Mark Lanegan, leader of Screaming Trees dies at 57

(NEXSTAR) — Mark Lanegan, a prolific musician who performed with such acts as Screaming Trees, Queens of the Stone Age and the Gutter Twins, has died at the age of 57.

“Our beloved friend Mark Lanegan passed away this morning at his home in Killarney, Ireland,” read a message posted to Lanegan’s Twitter page on Tuesday. “A beloved singer, songwriter, author and musician(,) he was 57 and is survived by his wife Shelley.”

Screaming Trees, formed in Ellensburg, Washington, in 1984, released multiple albums into the mid-‘90s, and were perhaps best known for their 1992 single “Nearly Lost You” featuring Lanegan’s signature raspy vocals. A fixture of the early Seattle grunge scene, Lanegan also collaborated with Kurt Cobain of Nirvana on an album of unreleased Leadbelly covers and contributed to projects featuring members of Alice in Chains and Pearl Jam.

In the decades that followed, Lanegan went on to collaborate with musicians including Isobel Campbell of Belle & Sebastian and Greg Dulli of Afghan Whigs, forming the Gutter Twins with the latter. Between 2000 and 2014, Lanegan also worked with, and later became a member of, Queens of the Stone Age, contributing to five of the group’s seven albums. He and the band’s frontman, Josh Homme, had also collaborated on several projects outside of the band, including Lanegan’s solo albums and even the theme song for Anthony Bourdain’s “Parts Unknown” series on CNN, which they composed and performed.

All the while, Lanegan maintained a prolific solo career, releasing 12 albums between 1990 and 2020.

Upon news of his passing, Lanegans friends, collaborators and fans responded on social media with old photos, touching tributes and stories of their time together.

“Mark Lanegan, RIP, deepest respect for you,” wrote Iggy Pop, who signed his message as “your fan.”

In addition to Pop, members of New Order, The Velvet Underground, Garbage, Living Colour and Silversun Pickups, among others, responded to Lanegan’s passing on social media. Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam also relayed news of Lanegan’s death to an audience during a performance at Benaroya Hall in Seattle on Tuesday, saying he was overcome with “sadness.”

“Some people know Seattle because of the musicians that have come out of the great Northwest. Some of those guys were one-of-a-kind singers, and Mark was certainly that,” said Vedder, as seen in a clip from the performance.

“He’s going to be deeply missed. And at least we will always have his voice to listen to.”

Prior to his passing, Lanegan was hospitalized with COVID-19 in 2021 and placed in a medically induced coma, an experience he detailed in his book “Devil in a Coma.” The cause of his death on Tuesday has not been made public.