Rock singer, songwriter and serial collaborator Mark Lanegan has passed away at the age of 57.
Lanegan died in his home in Killarney, Ireland, according to an official statement posted to Twitter. He is survived by his wife, Shelley. The statement notes that “no other information is available at this time,” and asks for the family’s privacy.
Lanegan made an awful lot of music in his 57 years. He grew up in Ellensburg, Washington, a couple of hours east of Seattle. It’s there he co-founded Screaming Trees with the brothers Gary Lee and Van Conner. Screaming Trees released seven studio albums between 1986 and 1996, including 1992’s Sweet Oblivion.
Lanegan released his debut solo album, The Winding Sheet, in 1990. He would continue releasing solo albums up until the end of his life. His most recent, 2020’s Straight Songs of Sorrow, was his 12th. A number of his best-known solo albums – including 2004’s Bubblegum, 2012’s Blues Funeral and 2014’s Phantom Radio – are credited to the Mark Lanegan Band.
Lanegan joined Queens of the Stone Age in 2001 during the tour behind the band’s second album Rated R (2000). Although he officially left the band in 2005, he appeared on five of the band’s seven albums, including Rated R, Songs For the Deaf (2002), Lullabies To Paralyze (2005), Era Vulgaris (2007) and …Like Clockwork (2013). He co-wrote the band’s biggest single, ‘No One Knows’, with band leader Josh Homme.
Lanegan made a trio of albums with former Belle & Sebastian member Isobel Campbell; two albums with British multi-instrumentalist Duke Garwood; and one album (2008’s Saturnalia) with The Afghan Whigs’ Greg Dulli as The Gutter Twins.
In recent years, Lanegan became a published author and poet. His memoir, Devil In a Coma (2021), detailed his experiences with Covid-19.
