K.D. Lang
Encyclopedia
Kathryn Dawn Lang, OC
(born November 2, 1961), known by her stage name k.d. lang, is a Canadian pop
and country
singer-songwriter and occasional actress. She styles her name in lowercase letters, with the given names contracted to initials and no space between these initials.
Lang has won both Juno Award
s and Grammy Award
s for her musical performances; hits include "Constant Craving
" and "Miss Chatelaine". She has contributed songs to movie soundtracks and has teamed with musicians such as Roy Orbison
, Tony Bennett
, Elton John
, Anne Murray
and Jane Siberry. Lang is also known for being a vegan as well as an animal rights
, gay rights
, and Tibet
an human rights
activist. She is a tantric practitioner of the Old School of Tibetan Buddhism. She performed Leonard Cohen
's "Hallelujah" live at the opening ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver
, Canada.
, Alberta, the daughter of Audrey and Adam Frederick Lang.
She is of English, Irish, Scottish, German, Russian Jewish, Icelandic, and Sioux
ancestry.
When k.d. was nine months old, her family moved to Consort, Alberta
, where she grew up with two sisters and one brother on the Canadian prairie. Her father was a drug store owner and left the family when Lang was twelve.
After secondary school, lang 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.
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.
A Truly Western Experience
was released in 1984 and received strong reviews and led to national attention in Canada. In August 1984, k.d. lang was one of three Canadian artists to be selected to perform at the World Science Fair in Tsukuba, Japan (along with other performing and recording contracts throughout Japan).
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, Tennessee
, and received critical acclaim for her 1987 album, Angel with a Lariat
, which was produced by Dave Edmunds
.
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 used in the Jon Cryer
film Hiding Out
released in 1987. Due to the success of the song, lang was awarded Entertainer of the Year award from the Canadian Country Music Association
. Lang would win the same award for the next three years, in addition to two Female Vocalist of the Year awards in 1988 and 1989.
1988 marked the release of Shadowland, an album of torch country produced by Owen Bradley
. In late 1988, Shadowland was named Album of the Year by the Canadian Country Music Association. That year she also performed "Turn Me Round" at the closing ceremonies of the XV Winter Olympics
in Calgary, Alberta, and sang background vocals with Jennifer Warnes
and Bonnie Raitt
for Orbison's acclaimed television special, Roy Orbison and Friends, A Black and White Night
.
In 1990, Lang contributed the song "So in Love
" to the Cole Porter
tribute album Red Hot + Blue
produced by the Red Hot Organization
. In 1998, she contributed "Fado Hilário" to the AIDS benefit compilation album Onda Sonora: Red Hot + Lisbon
produced by the same organization.
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.
In 1989 she sang a duet, Sin City, with Dwight Yoakam
on his album "Just Lookin' for a Hit."
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
, a women's magazine, 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 received a writing credit for The Rolling Stones
' song "Anybody Seen My Baby?
", whose chorus sounds strikingly similar to "Constant Craving". Jagger and Richards claimed to have never heard the song before and when they discovered the similarity prior to the song's release, were flummoxed as to how the songs could be so similar. Jagger then soon discovered his daughter listening to a recording of “Constant Craving” on her stereo and realized he had heard the song before many times but only subliminally. The two gave Lang credit, along with her co-writer Ben Mink, in order to avoid any possible lawsuits. Afterwards, Lang said she was "completely honored and flattered" by receiving the songwriting credit.
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 man'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."
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
.
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". As well, lang sang a version of The Beatles
' "Golden Slumbers" for the Happy Feet film soundtrack. She also sang a duet with Ann Wilson
on the Heart
singer's solo album Hope & Glory
covering the Lucinda Williams
song "Jackson".
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. 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."
Lang's first complete Greatest Hits collection was released February 2, 2010 on the Nonesuch label as "Recollection". Her debut album, which was dedicated to her life partner, Jenni Coonan, was re-released as a deluxe version on February 9.
In 2010, lang was in Nashville, working on a new country album, titled Sing it Loud
. The album, officially recorded as a release by k.d. lang and the Siss Boom Bang, was released in spring 2011 release, via Nonesuch.
The band is touring North America in summer 2011.
. Lang played the lead in the 1991 drama film, Salmonberries
, and also co-starred 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.
