Who Was Rebekah Del Rio? All We Know About Mulholland Drive Singer's Sudden Demise at 57

Pink Villa

12 hours ago

Trigger Warning: This article contains mention of death.
Rebekah Del Rio has passed away. The singer of Mulholland Drive and the popular musician who performed Llorando in David Lynch's classic was announced dead at her residence by the Los Angeles Coroner's Office.
The singer was 57. No further details about the unfortunate incident were revealed.
The vocalist made her mark in the music industry during the early 90s. She went on to gain fame after collaborating with Lynch.
Rebekah Del Rio and David Lynch's long-standing collaboration
Rebekah Del Rio and David Lynch first met in the mid-90s and collaborated under a country record deal in Nashville. The opportunity turned out to be huge for the singer, as she crooned to the lyrics of Llorando, a Spanish-language cover of Roy Orbison's Crying. When the duo first met, Lynch asked Del Rio to sing the track and recorded her raw voice.
While the song was a huge hit among listeners, it also played a significant role in transforming the Club Silencio scene. The song was later included in Mulholland Drive, an ABC pilot that had already been rejected and that Lynch was reworking into a feature film.
The sequence in the film marks an emotional turmoil of the leads, Naomi Watts and Laura Elena Harring, who both burst into tears as they watched Del Rio performing the track.
In her interview with IndieWire in 2022, the musician reflected on her hit song. Del Rio said, "There were many takes. And with every take, I sang along, because I felt I had to produce that same feeling with the vibrato in my throat so the audience could see it."
She further added, I also wanted the beautiful girls in the balcony [the film's stars], Laura Harring and Naomi Watts, to experience it live. They were present while I was doing my scene, so I sang to them."
Exploring Rebekah Del Rio's career
Following her popularity in the music industry with Llorando, the singer was approached by writer-director Richard Kelly, and the two collaborated on his 2006 sci-fi dystopian film, Southland Tales.
The musician went on to record Sin City, Man on Fire, and Streets of Legend. She also performed The Star-Spangled Banner during the apocalyptic final act.
The singer then continued her collaboration with David Lynch in the later years as well. They worked together on the tracks of various films that the latter directed.
Del Rio was born on July 10, 1967, in California. When she began performing in San Diego, she relocated to Los Angeles.