Diane Luckey, known as Q Lazzarus, died at the age of 61. Luckey is best known for her 1988 track “Goodbye Horses,” which was prominently featured in the 1990 film The Silence of the Lambs. The song was used in the scene where serial killer Buffalo Bill eerily talks to himself in the mirror.
At the end of July, an obituary published in the Asbury Park Press stated the New Jersey native died on July 19 after a brief illness. Eva Aridjis, a friend of Luckey’s, confirmed her death to Rolling Stone.
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Luckey was born on Dec. 12, 1960 in Neptune, New Jersey. She moved to New York City when she was 18 and began working at Sigma Sounds Studio as a backup singer. She began performing and recording under her alias, Q Lazzarus, in the ’80s with her backup band the Resurrection. She was a talented multi-instrumentalist and songwriter, playing guitar and piano. She also toured in the UK for several years.
While working as a taxi cab driver in the city, Luckey picked up director Jonathan Demme. According to Arijdis, Luckey played her own cassette in the car, and Demme liked her music. He ended up using a few of her recordings in his films including “The Candle Goes Away” (Something Wild), and “Goodbye Horses” (Married to the Mob, Philadelphia). Luckey also appeared in Philadephia, where she covered the Talking Heads’ “Heaven.”
Luckey had never secured a record deal, and following her role in Philadelphia, she disappeared from music and those close to her.
Aridjis is making a documentary about Luckey, titled Goodbye Horses: The Many Lives of Q Lazzarus, which will be released next year.
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