Angelo Badalamenti, the composer who worked with David Lynch on Twin Peaks as well as Blue Velvet and Mulholland Drive, has died at age 85.
David Lynch left a video message simply saying “today, no music” in the middle of a rave about the weather.
Badalamenti’s nephew said in a post, “My great uncle Angelo Badalamenti has crossed the barrier onto another plane of existence. Between his work on Blue Velvet, Twin Peaks, Cabin Fever, Nightmare On Elm Street 3 and a plethora of others, plus his relationships & collaborations with David Bowie, Michael Jackson, Paul McCartney, Nina Simone, Julee Cruise, Isabella Rosselini, Dolores O’Riordan, Anthrax, Dokken, Eli Roth and especially David Lynch, he has always been the most interesting man in the world to me. A true musical and artistic inspiration for me and countless others. Stayed true to his roots and family, never leaving North Jersey for LA. Not to mention the casual but mind blowing true stories from his life he never ran out of. He will truly be missed by many.
“Chi ha vissuto una buona vita ha una buona morte.”
(Who has lived a good life has a good death.)”
Badalamenti won the 1990 Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance for the ‘Twin Peaks Theme’.
He first started working with David Lynch when he was hired as Isabella Rossellini’s singing coach for David Lynch’s 1965 movie ‘Blue Velvet’. Rossellini sang ‘Mysteries of Love’, with words by Lynch and music by Badalamenti.
Lynch and Badalamenti also wrote ‘Falling’ by Julee Cruise for Twins Peaks.
In 1992 Badalmenti also composed the opening theme for the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.
The extreme end of his career came when he collaborated with Anthrax on Black Lodge.
Angelo’s last movie theme was for the Nicolas Cage movie Between Worlds in 2018. In 2018 he also collaborated again with David Lynch for the Thought Gang project.
