Mark William Lanegan

Mark William Lanegan was born in rural Ellensburg, Washington, and formed the Screaming Trees in 1984 with brothers Gary Lee and Van Conner. Emerging as one of the founding pillars of the Seattle grunge explosion alongside Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Alice in Chains, the Screaming Trees scored alternative rock hits including "Nearly Lost You" from their 1992 album Sweet Oblivion.

Possessing a cavernous, smoke-and-whiskey gravel baritone compared to Johnny Cash and Tom Waits, Lanegan embarked on a critically revered solo career with albums like The Winding Sheet (1990) and Bubblegum (2004). He contributed iconic lead vocals to Queens of the Stone Age's Songs for the Deaf (2002), recorded three acclaimed chamber-pop albums with Belle and Sebastian's Isobel Campbell, and authored the harrowing, unflinchingly honest bestselling memoir Sing Backwards and Weep (2020).