Singer-songwriter Julee Cruise has died at the age of 65, according to her husband, Edward Grinnan. Grinnan confirmed the news in a Facebook post on June 9, writing, “I said goodbye to my wife, Julee Cruise, today. She left this realm on her own terms. No regrets. She is at peace.” Cruise was best known for her collaborations with David Lynch and composer Angelo Badalamenti on the soundtracks of the 1986 film Blue Velvet and Twin Peaks. Cruise recorded the original track “Mysteries of Love” for Blue Velvet and the vocal version of Twin Peaks’s theme song, “Falling.” Both songs appeared on her 1989 debut album, Floating into the Night, with lyrics written by Lynch. Cruise’s ethereal vocals defined the sonic tone of Twin Peaks on soundtrack cuts like “Into the Night,” “The Nightingale,” “The World Spins,” and “Rockin’ Back Inside My Heart.” Cruise made appearances as a singer at the Roadhouse in the series and its 1992 follow-up film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, in which she performed her song “Questions in a World of Blue.” Cruise made her final television appearance in the finale of Twin Peaks: The Return in 2017.
Beyond Twin Peaks, Cruise performed in Lynch and Badalamenti’s 1989 Brooklyn Academy of Music performance piece, Industrial Symphony No. 1. In 1990, she performed “Falling” on Saturday Night Live after Sinéad O’Connor withdrew as musical guest. Throughout the 1990s, Cruise was a touring member of the B-52’s, filling in for Cindy Wilson. In his Facebook post confirming Cruise’s death, Grinnan called this “the happiest time of her performing life,” and writes, “I played her Roam during her transition. Now she will roam forever. Rest In Peace, my love, and love to you all.”
