He was an important and significant part in the development of the grunge scene, but he also continued to develop and influence even after, the man whose voice touched many...
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1. His full name is Mark William Lanegan and he was born on November 25, 1964 in Washington, DC, USA.
2. He grew up in a family that did not really function properly and from which he tried to escape several times.
3. By the age of 12 he had already earned the nickname of a "neighborhood alcoholic" when he was walking around drunk on the streets of his house.
4. At the age of 18 he had already started consuming drugs and even arrested for possession and drug trafficking, he went to jail for a whole year. He was wrapped in drugs and alcohol for a full decade before the start of his career, coming in and out of rehab facilities
5. After he got out of jail he went into rehab then he met brothers Gary Lee Conner (guitarist) and Van Conner (bassist).
6. In 1984 he formed with the two the band "Screaming Trees". He was the one who played the drums but because he was so bad they gave him the role of vocals and the drums moved to Mark Pickerel when he was later replaced by Barrett Martin.
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7. Along with the scene that developed in Seattle, the band "Screaming Trees" was an integral part of that period and even constituted a significant factor in the development of the scene.
8. In 1986 the band released their first EP called "Other Worlds" and despite many courtesies from major labels they signed to "Velvetone Records" and released their debut album "Clairvoyance" that year.
9. In 1987, the band released their second album "Even If and Especially When" after which they entered the "indie music" circle and went on tour around the United States.
10. In 1988 they released their third album “Invisible Lantern” and in 1989 they released their fourth album “Buzz Factory”.
11. In 1990 he released his first solo album "The Winding Sheet" under the famous label "Sub Pop". This album started as a B-Side project where Mark Pickerel, Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic were partners, after the latter left, the player joined other musicians and released the album as a solo album.
12. Lanegan said that while working on the album he had to learn to play the guitar because it was difficult for him to write the lyrics without music. He learned a number of basic chords on which he wrote most of the songs.
13. The fifth album "Uncle Anesthesia" was released in 1991 and was produced by Chris Cornell.
14. In 1992, the band released their breakthrough album "Sweet Oblivion" which released dizzying singles such as: "Nearly Lost You", "Dollar Bill", "Shadow of the Season" and "Butterfly" with the video clip of the song "Nearly Lost You ”is played non-stop on MTV.
15. The same song also got a big boost from the movie “Singles,” a movie that takes place alongside the grunge scene in Seattle.
16. In 1994, after almost three years of work and after being almost thrown in the trash, Lanegan released his second solo album “Whiskey for the Holy Ghost” which was more cohesive and more mature than the previous one.
17. In 1995 he partnered to play in the wonderful and one-time project called "Mad Season" which released one and only album called “Above”. Lanegan recorded vocals in the songs: "I'm Above", "Long Gone Day", "Locomotive", "Black Book of Fear", and "Slip Away". In the deluxe version in 2013.
18. In 1996, "Screaming Trees" released their last album "Dust". The two singles came out of the album: "All I Know", and "Dying Days".
19. Although the band was a significant part of the grunge scene it did not have as much commercial success as the Big Four that came out of Seattle and since it failed to get an album contract it disbanded.
20. In 1998 Lanegan released the third solo album "Scraps at Midnight", the album was recorded on "Joshua Tree" and produced by Mike Johnson.
21. In 1999 he released his fourth album which started with B-Side sessions and developed into a full album. The album "I'll Take Care of You" included covers of songs from the world of folk, punk, and R&B that he grew up playing.
22. He made his first collaboration with "Queens Of The Stone Age" in 2000 when he participated in the band's second album "Rated R". Lanegan participated in the songs: "In the Fade", "Leg of Lamb", "Autopilot" and "I Think I Lost My Headache".
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23. He then became a close friend of Josh Homme and a regular member of the band which participated in the band's subsequent albums including tours. Lanegan said in several interviews that it was the most satisfying lineup he had and that he just enjoyed creating and performing with his best friends.
24. In 2001 he released his fifth solo album “Field Songs”, featuring Duff McKagan and Ben Shepherd.
25. His sixth album “Bubblegum” released three years later has already featured a larger group of different and diverse artists like: P.J. Harvey, Josh Homme, Nick Oliveri, Greg Dulli, "Twilight Singers", Dean Ween, Duff McKagan and Izzy Stradlin This is Lanegan's most successful album to date.
26. In 2008 Lanegan released with Greg Dulli the only album "Saturnalia". The album on which the two worked for more than 5 years was a great success in the US and Europe and won many charts around the world. In the same year, the two released an EP of covers consisting of eight songs.
27. Lanegan has, a very long list of collaborations with different and varied artists in a variety of colors of the musical rainbow among which can be found: Tim Simone, "Soulsavers", Slash, Duke Garwood, "Massive Attack", "Unkle", Mark Morton, "Manic Street Preachers and many others.
28. In 2017 Lanegan released a book called “I Am the Wolf: Lyrics & Writings” which is a collection of songs he wrote and each song has an explanation.
29. Lanegan has released six more albums during his career, "Blues Funeral" (2012), "Imitations" (2013), "Phantom Radio" (2014), "Gargoyle" (2017), "Somebody’s Knocking" (2019) and "Straight Songs of Sorrow" (2020).
30. Lanegan died at his home in Killarney on the morning of February 22, 2022, at the age of 57.
Listen to the latest album by Lanegan "Straight Songs of Sorrow" on: Spotify, Apple Music
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