Lang performed with the BBC Concert Orchestra for an intimate crowd at 18th century church LSO St Luke's in London on February 3, 2008. First aired as part of the BBC Four Sessions, the concert was released as a DVD entitled "Live In London" in 2009.
On February 12, 2010, she performed Leonard Cohen
's "Hallelujah" at the Olympics Opening Ceremony
in Vancouver, British Columbia. In early May 2010, Lang filled in at the last minute for Susan Boyle
at the Australian TV Logie Awards to reprise her Winter Olympics performance of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah", receiving an extended standing ovation. In 2010 she sang "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" with Matthew Morrison
in a Christmas episode of Glee
, and is featured on Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album
.
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
" (from the Broadway musical, Kiss Me, Kate
), appears on the Red Hot + Blue
compilation album and video from 1990 (a tribute to Cole Porter to benefit AIDS research and relief). Her 2010 Greatest Hits album, Recollection, also includes this cover of "So in Love".
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.
In April 2008, Lang spent time in Melbourne, Australia, as a guest editorial
ist 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.
.
nominations that lang has received, she has won four Awards.
1989
1990
1993
1994
1995
2003
2004
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
(born November 2, 1961), known by her stage name k.d. lang, is a Canadian pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
and country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
singer-songwriter and occasional actress. She styles her name in lowercase letters, with the given names contracted to initials and no space between these initials.
Lang has won both Juno Award
Juno Award
The Juno Awards are presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music...
s and Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
s for her musical performances; hits include "Constant Craving
Constant Craving
"Constant Craving" is a song written by k.d. lang and Ben Mink, and performed by k.d. lang on her album Ingénue. The song first made the charts in 1992, and won her the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 1993 and an MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video...
" and "Miss Chatelaine". She has contributed songs to movie soundtracks and has teamed with musicians such as Roy Orbison
Roy Orbison
Roy Kelton Orbison was an American singer-songwriter, well known for his distinctive, powerful voice, complex compositions, and dark emotional ballads. Orbison grew up in Texas and began singing in a rockabilly/country & western band in high school until he was signed by Sun Records in Memphis...
, Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett is an American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz....
, Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
, Anne Murray
Anne Murray
Morna Anne Murray CC, ONS is a Canadian singer in pop, country and adult contemporary styles whose albums have sold over 54 million copies....
and Jane Siberry. Lang is also known for being a vegan as well as an animal rights
Animal rights
Animal rights, also known as animal liberation, is the idea that the most basic interests of non-human animals should be afforded the same consideration as the similar interests of human beings...
, gay rights
LGBT social movements
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender social movements share inter-related goals of social acceptance of sexual and gender minorities. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and their allies have a long history of campaigning for what is generally called LGBT rights, also called gay...
, and Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
an human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
activist. She is a tantric practitioner of the Old School of Tibetan Buddhism. She performed Leonard Cohen
Leonard Cohen
Leonard Norman Cohen, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, poet and novelist. Cohen published his first book of poetry in Montreal in 1956 and his first novel in 1963. His work often explores religion, isolation, sexuality and interpersonal relationships...
's "Hallelujah" live at the opening ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, Canada.
Early years
Lang was born in EdmontonEdmonton
Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...
, Alberta, the daughter of Audrey and Adam Frederick Lang.
She is of English, Irish, Scottish, German, Russian Jewish, Icelandic, and Sioux
Sioux
The Sioux are Native American and First Nations people in North America. The term can refer to any ethnic group within the Great Sioux Nation or any of the nation's many language dialects...
ancestry.
When k.d. was nine months old, her family moved to Consort, Alberta
Consort, Alberta
Consort is a village in eastern Alberta, Canada. It is located at the intersection of Highway 12 and Highway 41, approximately southeast of Edmonton, northeast of Calgary, and west of Saskatoon. The Saskatchewan border is approximately to the east....
, where she grew up with two sisters and one brother on the Canadian prairie. Her father was a drug store owner and left the family when Lang was twelve.
After secondary school, lang attended Red Deer College
Red Deer College
Red Deer College is a public comprehensive community college of approximately 7,000 students located in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada. Established in 1964, RDC was built for a smaller semi-rural community but, in the four and a half decades since its founding, the city has grown into the third largest...
