Julee Cruise, a singer best known for her work with David Lynch and her time in The B-52s, has died aged 65.
Her death was announced on Facebook this morning (June 10) in a post apparently by her husband, the author Edward Grinnan. It read: “I said goodby to my wife, Julee Cruise, today. She left this realm on her own terms. No regrets. She is at peace.”
Cruise famously sang the song ‘Falling’, which featured lyrics by Lynch and music by Angelo Badalamenti. The instrumental was used as the theme tune for Lynch’s Twin Peaks series in 1990, with the vocal version and two other songs, ‘Into The Night’ and ‘The Nightingale’ appearing on the official soundtrack.
One of my favorite scenes of all time amplified so much by Julee Cruise’s beautiful music. RIP to a legend. pic.twitter.com/NaA0ldgJTZ
— Jared (@Name112a7) June 10, 2022
Cruise’s vocal version of ‘Falling’ became a global hit that reached number seven in the UK singles chart and number one in Australia. Lynch and Badalamenti also worked on her 1989 album ‘Floating Into The Night’.
Her first collaboration with Lynch was for the 1986 film ‘Blue Velvet’, which prominently features another Badalamenti collaboration ‘Mysteries Of Love’. She also appeared in the director’s 1990 avant-garde concert ‘Industrial Symphony No. 1: The Dream of the Broken Hearted’.
In the 1990s she became a member of The B-52s, touring sporadically throughout the decade as a stand-in for Cindy Wilson. In 1993, she released a cover of Elvis Presley’s ‘Summer Kisses, Winter Tears’ for the soundtrack of Wim Wenders’ Until the End of the World.
Her husband Grinnan’s Facebook post noted her time in the band as “the happiest of her performing life.” He added that he played the B-52s song ‘Roam’ “during her transition. Now she will roam forever.”
Cruise’s final solo album was 2011’s ‘My Secret Life’. In 2018, it was reported that she had been diagnosed with systemic lupus, causing her considerable pain and affecting her ability to walk and stand.