Santa Monica’s Lincoln Park. However, despite these changes, the band still struggled to sign a record deal. After facing numerous rejections from several major record labels, Linkin Park turned to Jeff Blue for additional help.

MAY The Hybrid Theory EP is released

After failing to catch Warner Bros. Records on three previous reviews, Jeff Blue, now the vice president of Warner Bros. Records, helped the band sign a deal with the company.

2000
OCT [24] Linkin Park released their debut album Hybrid Theory. The album, which represented half a decade’s worth of the band’s work, was edited by music producer Don Gilmore. Hybrid Theory was well received by music fans; the band sold more than 4.8 million records during its debut year, earning it the status of best-selling album of 2001

NOV [28] The debut single "One Step Closer" is released

Additionally, other singles from the album were featured in movies such as Dracula 2000, Little Nicky, and Valentine.

MTV awarded the band their Best Rock Video and Best Direction awards for "In the End".

During this time, Linkin Park received many invitations to perform on many high-profile tours and concerts including Ozzfest, Family Values Tour and KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas. The band also formed its own tour, Projekt Revolution, which featured other notable artists such as, Cypress Hill, Adema, and Snoop Dogg.

2001
APR [17] The single "Crawling" is released and later wins a Grammy in 2002 for Best Hard Rock Performance

Within a year’s stretch, Linkin Park had performed at over 320 concerts. The experiences and performances of the precocious band were documented in its first DVD, Frat Party at the Pankake Festival

SEP [6] They performed One Step Closer at the MTV VMA's

[25] The single Papercut is released. It reached UK #14

OCT [16] The single In the End is released and becomes a big success making the top 10 in many countries and making US #2

NOV [20] The DVD, Frat Party at the Pancake Festival is released

NOV [19] The Hybrid Theory EP is re-issued

Now reunited with former bassist Phoenix, the band began work on a remix album, dubbed Reanimation, which would include works from Hybrid Theory and Hybrid Theory EP.

2002
[27] The band were nominated for three Grammy Awards, including best new artist, best rock album, and best hard rock performance (for "Crawling") which they won

JULY [15] The single Pts.OF.Athrty is released

[30] Reanimation debuted, featuring the likes of Black Thought, Jonathan Davis, Aaron Lewis, and many others. Reanimation claimed the second spot on the Billboard 200, and sold nearly 270,000 copies during its debut week.

Following the success of Hybrid Theory and Reanimation, Linkin Park spent a significant amount of time touring around the United States. The band members began to work on new material amidst its saturated schedule, spending a sliver of their free time in their tour bus' studio.

DEC The band officially announced the production of a new studio album, revealing its new work was inspired by the rocky region of Meteora in Greece, where numerous monasteries have been built on top of the rocks.

2003
MAR [17] The single Somewhere I Belong is released and enters the the top 10 in many countries

[25] Meteora, Linkin Park's second album is released and instantly earned worldwide recognition, going to #1 in the US and UK, and #2 in Australia. Meteora sold more than 800,000 copies during its first week, and it ranked as the best selling album on the Billboard charts at the time.

JUNE [10] The single "Faint" is released and becomes their third number-one hit on the US Modern Rock Tracks

OCT [14] The single "Numb" is released. It topped the US Hot Modern Rock tracks chart for 12 weeks

OCT Meteora has sold nearly three million copies. The album's success allowed Linkin Park to form another Projekt Revolution, which featured other bands and artists including, Mudvayne, Blindside, and Xzibit. Additionally, Metallica invited Linkin Park to play at the Summer Sanitarium Tour 2003, which included well-known acts such as Limp Bizkit, Mudvayne and Deftones.

NOV [18] The band released an album and DVD, entitled Live in Texas, which consisted of audio and video tracks of some of the band's performances in Texas during the tour.

2004
JAN [12] The single From the Inside is released

MAR [23] The single Lying From You is released

In early 2004, Linkin Park started a world tour titled the Meteora World Tour, supporting bands on the tour include Hoobastank, P.O.D. and Story of the Year.

JUNE [22] The single Breaking the Habit is released and becomes the fifth consecutive single from Meteora to reach #1 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, a feat unmatched by any other artist in the history of that chart

Meteora earned the band multiple awards and honors. The band won MTV's awards for Best Rock Video ("Somewhere I Belong") and the Viewer's Choice Award ("Breaking the Habit").

This video has also been a favorite among MTV viewers going so far as to winning the 2004 MTV VMA Viewers Choice Award

The band donated $75,000 to the Special Operations Warrior Foundation in March 2004. They also helped relief efforts for the 2004 tsunami victims by staging several charity concerts and setting up an additional fund called "Music for Relief".

Linkin Park also received significant recognition during the 2004 Radio Music Awards, winning the Artist of the Year and Song of the Year ("Numb") awards.

Although Meteora was not nearly as successful as Hybrid Theory, it was the third best selling album in America during 2003.

The band spent the first few months of 2004 touring around the world, first with the third Projekt Revolution tour, and later several European concerts.

