A year without Chester Bennington

Friday, July 20 marked the first death  anniversary of Chester Bennington's death, the frontman of rock band Linkin Park. 

Chester’s fans from all over the world paid tribute and celebrated the life of one of the great voices of rock music. Fans of the rock icon chalked out plans and organized various events in different cities across the globe. 

Thank you to all the fans for planning beautiful events around the world to honor and remember Chester. Here is the list of global memorial events taking place on July 20th: https://t.co/vbOo3N7yV0 #MakeChesterProud pic.twitter.com/ZmsVZHxz2U

— LINKIN PARK (@linkinpark) July 18, 2018

The band thanked their fans and posted a list of memorial events on their Twitter account.

Linkin Park bassist Dave "Phoenix" Farrell shared an open letter to Chester Bennington on Instagram – a day before the anniversary of his death. With a picture of Chester, he wrote: "In the past year, there hasn’t been a day that has gone by that I haven’t thought of you. I miss you, and it still hurts to not have you here.”

Chester, In the past year, there hasn’t been a day that has gone by that I haven’t thought of you. I miss you, and it still hurts to not have you here. I chose not to speak at your memorial because I couldn’t formulate the words to adequately express how I felt... I chose not to speak at the Celebration of Life Concert honoring you because I knew I’d struggle to even be able to speak at all. And today, a year after your passing, I still struggle to try and eloquently express what you mean to your family, your friends, your fans... and to me. There is so much that I feel, and that I could say, and that I would want to say, and that I don’t know how to say... but one thing I know for certain, is that you are loved, and you are missed. Be Well My Friend, Dave

A post shared by  Dave Phoenix Farrell (@phoenixlp) on Jul 19, 2018 at 5:09pm PDT

Chester’s songs had a major impact on the lives of his fans, and in many cases, Linkin Park was their first encounter with rock music. 

A whole generation grew up listening to Linkin Park and could relate to their music. 

Chester Bennington suffered growing up. Chester was sexually abused by his uncle. He was bullied in school and saw his parents divorce. After years of substance abuse, he started penning down his feelings in songs and poetry. Chester had developed interest in music from a young age. 

He suffered from depression until his death. His suffering was reflected in his songs. Both young and adult listeners of his music were touched by the agony, suffering, and anger embedded in the songs, one of the many reasons why Linkin Park became so popular. 

In 1996, he auditioned for a band called Xero which was later renamed Linkin Park, and the rest is history.