K.D. Lang

Infobox Musical artist
Name = k.d. lang


Img_capt =
Img_size =
Landscape =
Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = Kathryn Dawn Lang
Alias =
Born = birth date and age|1961|11|2
Died =
Origin = Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Instrument =
Genre = Country, pop
Occupation = Singer-songwriter
Years_active = 1984–present
Label = Bumstead, Sire, Warner Bros., Nonesuch
Associated_acts =
URL = [http://www.kdlang.com/ www.kdlang.com]

k.d. lang, OC (born Kathryn Dawn Lang, November 2, 1961) [The artist gives her name in lowercase letters, with the given names contracted to initials and no space between these initials. See also: [http://www.kdlang.com www.kdlang.com] ] [cite web
title = "K.D. Lang: A Who2 Profile"
work = who2.com
url = http://www.who2.com/kdlang.html
accessdate = 2008-06-29] is a Grammy Award-winning Canadian singer and songwriter.

Biography

Early years

Lang was born on November 2, 1961, in Edmonton, Alberta, to Audrey and Fred Lang. The family moved to Consort, Alberta, when she was nine months old, and there she grew up with her two sisters and one brother on the Canadian prairie.Fact|date=June 2008

When she attended Red Deer College, Lang became drawn to country music. [cite web
title = "k.d. lang: Biography"
work = CMT.com
date = 2004-06-21
url = http://www.cmt.com/artists/az/lang_kd/bio.jhtml
accessdate = 2008-06-29] . Soon, she became fascinated with the life and music of Patsy Cline and ultimately determined to pursue a career as a professional singer. Lang formed a Patsy Cline tribute band called the Reclines in 1983, and they recorded a debut album, Friday Dance Promenade. Also in 1983, she presented a performance art piece, a seven-hour re-enactment of the transplantation of an artificial heart for Barney Clark, a retired American dentist. [cite book
last = Adria
first = Marco
title = Music of Our Times: Eight Canadian Singer-Songwriters
date = 1990
publisher = James Lorimer & Company
location = Toronto
isbn = 1-55028-315-4
pages = pp. 139-44
chapter = A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Cowpunk: K.D. Lang] [cite web
title = "Lang, K.D. Biography: Contemporary Musicians"
work = enotes.com
url = http://www.enotes.com/contemporary-musicians/lang-k-d-biography
accessdate = 2008-06-29] "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 good 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, Tennessee, and received critical acclaim for her 1987 album, "Angel with a Lariat", which was produced by Dave Edmunds.

Career rise

Her career received a huge boost when Roy 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 year 1988 marked the release of "Shadowland", an album of torch country produced by the legendary Owen Bradley. That year she performed "Turn Me Round" at the closing ceremonies of the XV Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta. 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". Lang also guest-starred on "Pee-wee's Playhouse Christmas Special" in 1988, where she sang "Jingle Bell Rock".

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.

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.

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 colours 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, "".

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." [cite web
title = "JVC Jazz Festival Reviews: Tai Chi Precision and Constant Shading"
Publisher = "The New York Times"
date = 2004-06-21
url = http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F07E4DD1239F932A15755C0A9629C8B63
accessdate = 2008-06-29]

In the same year, she 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. [cite web
title = "k.d. lang - View the Music Artists Biography Online"
Publisher = VH1
url = http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/lang_kd/bio.jhtml
accessdate = 2008-06-29] 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, "". 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. [cite web
title = "k.d. lang Eyeing February for Next Album"
publisher = "Billboard"
date = 2007-10-10
url = http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003656384
accessdate = 2007-10-11] . It is her first collection of original material since "Invincible Summer" (2000).

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). Lang 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 "Ellen".

Activism

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 is sometimes known for utilizing an androgynous physical appearance. She has performed and supported many causes over the years, including HIV/AIDS care and research. 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; but 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. [cite web
title = "K.D. Lang's Career Takes Another Twist"
work = AfterEllen.com
date = April 2004
url = http://www.afterellen.com/archive/ellen/Music/kdlang.html
accessdate = 2008-06-29]

Lang collaborated with Annie Lennox in the production of the charity record Sing released on December 1, 2007 (World AIDS Day), to raise awareness of the transmission of HIV to unborn children in Africa.Fact|date=June 2008

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 Olympic torch relay made its way through the Australian capital. [cite web
title = "Canadian Singer k.d. lang Will Protest for Tibetans Today: Here She Tells Why"
work = The Age
date = 2008-04-24
url = http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/canadian-singer-kd- _wi. CTV]
date = 2008-06-03
url = http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080603/walk_fame_080603/20080603?hub=TopStories
accessdate = 2008-06-03]

Discography

ee 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

Further reading

* cite book
last = Adria
first = Marco
title = Music of Our Times: Eight Canadian Singer-Songwriters
date = 1990
publisher = James Lorimer & Company
location = Toronto
isbn = 1-55028-315-4
pages = pp. 139-44
chapter = A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Cowpunk: K.D. Lang
* cite book
last = Bufwack
first = Mary A.
editor = Paul Kingsbury
title = The Encyclopedia of Country Music
date = 1998
publisher = Oxford University Press
location = New York
isbn = 978-0-19-517608-7
pages = pp. 289-90
chapter = K.D. Lang
* cite book
last = Dogget
first = Peter
title = Are You Ready for the Country: Elvis, Dylan, Parsons and the Roots of Country Rock
date = 2001
publisher = Penguin Books
location =
isbn = 0-14-026108-7
pages =
* cite book
last = Feiler
first = Bruce
title = Dreaming Out Loud: Garth Brooks, Wynonna Judd, Wade Hayes and the Changing Face of Nashville
date = 1998
publisher = Avon Books
location =
isbn = 0-380-97578-5
pages =

References

External links

* [http://www.kdlang.com/ Official website]
*
* [http://www.shambhalasun.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3184&Itemid=247 Shambhala Sun Magazine Interview]