Angelo Badalamenti — who composed the iconic scores for Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet and Mulholland Drive, among many more achievements — has died at age 85.
Badalamenti's death was confirmed by several family members. His grand-nephew took to Instagram today to write, "My Great uncle Angelo Badalamenti has crossed the barrier onto another plane of existence."
Badalamenti was born in Brooklyn, NY, in 1937 to a Sicilian family. He began playing piano at a young age, going on to accompany vocalists at resorts in the Catskill Mountains as a teen. He graduated with a master's degree from the Manhattan School of Music in 1959, after which he began his long and storied career in the world of film and television scores.
Badalamenti collaborated with David Lynch to write "Mysteries of Love," sung by Julee Cruise but performed by Isabella Rossellini, for Lynch's 1986 film Blue Velvet. Badalamenti would go on to create the timeless scores for Lynch's Twin Peaks, Wild at Heart, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, Lost Highway and Mulholland Drive, among dozens of other films and television series.
Perhaps Badalamenti's most enduring work is "Falling," his 1989 collaboration with Lynch and Julee Cruise, the instrumental version of which also served as the theme song for Twin Peaks. Cruise died earlier this year at 65.
Listen to "Falling" and see some tributes to Badalamenti below.
Badalamenti's death was confirmed by several family members. His grand-nephew took to Instagram today to write, "My Great uncle Angelo Badalamenti has crossed the barrier onto another plane of existence."
Badalamenti was born in Brooklyn, NY, in 1937 to a Sicilian family. He began playing piano at a young age, going on to accompany vocalists at resorts in the Catskill Mountains as a teen. He graduated with a master's degree from the Manhattan School of Music in 1959, after which he began his long and storied career in the world of film and television scores.
Badalamenti collaborated with David Lynch to write "Mysteries of Love," sung by Julee Cruise but performed by Isabella Rossellini, for Lynch's 1986 film Blue Velvet. Badalamenti would go on to create the timeless scores for Lynch's Twin Peaks, Wild at Heart, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, Lost Highway and Mulholland Drive, among dozens of other films and television series.
Perhaps Badalamenti's most enduring work is "Falling," his 1989 collaboration with Lynch and Julee Cruise, the instrumental version of which also served as the theme song for Twin Peaks. Cruise died earlier this year at 65.
Listen to "Falling" and see some tributes to Badalamenti below.