k.d. lang

Kathryn Dawn Lang was born 2 November 1961 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and grew up on a prairie with her brother and two sisters. While attending Red Deer College she developed a deep level of respect for the country artist Patsy Cline and decided to follow in her footsteps of becoming a professional entertainer.

In 1983 Lang took her love for the singer a step further and formed a Patsy Cline tribute band know as the Reclines. They released the album “Friday Dance Promenade” and toured at historically significant venues such as the Sidetrack Cafe. The next album they released, “A Truly Western Experience” was credited to k.d. Lang and the Reclines and is often considered Lang’s studio debut album. This release made her a national sensation and earned her a performance slot at the World Science Fair in Tsukuba, Japan.

Lang’s status as a Canadian cultural treasure continued to stratify with her 1985 acceptance of the Juno Award for “Most Promising Female Vocalist” and hints of her future international success became visible with her collaborations with producers from Cardiff, Wales and Nashville, Tennessee. Her 2nd studio album “Angel with a Lariat” (also her 1st release outside of Canada) branched out of the outlines of the country genre and introduced styles like rockabilly and even new wave into the mix. The album received very positive reactions, but it was not until her performance at the Winter Olympics and the issue of her Grammy award winning duet with Roy Orbison that she came into widespread international recognition.

In 1988 Lang released her breakthrough album “Shadowland”, a lush record highlighted by appearances such as Loretta Lynn , Kitty Wells, and Brenda Lee. It was produced by the legendary Owen Bradley and carried into soaring heights by Lang’s well-defined radiant voice. The album jumped to no.9 on the U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums as well as on the Canadian RPM Top Country Albums. The Canadian Country Music Association also named “Shadowland” album of the year.

Lang picked up the Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance for her follow up album “Absolute Torch and Twang” and set new standards with her 1992 release “Ingenue”. Though “Ingenue” veered from the traditional backwoods country sound it still managed to echo many of the genres sentiments albeit in a more verbose and sophisticated style. “Ingenue” showcased Lang’s eclecticism as it incorporated elements of chamber pop, jazz, and even salsa. It also produced two of her biggest hits “Miss Chatelaine” and “Constant Craving” (the latter earning her a Grammy Award).

Lang’s presence in pop culture became even more prominent as she contributed several compositions to the movies. In 1993 she wrote the soundtrack for the Gus Van Sant film “Even Cowgirls Get the Blues” and also sung the song “Surrender”, which closed out the James Bond movie “Tomorrow Never Dies”.

She delved further into a pop/rock direction with her 1995 album “All You Can Eat”, which proved to be another critical achievement for Lang, even though it did not match the commercial success of her previous releases. 1997 welcomed the release of her album “Drag”, a homograph referring primarily to smoking, but also hinting at cross dressing. This album was composed entirely of covers and featured works such as Albert Hammond’s “The Air That I Breathe”, T-Bone Burnett’s “Till the Heart Caves In”, and David Barbe’s “Your Smoke Screen”.

Lang’s career stayed strong throughout the 2000s. She started off the decade with the release of “Invincible Summer” and followed it a year later with a duet album “A Wonderful World” with Tony Bennett. She put out her two proceeding albums “Hymns of the 49th Parallel” and “Watershed” through the label Nonsuch Records and achieved Platinum status in Canada with the former of the two. Her compilation album “Recollection” was also a hit as was her 13th studio album “Sing It Loud” (2011).

Aside from her career as a musician, Lang is actively involved in gay rights, animal rights and Tibetan human rights (she is an open practitioner of the old school philosophy of Tibetan Buddhism).