Julee Cruise was born in Creston, Iowa, a farming community "with kind of a bad reputation for shootings, stabbings and alcoholism." Her father was the town dentist for whom it was not unusual to take his fee in produce. As a child who cheerfully embraced neurosis, Julee found her métier in grammar school talent shows; singing, dancing, playing horn, trumpet and most brass instruments from the time she was five. Fellow Crestonite Marcia Wallace (Bob Newhart's TV secretary) was her childhood babysitter, eerily enough.
Julee has a degree in French Horn from Drake University and has played with a number of symphony orchestras. As her college days drew to a close, Julee lit out for Minneapolis' famed Guthrie Theatre and began a career trajectory into theater which eventually led her to New York's East Village. With regional theater experience and a McDonald's commercial under her belt, Julee landed a part in the chorus of a country and western musical whose musical director was none other than Angelo Badalamenti. It was Badalamenti, a fellow French horn player, who put Julee's vocals on 'Mysteries of Love' for David Lynch's film Blue Velvet. Julee also worked with Badalamenti and Lynch on the infamous Industrial Symphony #1 which inaugurated The Brooklyn Academy of Music's Next Wave Festival in the late eighties, where she performed in a prom dress while suspended eighty feet above the opera house stage. A live film version was released as an original full-length performance video.
Cruise, Badalamenti and Lynch then recorded 'Floating Into The Night' which charted on Billboard in 1990. The music was subsequently adapted for the ground-breaking television series Twin Peaks, in which Julee had a recurring role. The soundtrack went on to become the largest-selling TV soundtrack of its time. 'Falling, the unforgettable Twin Peaks theme song, was also a hit for Julee. She followed up with an international concert tour, including a wildly successful debut at London's legendary Palladium, and a controversial musical guest appearance on Saturday Night Live (she stepped in when Sinead O'Connor refused to appear with host Andrew Dice Clay). Julee appeared in the movie Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me and on the soundtrack, and sang the movie's theme song 'Questions in a World Of Blue under a full moon on a beach in the French Riviera for the film's premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in 1992. Badalamenti also featured her voice at the opening ceremonies of the 1992 Summer Olympic Games in Barcelona. 'Voice of Love', Julee's second solo album marked her writing debut with 'In My Other World', co-written with Louis Tucci.
Along with U2, REM, K.D. Lang and others, Julee's singing was heard in the Wim Wenders movie Until The End Of The World, doing a cover of the old Elvis tune 'Summer Kisses, Winter Tears,' which was subsequently used as the music behind a Kim Bassinger lingerie commercial. She also wrote and performed a song on the first Scream soundtrack.
Julee's stage credits include House Of Blue Leaves, A Little Night Music, Beehive, Little Shop Of Horrors, Cabaret, and Pump Boys and Dinettes. Fred Schneider saw Julee in the off-Broadway production of Return to the Forbidden Planet and recruited her as a replacement for lead singer Cindy Wilson who was taking a maternity leave. Julee has done several worldwide tours with the B-52s and gave a featured performance with the band at Bill Clinton's inauguration.
Moby has called Julee his 'favorite singer'. She has recorded and performed with him as well as with the British breakbeat techno act Hybrid, Delerium, Eric Kupper, DJ Dimitri, DJ Silver, Kid Congo Powers (of the Cramps and NickCave), Sven Van Hees, Certain General, Piethopraxis, The Hot Heads, Biftek and Moodswings, among others. She has co-written and sung numerous tracks on Khan's last three CD releases and she performs regularly with him in the US and Europe. Julee's vocals frequently appear on international compilations too numerous to mention, TV commercials and TV and movie soundtracks.
Julee lives in Manhattan with her husband Edward Grinnan and their dogs.