, where she became fascinated with the life and music of Patsy Cline
Patsy Cline
Patsy Cline , born Virginia Patterson Hensley in Gore, Virginia, was an American country music singer who enjoyed pop music crossover success during the era of the Nashville sound in the early 1960s...
and ultimately determined to pursue a career as a professional singer.
She formed a Patsy Cline tribute band
Tribute band
A tribute act is a music group, singer, or musician who specifically plays the music of a well-known music act - sometimes one which has disbanded, ceased touring or is deceased. Probably the largest class of tributes acts are Elvis impersonators, individual performers who mimic the songs and style...
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
Artificial heart
An artificial heart is a mechanical device that replaces the heart. Artificial hearts are typically used in order to bridge the time to heart transplantation, or to permanently replace the heart in case transplantation is impossible...
for Barney Clark, a retired American dentist.
A Truly Western Experience
A Truly Western Experience
A Truly Western Experience is the debut album by k.d. lang and the Reclines, released in 1984.The album was re-released in February 2010, with bonus tracks and a DVD with rare videos-Track listing:#"Bopalena" – 2:30...
was released in 1984 and received strong reviews and led to national attention in Canada. In August 1984, k.d. lang was one of three Canadian artists to be selected to perform at the World Science Fair in Tsukuba, Japan (along with other performing and recording contracts throughout Japan).
Singing at country and western venues in Canada, lang made several recordings that received very positive reviews and earned a 1985 Juno Award
Juno Award
The Juno Awards are presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music...
for Most Promising Female Vocalist
Juno Award for New Artist of the Year
The Juno Award for New Artist of the Year has been awarded since 1974 as recognition each year for the best new artist/musician in Canada. The category was originally divided by separate awards for men and women...
. 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
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, and received critical acclaim for her 1987 album, Angel with a Lariat
Angel with a Lariat
Angel with a Lariat is the second album by k.d. lang and the Reclines, released in 1987. This was the first release outside of Canada. Angel with a Lariat is a country recording, influenced by rock and rockabilly and possibly even new wave. The album was recorded in London England in 1986, though...
, which was produced by Dave Edmunds
Dave Edmunds
David 'Dave' Edmunds is a Welsh singer, guitarist and record producer. Although he is primarily associated with Pub rock and New Wave, and had numerous hits in the 1970s and early 1980s, his natural leaning has always been towards 1950s style rock and roll.-Early bands:As a teenager Edmunds first...
.
Career rise
Lang's career received a huge boost when Roy OrbisonRoy Orbison
Roy Kelton Orbison was an American singer-songwriter, well known for his distinctive, powerful voice, complex compositions, and dark emotional ballads. Orbison grew up in Texas and began singing in a rockabilly/country & western band in high school until he was signed by Sun Records in Memphis...
chose her to record a duet of his standard, "Crying," a collaboration that won them the Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals
Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals
The Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals was an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to quality country music collaborations for artists who do not normally perform together...
in 1989. The song was used in the Jon Cryer
Jon Cryer
Jonathan Niven "Jon" Cryer is an American actor, screenwriter and film producer. He is the son of actress–singer Gretchen Cryer. He made his motion picture debut in the 1984 romantic comedy No Small Affair, but gained greater fame as "Duckie" in the 1986 John Hughes-scripted film Pretty in Pink...
film Hiding Out
Hiding Out
Hiding Out is a 1987 movie starring Jon Cryer as a Wall Street broker "hiding out" as a high-school student as the mob tries to kill him.- Plot :...
released in 1987. Due to the success of the song, lang was awarded Entertainer of the Year award from the Canadian Country Music Association
Canadian Country Music Association
The Canadian Country Music Association was founded in 1976 as the Academy of Country Music Entertainment to organize, promote and develop a Canadian country music industry. The association changed its name to the Canadian Country Music Association in 1987.-Awards:The CCMA held the first Canadian...
. Lang would win the same award for the next three years, in addition to two Female Vocalist of the Year awards in 1988 and 1989.
1988 marked the release of Shadowland, an album of torch country produced by Owen Bradley
Owen Bradley
Owen Bradley was an American record producer who, along with Chet Atkins and Bob Ferguson, was one of the chief architects of the 1950s and 1960s Nashville sound in country music and rockabilly.-Before the fame:...
