Mark Lanegan, Screaming Trees Singer + QOTSA Alum, Dead at 57

Mark Lanegan, the singer of Screaming Trees and a former member of Queens of the Stone Age, has died at the age of 57, a representative for the musician confirmed in a statement on Tuesday (Feb. 22).

"Our beloved friend Mark Lanegan passed away this morning at his home in Killarney, Ireland," it read. "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."

In March 2021, Lanegan was hospitalized with COVID-19 and slipped in and out of a coma with "little hope of survival," according to the musician's recent memoir, Devil in a Coma, published last December. The Screaming Trees co-founder also went deaf during his illness, but he appeared better by years's end. At that time, a spokesperson said Lanegan had "gotten his hearing back now, but his health is up and down."

Mark Davis, Getty Images

The artist sometimes called "Dark Mark" was born Mark William Lanegan in Ellensburg, Wash., on Nov. 25, 1964. He fronted the trippy Seattle proto-grunge act Screaming Trees from their 1984 start until their 2000 split, recording albums including Sweet Oblivion (1992) and Dust (1996) with them in that time.

Lanegan then worked with Queens of the Stone Age, contributing lead and backing vocals to select songs on five albums with the California desert rockers from 2000 to 2013. He was an official member for several years. Lanegan also released solo albums, and he further recorded with Isobel Campbell, Duke Garwood and others. He relocated to Ireland in 2020.

An earlier memoir from Lanegan, Sing Backwards and Weep, came out in 2020, the same year as his final solo album, Straight Songs of Sorrow. They followed his 2017 lyric book I Am the Wolf.

Listen to some highlight Lanegan performances below.