Van Conner Siblings: Who Is Gary Lee Conner?

Gary Lee Conner is best known as one of the siblings of Van Conner, a renowned bassist and co-founder of the influential hard-rock group Screaming Trees.

The Conner Brother founded the Screaming Trees in 1984 together with vocalist Mark Lanegan and drummer Mark Pickerel.

Their first EP was recorded in 1985, a year after its formation.

By 1986, the group’s first studio set Clairvoyance was released through Velvetone Records and helped the band to secure a recording contract through SST Records.

Screaming Trees released nine album during their tenure, with a tenth, Last Words: The Final Recordings, surfacing in 2011 after they had split.

Their 1992 album, Sweet Oblivion, was the first to crack the Billboard 200, peaking at No. 141 while bolstered by the group’s biggest hit, “Nearly Lost You,” which also featured on the Singles soundtrack.

The band also came up with radio songs, including: “Bed of Roses” from the Uncle Anesthesia album, “Dollar Bill” from Sweet Oblivion and “All I Know” off their Dust record.

The group also contributed the song “Darkness, Darkness” to the True Lies soundtrack and covered the title song from the John Lennon tribute album, Working Class Hero.’

Sadly, Gary Lee Conner’s brother Van Conner has passed away.

Gary Lee announced his brother’s death via a Facebook post which reads:

“Van Conner bassist and songwriter of Screaming Trees died last night of an extended illness at 55.”

“It was pneumonia that got him in the end. He was one of the closest friends I ever had and I loved him immensely. I will miss him forever and ever and ever.”