Mark Lanegan 1964 – 2022
The founder of Screaming Trees and solo performer was 57.
By Andy Kahn Feb 22, 2022 • 1:24 pm PST
Mark Lanegan, who co-founded the influential grunge band Screaming Trees, has died at age 57. The cause of his death, which was confirmed in a statement from Lanegan’s family, was not revealed.
The statement can be read below:
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. The family asks everyone to respect their privacy at this time.
Lanegan was the lead singer of Screaming Trees, which was co-founded in 1984 in his native Ellensburg, Washington. The band relocated to nearby Seattle, becoming one of the prominent contributors to the city’s late-1980s/early-1990s grunge scene, alongside peers such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden.
Screaming Trees released their debut album, Clairvoyance in 1986. Their next three LPs, 1987’s Even If and Especially When, 1988’s Invisible Lantern and 1989’s Buzz Factory, were released by noted independent label SST Records. The band moved to Epic and made their major label debut with 1991’s Uncle Anesthesia that was produced by Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell.
Screaming Trees found further success with the release of their 1992 album, Sweet Oblivion. The record contained several popular tracks, including “Nearly Lost You,” which also appeared in the grunge-inspired featured film, Singles. The final Screaming Trees album, Dust, arrived in 1996. Four years later, Screaming Trees officially disbanded.
Lanegan released a solo album, The Winding Sheet, in 1990 through the Seattle-based Sub Pop Records. Subsequent solo albums for Sub Pop followed with Whiskey for the Holy Ghost in 1994, Scraps at Midnight in 1998, I’ll Take Care of You in 1999 and Field Songs in 2001.
Lanegan began a long-term collaborative relationship with Queens of the Stone Age with his appearance on the band’s 2000 album Rated R. He went on to appear on four additional QOTSA albums, culminating with 2013’s …Like Clockwork.
Other projects and collaborations Lanegan was a part of included The Gutter Twins which he formed with The Afghan Whigs’ Greg Dulli in 2003, the band Mad Season with Alice in Chains’ Layne Staley and Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready, as well as a trio of albums with Belle and Sebastian’s Isobel Campbell.
In 2004, the album Bubblegum was released and credited to the Mark Lanegan Band. The next Mark Lanegan Band album was 2012’s Blues Funeral. Lanegan’s next solo releases were Imitations in 2013 and Phantom Radio in 2014. Further Mark Lanegan Band releases continued with Gargoyle in 2017 and Somebody’s Knocking in 2019.
Lanegan’s memoir, Sing Backwards and Weep, was issued in 2020. An album inspired by the book, Straight Songs of Sorrow – which became Lanegan’s 12th and final solo LP – was also released in 2020.
A second memoir, Devil In A Coma, was released in 2021. The book detailed Lanegan’s experience after being diagnosed with COVID-19 in March 2021, which resulted in his being admitted to Kerry Hospital and falling into a coma.
