Mark Lanegan, a central figure in both the grunge rock movement of the 80’s and 90s, and the desert rock rise of the early 00’s, has died at the age of 57. Born in Ellensburg, Washington and a staple in the Seattle scene, Lanegan passed away earlier today at his home in Killarney, Ireland.
A statement from his verified Twitter account read as follows:
“Our beloved friend Mark Lanegan passed away this morning at his home in Killarney, Ireland. A beloved singer, songwriter, author and musician he was 57 and is survived by his wife Shelley. No other information is available at this time. We ask Please respect the family privacy.”
Known for his deeply psychedelic vocals, Lanegan formed the Screaming Trees in 1984 and fronted the band across their eight albums. The 1992 single, “Nearly Lost You,” is undoubtedly one of the cardinal data points in the rise of the grunge rock era, which also featured contemporaries like Nirvana, Mudhoney, Soundgarden, Alice In Chains, and others.
When Screaming Trees broke up in 2000, Lanegan found new life as a singer and songwriter with the Josh Homme-led desert rock band Queens Of The Stone Age. He appeared across a number of the band’s albums, from Rated R, to Like Clockwork… He also never stopped focusing on his solo work, which began with 1990’s chilling cult classic, The Winding Sheet on Sub Pop Records and culminated with 2020’s collision of genres, Straight Songs Of Sorrow on Heavenly Recordings.
Throughout his prolific career, he collaborated with acts like Nirvana, Mad Season, Afghan Whigs, Unkle, Martina Topley-Bird, Moby, Neko Case and more. He co-wrote the theme music to Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown with Homme and was never nothing short of a tireless creator.