k.d. lang
OC (born Kathryn Dawn Lang
on November 2, 1961, in Edmonton, Alberta) is a Canadian pop and country singer-songwriter. The artist gives her name in lowercase letters, with the given names contracted to initials and no space between these initials. [1] [2]
Lang has won both Juno Awards and Grammy Awards for her musical performances. She is also known for being a vegetarian an animal rights advocate, and a lesbian.
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K.D. LANG TICKETS
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Biography
Early years
Born to parents Audrey and Fred Lang, k.d. moved with her family to
Consort, , when k.d. was nine months old, and there she grew up with her two sisters and one brother on the
Canadian prairie.
[3] Her father was a drugstore owner and left the family when Lang was twelve.
Upon completion of secondary school, k.d. attended
Red Deer College, where she became fascinated with the life and music of
Patsy Cline and ultimately determined to pursue a career as a professional singer.
[4] She formed a Patsy Cline tribute band called the Reclines in
1983, and they recorded a
debut album,
Friday Dance Promenade
. Also in 1983, lang presented a performance art piece, a seven-hour re-enactment of the transplantation of an
artificial heart for Barney Clark, a retired American dentist.
[5] [6] A Truly Western Experience
was released in 1984 and received strong reviews and led to national attention in Canada.
Singing at
country and western venues in Canada, lang made several recordings that received very positive reviews and earned a
1985 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 would not do in the future, thus fulfilling the title of "Most Promising." She has won eight Juno Awards.
In
1986, she signed a contract with an American record producer in
Nashville, , and received critical acclaim for her
1987 album,
Angel with a Lariat
, which was produced by
Dave Edmunds.
Career rise
She first came to the attention of the US audiences when she toured with
Roy Orbison as one of three female backup singers. Her career received a huge boost when Orbison chose her to record a duet of his standard,
"Crying", a collaboration that won them the
Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals in
1989. The song was first used in the
Jon Cryer film
Hiding Out
released in 1987.
1988 marked the release of
Shadowland
, an album of torch country produced by
Owen Bradley. That year she also performed "Turn Me Round" at the closing ceremonies of the
XV Winter Olympics in
Calgary, , and 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
.
Grammy Awards and mainstream success
Lang won the
American Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance for her 1989 album,
Absolute Torch and Twang
. The single "Full Moon Full of Love" that stemmed from that album became a modest hit in the United States in the summer of 1989 and a number 1 hit on the
RPM Country chart in Canada.
The 1992 album,
Ingénue
, a set of adult contemporary pop songs that showed comparatively little country influence, contained her most popular song, "
Constant Craving." That song 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," and the song's video depicted lang in an exaggeratedly feminine manner, surrounded by bright pastel colors and a profusion of bubbles reminiscent of a performance on the
Lawrence Welk show.
Lang contributed much of the music towards
Gus Van Sant's soundtrack of the film
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues
, and also did a cover of "
Skylark" for the
1997 film adaptation of
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
. She 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 1997,
Drag
, an album of cover tunes dedicated to 'smoke' (specifically cigarette smoking) was released, although the album cover and booklet photographs show lang in a men's suit, referring to
crossdressing as another possible meaning of the word 'drag'. The songs on
Drag
include "Smoke Dreams," from the '40s,
Steve Miller Band's "
The Joker," "Smoke Rings," the theme from the
cult movie Valley of the Dolls
, and 8 other smoke-themed songs.
Lang ranked #33 on
VH-1's 100 Greatest Women in Rock & Roll
in
1999 and #26 on
CMT' 40 Greatest Women in Country Music
in
2002, one of only eight women to make both lists. The others were
Linda Ronstadt,
Patsy Cline,
Dolly Parton,
Tammy Wynette,
Loretta Lynn,
Lucinda Williams and
Emmylou Harris.
In
2003, she won her fourth Grammy Award, this time for
Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album for her collaboration with
Tony Bennett on
A Wonderful World
.
On subsequent tours, critical acclaim continued to come her way. 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."
[7]
In the same year, lang released
Hymns of the 49th Parallel
, which featured cover versions of songs by iconic English-speaking Canadian
singer-songwriters:
Bruce Cockburn,
Leonard Cohen,
Joni Mitchell,
Ron Sexsmith,
Jane Siberry, and
Neil Young.