. In late 1988, Shadowland was named Album of the Year by the Canadian Country Music Association. That year she also performed "Turn Me Round" at the closing ceremonies of the XV Winter Olympics
1988 Winter Olympics
The 1988 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XV Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event celebrated in and around Calgary, Alberta, Canada from 13 to 28 February 1988. The host was selected in 1981 after having beat Falun, Sweden and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy...
in Calgary, Alberta, and sang background vocals with Jennifer Warnes
Jennifer Warnes
Jennifer Jean Warnes is an American singer, songwriter, arranger and record producer. She is known for her interpretations of compositions written by herself and many others, as well as an extensive playlist as a vocalist on movie soundtracks.Between 1979 and 1987 Warnes surpassed Frank Sinatra as...
and Bonnie Raitt
Bonnie Raitt
Bonnie Lynn Raitt is an American blues singer-songwriter and a renowned slide guitar player. During the 1970s, Raitt released a series of acclaimed roots-influenced albums which incorporated elements of blues, rock, folk and country, but she is perhaps best known for her more commercially...
for Orbison's acclaimed television special, Roy Orbison and Friends, A Black and White Night
Roy Orbison and Friends, A Black and White Night
Roy Orbison and Friends, A Black and White Night is a 1988 Cinemax television special originally broadcast on January 3, 1988 starring Hall of Fame singer/songwriter Roy Orbison. The special was filmed entirely in black and white...
.
In 1990, Lang contributed the song "So in Love
So in Love
"So in Love" is a popular song, written by Cole Porter, from his musical Kiss Me, Kate, based on Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew. It was sung in the show by Patricia Morison, reprised by Alfred Drake and further popularized by Patti Page in 1949.The Page recording was issued by Mercury Records...
" to the Cole Porter
Cole Porter
Cole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter. Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, he defied the wishes of his domineering grandfather and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn towards musical theatre...
tribute album Red Hot + Blue
Red Hot + Blue
Red Hot + Blue is the first in the series of compilation albums from the Red Hot Organization. The recording was the first in the Red Hot Benefit Series...
produced by the Red Hot Organization
Red Hot Organization
Red Hot Organization is a not-for-profit, 501 3, international organization dedicated to fighting AIDS through pop culture.Since its inception in 1989, over 400 artists, producers and directors have contributed to over 15 compilation albums, related television programs and media events to raise...
. In 1998, she contributed "Fado Hilário" to the AIDS benefit compilation album Onda Sonora: Red Hot + Lisbon
Onda Sonora: Red Hot + Lisbon
Onda Sonora: Red Hot + Lisbon is the eleventh entry in the Red Hot Benefit Series of compilation albums. The album and related television special were both created by the Red Hot Organization , an international organization whose objective in this project is to raise AIDS awareness in the...
produced by the same organization.
Grammy Awards and mainstream success
Lang won the American Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal PerformanceGrammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance was first awarded in 1965, to Dottie West. The award has had several minor name changes:*From 1965 to 1967 the award was known as Best Country & Western Vocal Performance - Female...
for her 1989 album, Absolute Torch and Twang
Absolute Torch and Twang
Absolute Torch and Twang is the third album by k.d. lang and the Reclines, released in 1989.-Track listing:#"Luck in My Eyes" – 4:10#"Three Days" – 3:17#"Trail of Broken Hearts" – 3:24...
. The single "Full Moon Full of Love
Full Moon Full of Love
"Full Moon Full of Love" is a single by Canadian country music artist k.d. lang. Released in 1989, it was the first single from lang's album Absolute Torch and Twang. The song reached #1 on the RPM Country Tracks chart in September 1989 and #22 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart.-Chart...
" 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
RPM (magazine)
RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,...
chart in Canada.
In 1989 she sang a duet, Sin City, with Dwight Yoakam
Dwight Yoakam
Dwight David Yoakam is an American singer-songwriter, actor and film director, most famous for his pioneering country music...
on his album "Just Lookin' for a Hit."
The 1992 album, Ingénue
Ingenue (album)
Ingénue is the second solo album by k.d. lang, released in 1992. It has more of a cabaret flavor than Lang's previous work, and was her most successful album on the pop charts both in her native Canada and internationally....
