Grunge legend Van Conner has passed away at the age of 55. The American musician is best known for his band Screaming Trees, which he once co-founded and played bass there. His brother Gary Lee Conner (60) confirmed the news of death in a Facebook post on Wednesday. It states that Van Conner passed away "after a long illness". In the end, he did not survive pneumonia.

Back on January 5th, Gary Lee informed Screaming Trees fans that his brother was hospitalized with a liver infection. He has suffered from "a series of health issues" that have plagued him since late 2021. Van Conner has not been able to walk for a long time and was in a coma after an "emergency stomach operation" before Christmas 2021. He also had to survive a severe course of a corona infection that led to a blood clot in the lungs and "severely damaged the organ".

Van Conner had been bedridden for several months and had made no progress in his recovery. His brother "avoided getting the medical help he needs." He asked all fans to send positive energy and pray for Van Conner. In an update on Jan. 9, Gary Lee then said there was a glimmer of hope and his brother's liver wasn't completely destroyed yet. Already at the beginning of the year his life was "on the brink for several days".

Gary Lee and Van Conner formed the grunge band Screaming Trees with drummer Mark Pickerel and singer Mark Lanegan (1964-2022) in the mid-1980s. They became part of the emerging grunge movement in the Seattle, Washington area, which also included Pearl Jam, Nirvana and Soundgarden. The Screaming Trees were active until 2000. Her biggest hits in the early '90s were songs like "Nearly Lost You" and "Dollar Bill".

Frontman Lanegan, who was also a member of Queens of the Stone Age and worked together with Nirvana icon Kurt Cobain (1967-1994) on solo projects, died in February 2022 at the age of 57. The cause of death has not yet been announced.