David Lynch pays tribute to his friend and collaborator Angelo Badalamenti
Composer Angelo Badalamenti worked on many notable projects throughout his career, ranging from National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation to The Wicker Man. However, his most prominent works included collaborations with iconic filmmaker David Lynch.
In an interview, Badalamenti recalled the beginning of their partnership (via Culture): “One day, I was at home and got a call from my friend P. I’ll never forget it. I knew Peter from working on Law and Disorder [1974]. He was a unit manager, and his friend Freddie Caruso was a line producer for Dino De Laurentiis. At that time, they were working on a movie called Blue Velvet, starring Dennis Hopper and Isabella Rossellini. The director was someone named David Lynch.”
The composer added: “When I played him the music, David just loved it. He asked me to find a singer who had a unique voice, someone who could sing like an angel. That’s when I made a few calls and found Julee Cruise. We went to the studio, and I had her whisper the song. She made that song float, and David went absolutely nuts. And then he asked me to do the score for the film.”
During the same conversation, Badalamenti also commented on his work in Twin Peaks. He said: “In Twin Peaks, for every outrageous character, I had a theme. I would disguise it in different ways. Some of the music went with the action, but in many cases, I tried to make the music go against the action.”
Following the tragic news of his death, many prominent figures have taken to social media to post tributes to the late composer. However, David Lynch included his tribute in his daily weather report, where he ominously declared: “Today, no music.”
Watch the tribute below.
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