Mark Lanegan, grunge pioneer and lead singer of the Screaming Trees, has died. He was 57.
According to a statement confirming Lanegan's death on the singer's official Twitter account, he died Tuesday morning in Ireland. No cause of death was given.
"Our beloved friend Mark Lanegan passed away this morning at his home in Killarney, Ireland," the statement read. "A beloved singer, songwriter, author and musician he was 57 and is survived by his wife Shelley."
Lanegan, a Washington native, weathered a dysfunctional upbringing and battle with substance abuse before joining brothers Van, a bass player, and Gary Lee Connor, a guitarist, along with drummer Mark Pickerel, to form the Screaming Trees in 1984, according to AllMusic. The rock band became an influential part of the Seattle grunge scene, much like Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains and Nirvana.
Although the band released its debut album "Clairvoyance" in 1986, the Trees wouldn't score their first hit song until 1992, when the song "Nearly Lost You" was featured on the soundtrack of the Cameron Crowe dramedy "Singles."
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However, Lanegan had already embarked on a solo career by the time "Nearly Lost You" gained commercial success, releasing his debut album "The Winding Sheet" in 1990, according to AllMusic. Lanegan explored various genres with his solo catalog, ranging from the "semi-acoustic atmospheres" of "Winding Sheet" and 1998's "Scraps at Midnight" to hard rock and electronica with albums like 2004's "Bubblegum" and 2014's "Phantom Radio."
Lanegan continued touring and recording with the Trees through the '90s and the group officially disbanded in 2000.
In addition to his solo career, Lanegan was an avid collaborator.
The songwriter provided guest vocals to several albums by the Grammy-nominated rock outfit Queens of the Stone Age and The Gutter Twins. Lanegan also recorded an EP of duets with Belle and Sebastian ex-vocalist Isobel Campbell.
Of working with Lanegan, Campbell told Pitchfork in a 2010 interview that she loved singing with him. "It's a strange thing," she added. "It's a very good blend. I've tried singing with other people, but with Mark, from day one, we've always had a chemistry that you can't really manufacture. I don't know why we have that, and I don't think Mark knows either."
Lanegan even formed a blues-inspired sideband with Nirvana members Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic in the ‘90s, although a project never came to fruition.
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Celebrities and fellow musicians took to social media to share their grief and appreciation for Lanegan's artistry.
"Mark Lanegan was a lovely man. He led a wild life that some of us could only dream of," wrote Peter Hook, bassist of Joy Division and New Order. "He leaves us with fantastic words and music! Thank god that through all of that he will live forever."
"I love you Mark Lanegan. A colossal, spectacular body of work. These are all him? How?" comedian Rob Delaney wrote in reference to Lanegan's music catalog.
"Terribly saddened to hear the news of the passing of Mark Lanegan," alternative rock band Garbage tweeted. "A very gifted artist blessed with honey dipped tones, gone far too soon."
"Sons of Anarchy" actor Donal Logue wrote he considered himself "fortunate enough to have been friends" with Lanegan.
"What a beautiful, deep, and brilliant soul," Logue shared. "We got on like a house on fire, just like you knew we would. Love to Shelley and all of Mark's friends. This one cuts deep."
John Cale, a founding member of the rock band Velvet Underground, wrote: "I can't process this. Mark Lanegan will always be etched in my heart - as he surely touched so many with his genuine self, no matter the cost, true to the end."
Lanegan’s latest releases were the memoir “Sing Backwards and Weep” and the album “Straight Songs of Sorrow,” both released in 2020.
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