[8] According to the Canadian Record Industry Association (CRIA), in April 2006 the album went platinum in Canada selling over 100,000 copies. In December 2007 the album reached double platinum status in
Australia selling over 140,000 copies.
Also in 2004, she sang the song "Little Patch of Heaven" for the
Walt Disney Feature Animation film,
Home on the Range
.
On
July 29,
2006, lang performed her hit "Constant Craving" at the
Outgames Opening Ceremonies in
Montreal, Canada.
In 2006, lang paired with singer
Madeleine Peyroux on a cover of the
Joni Mitchell song "
River" for Peyroux's album,
Half the Perfect World
. That same year lang was featured in
Nellie McKay's second album,
Pretty Little Head
, singing with McKay in "We Had it Right". That same year, lang sang a version of
The Beatles' "
Golden Slumbers" for the
Happy Feet
film soundtrack.
In 2007, she partnered with
Anne Murray on a re-make of Murray's hit "
A Love Song," to be featured on Murray's CD,
Anne Murray Duets: Friends and Legends
. The duet was recorded in
Los Angeles, and on Murray's official website there is a picture of Murray and lang kneeling behind Murray's star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame. Anne Murray was one of lang's childhood idols.
She released an album of new material,
Watershed
on
February 5,
2008.
[9]. It is her first collection of original material since
Invincible Summer
(2000). An article in which Lang is interviewed states: "when she isn’t working, Lang is mostly a homebody, living quietly with a girlfriend she refers to as “my wife” – they’re not legally married – and her two dogs."
[10]
Film and television appearances
Lang played the lead in the
1991 drama film,
Salmonberries
, and also costarred with
Ewan McGregor and
Ashley Judd in
Eye of the Beholder
(
1999). She had an uncredited role as a lounge singer in
2006's
The Black Dahlia
. She has also made guest appearances on the sitcoms
The Larry Sanders Show
,
Dharma & Greg
and the famous coming out episode of
Ellen
. She appeared on the Christmas special of
Pee Wee's Playhouse, where she performed the song
Jingle Bell Rock. She also made a guest appearance on the "Garbage" episode of
The Jim Henson Hour
, And in 2008 appeared on Rove McManus' live hour show,
Rove
.
Activism
thumb
Lang, who
came out as a lesbian in a 1992 article of the
LGBT-related news magazine
The Advocate
, has actively championed
gay rights causes. She has performed and supported many causes over the years, including
HIV/
AIDS care and research. Her cover of
Cole Porter's "
So in Love" appears on the
Red Hot + Blue
compilation album and video from 1990, a benefit for AIDS research and relief.
Her animal rights
vegetarian stance, including a "Meat Stinks" campaign, created much controversy, particularly at her hometown in the middle of
Alberta's cattle ranching industry.
Lang appeared on the cover of the August 1993 issue of
Vanity Fair
. The cover featured lang in a
barber chair while model
Cindy Crawford appeared to shave her face with a straight razor. The issue contained a detailed article about lang which observed that she had thought that she would be ostracized by the country music industry when she came out as a lesbian. However, Nashville was accepting, and her records continued to sell. When she appeared in an ad for
PETA however, Nashville was less impressed owing to the relationship between country music and
cattle ranching.
[11]
In April 2008, lang spent time in
Melbourne, Australia, as a guest
editorialist for
The Age
. This was in connection with her support for the
Tibet human rights issues. On April 24, 2008, she joined pro-Tibet protesters in
Canberra as the
Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics torch relay made its way through the Australian capital.
[12]
Recognition
On June 3, 2008, it was announced that she would receive a star on
Canada's Walk of Fame.
[13]
Discography
Grammy Awards & Nominations
K.D. Lang has had 5 Grammy Nominations with 4 wins.
1989
- Grammy Award — Best Country Vocal Collaboration for "Crying" (Share with Roy Orbison)
1990
- Grammy Award — Best Female Country Vocal Performance for "Absolute Torch And Twang"
1993
- Grammy Award — Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Constant Craving"
1994
- Grammy Award Nomination — Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Miss Chatelaine"
2004
- Grammy Award — Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album for "A Wonderful World" (Share with Tony Bennett)
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