Mark Lanegan, the lead singer and co-founder of Screaming Trees and former member of Queens of the Stone Age, has died. “Our beloved friend Mark Lanegan passed away this morning at his home in Killarney, Ireland,” a statement from his official Twitter account reads. “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.”
Mark Lanegan got his start with the Screaming Trees in Washington in the mid-1980s. The band was part of the Pacific Northwest rock scene that also included Nirvana, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, and more. Screaming Trees released their debut album, Clairvoyance, in 1986. The LP helped earn Screaming Trees a deal with SST Records, which issued Even If and Especially When the following year. After two more SST albums, the band moved to the major label Epic Records for 1991’s Uncle Anesthesia, which was produced with Terry Date and Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell. The band went on to release three more albums and, for a time in the mid-’90s, featured Joshua Homme as a touring guitarist.
Lanegan released his solo debut, The Winding Sheet, in 1990 via Sub Pop. The record featured collaborations with Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic, and, in 2005, Dave Grohl called The Winding Sheet “one of the best albums of all time.” Lanegan’s albums continued to have notable contributors, such as J Mascis (who was on 1998’s Scraps at Midnight), as well as PJ Harvey, Joshua Homme, Greg Dulli, Troy Van Leeuwen, and Duff McKagan, who were among the many contributors to 2004’s Bubblegum.
In 2008, Lanegan codified his collaboration with Greg Dulli when they shared their lone LP as the Gutter Twins, Saturnalia. Dulli has said that they began working on the record on Christmas Day in 2003.
Beginning in 2000, Lanegan also solidified his work with Joshua Homme as a member of Queens of the Stone Age, first providing backup vocals on Rated R. He was more involved on 2002’s Songs for the Deaf, writing songs and singing more vocals. Lanegan continued recording with Queens of the Stone Age through 2013’s Like Clockwork.
Lanegan was truly a prolific collaborator. He and Homme co-wrote the theme music for CNN’s Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown. He worked with Isobel Campbell on several releases; he featured on Neko Case’s Hell-On song “Curse of the I-5 Corridor”; he worked with Moby; he collaborated with the Armed on Ultrapop; and plenty more.
This article was originally published on Tuesday, February 22 at 3:00 p.m. Eastern. It was last updated on February 22 at 3:47 p.m. Eastern.
