Mark Linkous, the critically acclaimed Virginia singer-songwriter who recorded under the name Sparklehorse, committed suicide on Saturday in Knoxville, Tenn., according to a statement released by his family. He was 47.
"It is with great sadness that we share the news that our dear friend and family member, Mark Linkous, took his own life today," read the posting on the official Sparklehorse website. "We are thankful for his time with us and will hold him forever in our hearts."
Linkous, who was known for his collection of vintage instruments that included several Epiphone Casinos, released four albums with Sparklehorse.
The band’s 1995 debut, Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot chronicled Linkous’ battle with heroin withdrawal through gothic country ballads, spawning the minor hit “Someday I Will Treat You Good." It was also a major inspiration for Radiohead's OK Computer.
But while in London promoting the disc in 1996, Linkous suffered a near-overdose of Valium and antidepressants that stopped his heart for two minutes and briefly paralyzed his legs before he learned to walk again using braces.
After the group’s 2006 album, Dreamt For Light Years In The Belly Of A Mountain, came out, Linkous talked openly about his ongoing struggles.
“For a while there I got in a really bad state of depression and just could not work at all,” he told Magnet Magazine. “I’d always had bouts with it, but after the last record came out and 9/11 happened, it just triggered a lot of bad (expletive). A lot of people started dying around me, and I really thought it was the end of the world—Revelation—and no one else knew it but me.”
Linkous’ death came just days after it was announced that his long-delayed collaboration with producer Danger Mouse and the director David Lynch, Dark Night of the Soul, would get an official release this summer.
(Gibson Guitar News)