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kd lang Information
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'k.d. lang' (without capital letters; real name 'Kathryn Dawn Lang') (born November 2, 1961) is a Canadian singer and songwriter.
Biography
She was born in Consort, Alberta and grew up on the Alberta prairies. Singing at country and western venues in her homeland, she made several recordings that received good reviews and earned a 1985 Canadian Juno Award for Most Promising Female Vocalist.
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. 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.
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 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 identifies as homosexual, has championed lesbian causes. Her animal rights vegetarian stands including a "Meat Stinks" campaign has created much controversy, particularly at her hometown in the middle of Alberta's cattle ranching industry.
The album, Ingenue, 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.
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."
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)
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