RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Seattle grunge pioneer Mark Lanegan has died. He started as lead singer of the band Screaming Trees in the 1980s.
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
The hard rock group was best known for their single "Nearly Lost You," and Lanegan was known for his deep bass voice.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "NEARLY LOST YOU")
SCREAMING TREES: (Singing) I nearly lost you there.
MARTÍNEZ: In an interview with NPR in 2019, writer Mark Yarm, author of a book about grunge, described Screaming Trees this way.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)
MARK YARM: They were led by Mark Lanegan, who's a big, brooding guy.
MARTIN: He says they had a reputation for getting in some fights.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)
YARM: Amongst the grunge guys, they were kind of the rowdy bunch, I'd say.
MARTIN: Lanegan also sang with the band Queens of the Stone Age and co-wrote their hit "No One Knows."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "NO ONE KNOWS")
QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE: (Singing) We get some rules to follow.
MARTÍNEZ: Lanegan was 57. No cause of death was given. But in a recent book, he detailed a battle with COVID that put him in a coma for three weeks. He died at his home in Killarney, Ireland.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "NO ONE KNOWS")
QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE: (Singing) And I realize you're mine. Indeed a... Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.