Van Conner, co-founder and bassist of American grunge band Screaming Trees, died early Wednesday morning. He was 55.
Gary Lee Conner announced his brother’s death on social media accounts and said Van Conner died of “an extended illness.”
“It was pneumonia that got him in the end,” Gary Lee wrote. “He was one of the closest friends I ever had and I loved him immensely. I will miss him forever and ever and ever…”
His Instagram and Facebook accounts set out the details of the health problems that beset his brother over an extended period.
Gary Lee gave Screaming Trees fans an update on his brother’s health just after Christmas, the Los Angeles Times reports.
File/Van Conner, bassist of Screaming Trees, keeps a watchful eye on excited fans who made their way backstage to see Eddie Vedder (R) after Rock for Choice concert at the Hollywood Palladium on January 23, 1993 in Los Angeles. (Lindsay Brice/Getty Images)
On Jan. 5, he wrote on Instagram that Van was “hospitalized with a liver infection” and had “also been suffering from an array of health problems since late 2021.”
Another update, posted Sunday to the Screaming Trees Facebook page, detailed more health complications Van had experienced.
“It’s going to be a long road for him but his family is giving him a lot of support. He has many more songs to write…” the post said.
Listen below as Gary Lee Conner honors his late brother:
Van and Gary Lee Conner formed Screaming Trees in a small Washington town in 1984.
In 1985, the band debuted its first EP, “Other Worlds,” and released one album every year up to 1989. Its most recent album was 2011’s “Last Words: Final Recordings,” the Times report sets out.
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