, a set of adult contemporary pop songs that showed comparatively little country influence, contained her most popular song, "Constant Craving
Constant Craving
"Constant Craving" is a song written by k.d. lang and Ben Mink, and performed by k.d. lang on her album Ingénue. The song first made the charts in 1992, and won her the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 1993 and an MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video...
." That song brought her multi-million sales, much critical acclaim, and the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance is the latest in a series of awards recognizing superior vocal performance by a female in the pop category, the first of which was presented in 1959. The award goes to the artist...
. Another top ten single from the record was "Miss Chatelaine". The salsa
Salsa music
Salsa music is a genre of music, generally defined as a modern style of playing Cuban Son, Son Montuno, and Guaracha with touches from other genres of music...
-inspired track was ironic; Chatelaine
Chatelaine (magazine)
Chatelaine is an English-language Canadian magazine of women's lifestyles. Both Chatelaine and its French-language version, Châtelaine, are published monthly by Rogers Media, Inc., a division of Rogers Communications, Inc...
, a women's magazine, 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
Lawrence Welk
Lawrence Welk was an American musician, accordionist, bandleader, and television impresario, who hosted The Lawrence Welk Show from 1955 to 1982...
show.
Lang received a writing credit for The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
' song "Anybody Seen My Baby?
Anybody Seen My Baby?
"Anybody Seen My Baby?" is a song by the English rock band The Rolling Stones featured on their 1997 album Bridges to Babylon.Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, the song also carries writing credits for k.d. lang and Ben Mink. The song is known for its chorus, which sounds strikingly...
", whose chorus sounds strikingly similar to "Constant Craving". Jagger and Richards claimed to have never heard the song before and when they discovered the similarity prior to the song's release, were flummoxed as to how the songs could be so similar. Jagger then soon discovered his daughter listening to a recording of “Constant Craving” on her stereo and realized he had heard the song before many times but only subliminally. The two gave Lang credit, along with her co-writer Ben Mink, in order to avoid any possible lawsuits. Afterwards, Lang said she was "completely honored and flattered" by receiving the songwriting credit.
Lang contributed much of the music towards Gus Van Sant
Gus Van Sant
Gus Green Van Sant, Jr. is an American director, screenwriter, painter, photographer, musician, and author. He is a two time nominee of the Academy Award for Best Director for his 1997 film Good Will Hunting and his 2008 film Milk, both of which were also nominated for Best Picture, and won the...
's soundtrack of the film Even Cowgirls Get the Blues
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (film)
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues is a 1993 American comedy-drama-romance film based on the 1976 Tom Robbins novel of the same name. The film was directed by Gus Van Sant, Jr. and starred Uma Thurman, Lorraine Bracco, Pat Morita, Angie Dickinson, Keanu Reeves, John Hurt, Rain Phoenix, and Grace...
, and also did a cover of "Skylark
Skylark (song)
"Skylark" is an American popular song with lyrics by Johnny Mercer and music by Hoagy Carmichael, published in 1941. Mercer said that he struggled for a year after he got the music from Carmichael before he could get the lyrics right....
" for the 1997 film adaptation of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is a non-fiction work by John Berendt. Published in 1994, the book was Berendt's first, and became a The New York Times bestseller for 216 weeks following its debut....
. She performed "Surrender" for the closing titles of the James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
film Tomorrow Never Dies
Tomorrow Never Dies
Tomorrow Never Dies is the eighteenth spy film in the James Bond series, and the second to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Bruce Feirstein wrote the screenplay, and it was directed by Roger Spottiswoode. It follows Bond as he tries to stop a media mogul from engineering...
, having previously worked with Bond composer David Arnold
David Arnold
David Arnold is an English film composer best known for scoring five James Bond films, the 1994 film Stargate, the 1996 film Independence Day, and the television series Little Britain.-Film and television career:...
on his album, Shaken and Stirred: The David Arnold James Bond Project.
In 1996, she was made an Officer of the Order of Canada
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
.
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 man's suit, referring to crossdressing
Cross-dressing
Cross-dressing is the wearing of clothing and other accoutrement commonly associated with a gender within a particular society that is seen as different than the one usually presented by the dresser...
as another possible meaning of the word 'drag'. The songs on Drag include "Smoke Dreams," from the '40s, Steve Miller Band
Steve Miller Band
The Steve Miller Band is an American rock band formed in 1967 in San Francisco, California. The band is managed by Steve Miller on guitar and lead vocals, and is known for a string of mid-1970s hit singles that are staples of the classic rock radio format.-History:In 1965, Steve Miller and...