Bennington appears on the band's behalf at MTV Asia AidFollowing Meteora's success, the band postponed working on a new studio album for the next few years. Instead, Linkin Park continued to tour and work on many side projects. Bennington appeared on DJ Lethal’s "State of the Art" and other work with Dead by Sunrise, while Shinoda did work with Depeche Mode.

The band began to work with Jay-Z to produce another remix album, entitled Collision Course.

NOV [16] The single Numb/Encore is released. It features rapper Jay-Z. In the UK Singles Chart, the single achieved the record for the longest stay in the top 20 without ever reaching the top 10. The song only peaked at 14 but managed to spend 53 weeks in the chart, 13 of them in the top 20.

[30] The album, Collision Course, is released making the US Number One spot.

2005
JULY The video for the Numb/Encore mash-up was nominated for the MTV VMA Viewer's Choice award

Shinoda also formed a new band, Fort Minor, as a side project. With the aid of Jay-Z, Fort Minor released its debut album, The Rising Tied, to critical acclaim. At the same time, the band's relationship with Warner Bros. Records was deteriorating rapidly on account of several trust and financial issues. After months of feuding, the band finally negotiated a deal in December 2005.

Linkin Park also participated in numerous charitable events. Linkin Park helped raise money to benefit victims of Hurricane Charley in 2004 and later hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Most notably, however, the band participated at Live 8, a series of charitable benefit concerts set up to raise global awareness. Alongside Jay-Z, the band performed on Live 8's stage in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to a global audience.

2006
"Numb/Encore" won Best Rap/Sung Collaboration at the Grammy Awards of 2006.

The band would later be reunited with Jay-Z at the Grammy Award Ceremony 2006, during which they performed "Numb/Encore", en route to winning a Grammy for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration.

They would later go on to play at the 2006 Summer Sonic music festival, which was hosted by Metallica, in Japan.

Linkin Park returned to the recording studios in 2006 to work on new material. To produce the album, the band chose producer Rick Rubin. Despite initially stating the album would debut sometime in 2006, the album was delayed until 2007.

AUG The band had recorded thirty to fifty songs, when Shinoda stated the album was halfway completed. Bennington later added that the new album would stray away from its previous nu metal sound.

2007
Warner Bros. Records officially announced that the band’s third studio album, entitled Minutes to Midnight, would be released on May 15, 2007 in the United States. After spending fourteen months working on the album, the band members opted to further refine their album by removing five of the original seventeen tracks. The album’s title, a reference to the Doomsday Clock, foreshadowed the band's new lyrical themes.

APR [2] The album's first single, "What I've Done" was released, and premiered on MTV and Fuse within the same week. The single was acclaimed by listeners, becoming the top-ranked song on the Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks and Mainstream Rock Tracks charts. The song is also used in soundtrack for the 2007 action film, Transformers.

Later in the year, the band won the "Favorite Alternative Artist" in the American Music Awards.

MAY [15] The third album Minutes to Midnight is released and sold over 600,000 copies in its first week, making it one of the most successful debut week albums in recent years. The album also took the top spot on the Billboard Charts.

Linkin Park's touring and live shows have, among other things, included

JULY [7] a performance at Live Earth Japan.

[31] The music video for Bleed It Out was shown on MTV Germany and MTV Asia and has premiered in Canada through the Muchmusic Countdown and their MuchAxs video streaming website

and headlining Download Festival in Donington Park, England and

Edgefest in Downsview Park, Toronto, Canada.

AUG [20] The single "Bleed It Out" is released

OCT [16] The single "Shadow of the Day" is released

The band completed touring on its fourth Projekt Revolution tour before taking up an Arena tour around the United Kingdom, visiting Nottingham, Sheffield and Manchester, before finishing on a double night at the O2 arena in London.

2008
MAR [3] The single Given Up is released worldwide after been released a short time earlier in a few countries

[4] The Live from SoHo EP is released

Shinoda revealed on his blog that he, Phoenix and Hahn had begun working on two song ideas at Hahn's home, with studio recording to begin in earnest soon.

JULY [14] The single, Leave Out All the Rest is released

NOV [24] Live CD/DVD entitled "Road to Revolution: Live at Milton Keynes", which is a live video recording from the Projekt Revolution gig at the Milton Keynes Bowl the 29th June 2008, is officially released.

[28] Songs From the Underground EP is released

In 2008, Bennington announced that Linkin Park's fourth studio release will be a concept album.

DEC Digidesign gave the band the opportunity to preview the new Pro Tools 8 software. The experiment resulted in an instrumental song performed by Shinoda and Bourdon.

2009
APR Mike Shinoda revealed on his blog that Linkin Park will be working on the score for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen with successful film composer Hans Zimmer.

[29] The band collaborated with Busta Rhymes on his single "We Made It", which was released this day

MAY [7] It was further confirmed that the song recorded for the film is titled "New Divide,"

[18] The single New Divide was released.

JUNE [12] The music video for "New Divide" was released and was directed by Mr. Hahn.

[22] The band played a short set after the premiere of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. The concert took play on the street in Westwood Village.

In May 2009, Linkin Park announced that they were working on their fourth album which will be released in 2010, with the aim for it to be "genre-busting".