K.d. lang

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kathryn Dawn Lang, OC (born November 2, 1961), best known by the stage name k.d. lang (without capital letters), is a Canadian singer and songwriter.

Contents 1 Biography 2 Discography 3 Trivia 4 Further reading 5 See also 6 External links

[edit] Biography

Lang was born in the small farming town of Consort, Alberta and grew up on the Canadian prairies; she is of German, Sioux, and Icelandic descent on her father's side, and has a Russian Jewish great grandmother on her mother's side.^{[citation needed]}

Singing at country and western venues in Canada, she made several recordings that received good reviews and earned a 1985 Canadian Juno Award for Most Promising Female Vocalist. She accepted the award wearing a wedding dress and made numerous tongue-in-cheek promises about what she would and not do in future, thus fulfilling the title of “Most Promising”.

In 1986, she signed a contract with an American record producer in Nashville, Tennessee and received critical acclaim for her 1987 album, Angel with a Lariat which was produced by Dave Edmunds.

Her career received a huge boost when rock legend Roy Orbison chose her to record a duet of his standard, "Crying". Instead of being overwhelmed by the power of Orbison's three-octave voice, the two blended their tremendous vocal ranges into a riveting collaboration that won them the Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals.

In 1988, she performed "Turn me Round" at the closing ceremonies of the XV Winter Olympiad in Calgary. Later that same year she would sing background vocals with Jennifer Warnes and Bonnie Raitt for Orbison's acclaimed television special, Roy Orbison and Friends, A Black and White Night.

k.d. lang guest starred on Pee-wee's Playhouse Christmas Special in 1988, where she sang "Jingle Bell Rock".

k.d. lang won the Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance for her 1989 album, Absolute Torch and Twang. The single "Full Moon of Love" that stemmed from that album became a modest hit in the United States in the summer of 1989.

In addition to her musical talents, k.d. lang, who came out as a lesbian in a 1992 article of the gay news magazine The Advocate, has actively championed gay rights causes. She has peformed and supported many causes over the years, including HIV/AIDS care and research. She is sometimes known for utilizing an androgynous physical appearance. Her animal rights vegetarian stands including a "Meat Stinks" campaign created much controversy, particularly at her hometown in the middle of Alberta's cattle ranching industry.

The album, Ingénue, released in 1992, contained her most popular song, "Constant Craving", which brought her multi-million sales, much critical acclaim, and the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Another top ten single from the record was "Miss Chatelaine". The salsa-inspired track was ironic; Chatelaine is a Canadian women's magazine which once chose lang as its "Woman of the Year".

In 1993, she starred in the Alaska-themed film Salmonberries, to generally poor reviews. She contributed much of the music towards Gus van Sant's soundtrack of the movie version of Tom Robbins's Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, and also did a cover of "Skylark" for the movie version of the book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. She also performed "Surrender" for the closing titles of the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies, having previously worked with Bond composer David Arnold on his album Shaken and Stirred: The David Arnold James Bond Project.

In 1996, she was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.

In 2003, she won her fourth Grammy Award, this time for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album for her collaboration with Tony Bennett, A Wonderful World.

On subsequent tours critical acclaim continued to come her way. For example, in 2004 Stephen Holden of The New York Times wrote: "Few singers command such perfection of pitch. Her voice, at once beautiful and unadorned and softened with a veil of smoke, invariably hits the middle of a note and remains there. She discreetly flaunted her technique, drawing out notes and shading them from sustained cries into softer, vibrato-laden murmurs. She balanced her commitment to the material with humor, projecting a twinkling merriment behind it all." (see [1]).

In the same year, she released Hymns of the 49th Parallel, which featured cover versions of songs by iconic Canadian singer-songwriters: Bruce Cockburn, Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell, Ron Sexsmith, Jane Siberry, and Neil Young.

On July 29th, 2006, Lang performed her hit "Constant Craving" at the Outgames Opening Ceremonies in Montreal, Canada.

In 2006 Lang duetted with singer Madeleine Peyroux on a cover of the Joni Mitchell song "River" for Peyroux's album Half the Perfect World.

Her idea to use her name in lower case letters pays tribute to E.E. Cummings.

[edit] Discography

• A Truly Western Experience (1984)
• Angel with a Lariat (1987)
• Shadowland (1988)
• Absolute Torch and Twang (1989)
• Ingenue (1992)
• Even Cowgirls Get the Blues [soundtrack] 1993
• All You Can Eat (1995)
• Drag (1997)
• Invincible Summer (2000) inspired by her relationship with Leisha Hailey
• Live by Request (2001)
• A Wonderful World (2002) with Tony Bennett
• Hymns of the 49th Parallel (2004)
• Reintarnation A compilation of her early country based songs. (2006)

[edit] Trivia

• k.d. lang appeared on the cover of the first issue of Entertainment Weekly.

• k.d. lang appeared as a singer in a lesbian club in the 2006 film, "The Black Dahlia"

[edit] Further reading

• Are You Ready for the Country: Elvis, Dylan, Parsons and the Roots of Country Rock, Peter Dogget, Penguin Books, 2001. ISBN 0-140-26108-7
• Dreaming Out Loud: Garth Brooks, Wynonna Judd, Wade Hayes and the changing face of Nashville, Bruce Feiler, Avon Books, 1998. ISBN 0-380-97578-5

[edit] See also

• Academy of Country Music
• List of country musicians
• Country Music Association
• List of number-one dance hits (United States)
• List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart

[edit] External links

• Official website
• kdlang.com
• k.d.lang co.uk
• k.d. lang Community Forum
• k.d. lang Myspace
• k.d. lang at the Internet Movie Database
• InnerVIEWS with Ernie Manouse: k.d. lang (TV Interview)
• MoreThings Music analysis and photo gallery
• k.d. lang's Lyrics
• k.d. lang's Sexuality