Julee Ann Cruise (December 1, 1956 – June 9, 2022) was an American singer and actress, known for her collaborations with composer Angelo Badalamenti and film director David Lynch in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Cruise is best known for her 1989 single "Falling"; an instrumental version was used as the theme song for the television series Twin Peaks in which she appeared in a recurring role as a roadhouse singer.
[5][6] She studied French horn at Drake University[7] and performed as a singer and actress in Minneapolis with the Children's Theater Company[8] (notably in the role of Jinjur in stage adaptations of L. Frank Baum's Oz books).
[9] In 1985, Badalamenti was composing the score for David Lynch's Blue Velvet, as well as serving as the vocal coach for the film's star, Isabella Rossellini.
[10] A key scene in Blue Velvet was intended to feature This Mortal Coil's version of "Song to the Siren" by Tim Buckley, with lead vocal by Elizabeth Fraser.
The result of their initial collaboration was "Mysteries of Love", which figures prominently in Blue Velvet's closing scenes and gained a cult following.
[20] The following year, Cruise recorded a Lynch- and Badalamenti-produced cover of the Elvis Presley song "Summer Kisses, Winter Tears" for the soundtrack of Wim Wenders's Until the End of the World.
[23] "She Would Die for Love" was also covered by alternative metal band Fantômas on their The Director's Cut album as "Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me".
[2] For example, "Into the Night" begins with the whispered words "Now it's dark", a line which was repeatedly spoken by Frank Booth, Dennis Hopper's character, in Blue Velvet.
Lynch also photographed Cruise for the liner notes of Floating Into the Night and The Voice of Love, and created the sculptures featured on the covers of both albums.
Instead, the music and lyrics for each of the songs were written by Cruise herself (with the exception of an updated version of the single "Falling"), and produced by Rick Strom and Mocean Worker.
[31] She appeared as Andy Warhol (among other characters, including Susan Sontag) in the 2004 Keith Haring bio-musical Radiant Baby at The Public Theater/New York Shakespeare Festival, directed by George C.
[36] She provided vocals and lyrics to several of the songs on Wide Angle (1999), the debut album by Welsh electronic music group Hybrid, notably the nu skool breaks track "If I Survive".
[37] She was featured in two songs on Supa DJ Dmitry's (formerly of Deee-Lite) album Scream of Consciousness (2000): "Don't Talk Me Down" (originally issued on TVT 7311-0 12") and a cover of David Bowie's "Space Oddity".
[38] Cruise appeared as a guest vocalist on Sarcast While, the 2006 full-length album from the New York band, Time of Orchids, released on Tzadik Records.
[37] She also provided vocals alongside Pharrell Williams on Handsome Boy Modeling School's song "Class System", produced by Prince Paul.
[42][36] In 2001, Cruise contributed two exclusive tracks to the An American Nightmare (which stars David Hess) soundtrack CD maxi-single, "In Your World of Blue" and "Never Let You Go".
[37] That same year, Cruise's song "The World Spins" was featured in an extended ballet sequence in Robert Altman's The Company.
[5] On March 28, 2018, Cruise announced on her Facebook page that she had systemic lupus, which caused her considerable pain and affected her ability to walk and stand.