's "The Joker
The Joker (song)
"The Joker" is a song by the Steve Miller Band from their 1973 album The Joker. The song is one of two Steve Miller Band songs that feature the neologism "pompatus". The song topped the US Billboard Hot 100 in early 1974. It draws heavy influence from the Allen Toussaint's song Soul Sister featured...
," "Smoke Rings," the theme from the cult movie
Cult film
A cult film, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a highly devoted but specific group of fans. Often, cult movies have failed to achieve fame outside the small fanbases; however, there have been exceptions that have managed to gain fame among mainstream audiences...
Valley of the Dolls
Valley of the Dolls (film)
The soundtrack was released in 1967. Dionne Warwick sang the title track; however, her version is not on the soundtrack. Warwick was signed to Scepter Records at the time and could not contractually appear...
, 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
CMT
- Medicine :* California mastitis test* Certified Massage Therapist* Cervical motion tenderness, a sign of pelvic inflammatory disease* Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease* Chemically modified tetracyclines* Circus Movement Tachycardia...
' 40 Greatest Women in Country Music in 2002, one of only eight women to make both lists. The others were Linda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt is an American popular music recording artist. She has earned eleven Grammy Awards, two Academy of Country Music awards, an Emmy Award, an ALMA Award, numerous United States and internationally certified gold, platinum and multiplatinum albums, in addition to Tony Award and Golden...
, Patsy Cline
Patsy Cline
Patsy Cline , born Virginia Patterson Hensley in Gore, Virginia, was an American country music singer who enjoyed pop music crossover success during the era of the Nashville sound in the early 1960s...
, Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton
Dolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...
, Tammy Wynette
Tammy Wynette
Virginia Wynette Pugh, known professionally as Tammy Wynette , was an American country music singer-songwriter and one of the genre's best-known artists and biggest-selling female vocalists....
, Loretta Lynn
Loretta Lynn
Loretta Lynn is an American country music singer-songwriter, author and philanthropist. Born in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky to a coal miner father, Lynn married at 13 years old, was a mother soon after, and moved to Washington with her husband, Oliver Lynn. Their marriage was sometimes tumultuous; he...
, Lucinda Williams
Lucinda Williams
Lucinda Williams is an American rock, folk, blues and country music singer and songwriter. She recorded her first albums in 1978 and 1980 in a traditional country and blues style and received very little attention from radio, the media, or the public. In 1988, she released her self-titled album,...
, and Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris is an American singer-songwriter and musician. In addition to her work as a solo artist and bandleader, both as an interpreter of other composers' works and as a singer-songwriter, she is a sought-after backing vocalist and duet partner, working with numerous other artists including...
.
In 2003, she won her fourth Grammy Award, this time for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album
Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album
The Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album is an award presented to recording artists at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards...
for her collaboration with Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett is an American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz....
on A Wonderful World
A Wonderful World
A Wonderful World is an album by Tony Bennett and k.d. lang, released in 2002.It later won the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album...
.
On subsequent tours, critical acclaim continued to come her way. In 2004, Stephen Holden
Stephen Holden
Stephen Holden is an American writer, music critic, film critic, and poet.Holden earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Yale University in 1963...
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."
In the same year, lang released Hymns of the 49th Parallel
Hymns of the 49th Parallel
Hymns of the 49th Parallel is the ninth studio album by Canadian singer and songwriter k.d. lang, released in 2004. It is an album of songs by Lang's favourite Canadian songwriters, and includes remake version of her original composition initially appeared on 2000 album Invincible Summer.-Title:The...
, which featured cover versions of songs by iconic English-speaking Canadian singer-songwriters: Bruce Cockburn
Bruce Cockburn
Bruce Douglas Cockburn OC is a Canadian folk/rock guitarist and singer-songwriter. His most recent album was released in March 2011. He has written songs in styles ranging from folk to jazz-influenced rock to rock and roll.-Biography:...
, Leonard Cohen
Leonard Cohen
Leonard Norman Cohen, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, poet and novelist. Cohen published his first book of poetry in Montreal in 1956 and his first novel in 1963. His work often explores religion, isolation, sexuality and interpersonal relationships...
, Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell, CC is a Canadian musician, singer songwriter, and painter. Mitchell began singing in small nightclubs in her native Saskatchewan and Western Canada and then busking in the streets and dives of Toronto...
, Ron Sexsmith
Ron Sexsmith
Ronald Eldon "Ron" Sexsmith is a Canadian singer-songwriter from St. Catharines, Ontario, currently based in Toronto. He started his own band when he was fourteen years old, and released the first recordings of his own material seven years later, in 1985...
, Jane Siberry
Issa (singer)
Jane Siberry , born October 12, 1955 in Toronto, Ontario, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, known for such hits as "Mimi on the Beach", "I Muse Aloud", "One More Colour" and "Calling All Angels"...
, and Neil Young
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...
.
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
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Canada.
In 2006, lang paired with singer Madeleine Peyroux
Madeleine Peyroux
Madeleine Peyroux is an American jazz singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Peyroux is noted for her vocal style, which has been compared to that of Billie Holiday....
on a cover of the Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell, CC is a Canadian musician, singer songwriter, and painter. Mitchell began singing in small nightclubs in her native Saskatchewan and Western Canada and then busking in the streets and dives of Toronto...
song "River" for Peyroux's album, Half the Perfect World
Half the Perfect World
Half the Perfect World is the fourth studio album by American jazz singer Madeleine Peyroux. It was released on September 12, 2006. It peaked at #33 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and had sold 218,000 copies in the United States by December 2008....
. That same year lang was featured in Nellie McKay
Nellie McKay
Nellie McKay , is an American singer-songwriter, actor, and former stand-up comedienne, noted for her critically acclaimed albums, and for her Broadway debut in The Threepenny Opera , for which she won a Theatre World Award...
's second album, Pretty Little Head
Pretty Little Head
Pretty Little Head is the second album by singer Nellie McKay. It was released October 31, 2006, on Nellie's own Hungry Mouse label. Initial reports indicated that the album would be released on the Internet in January, with a possible conventional release in February; however, this did not end up...
, singing with McKay in "We Had it Right". As well, lang sang a version of The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
' "Golden Slumbers" for the Happy Feet film soundtrack. She also sang a duet with Ann Wilson
Ann Wilson
Ann Dustin Wilson is an American musician, best known as the lead singer, flute player, songwriter, and occasional guitar player of the rock band Heart.-Personal life:...
on the Heart
Heart (band)
Heart is an American rock band who first found success in Canada. Throughout several lineup changes, the only two members remaining constant are sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson. The group rose to fame in the 1970s with their music being influenced by hard rock as well as folk music...
singer's solo album Hope & Glory
Hope & Glory (album)
Hope & Glory is the first solo album by Heart singer Ann Wilson, released on September 11, 2007.Hope & Glory features guest appearances from Elton John, k.d. lang, Alison Krauss, Gretchen Wilson, Shawn Colvin, Rufus Wainwright, Wynonna Judd and Deana Carter...
covering the Lucinda Williams
Lucinda Williams
Lucinda Williams is an American rock, folk, blues and country music singer and songwriter. She recorded her first albums in 1978 and 1980 in a traditional country and blues style and received very little attention from radio, the media, or the public. In 1988, she released her self-titled album,...
song "Jackson".
In 2007, she partnered with Anne Murray
Anne Murray
Morna Anne Murray CC, ONS is a Canadian singer in pop, country and adult contemporary styles whose albums have sold over 54 million copies....
on a re-make of Murray's hit "A Love Song
A Love Song
"A Love Song" is a song written by Kenny Loggins and Donna Lyn George. It was first released by the folk-rock duo Loggins & Messina in 1973 on their album Full Sail. Pop / country artist Anne Murray recorded the song the same year....
," to be featured on Murray's CD, Anne Murray Duets: Friends and Legends
Anne Murray Duets: Friends & Legends
Duets: Friends & Legends is a studio album by Canadian country/pop artist Anne Murray. The album features seventeen of Murray's best-known songs re-recorded as duets with her favourite female singers. While the record mostly consists of new studio tracks, Murray's duet with Celine Dion on "When I...
. 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
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
. Anne Murray was one of lang's childhood idols.
She released an album of new material, Watershed
Watershed (K.D. Lang album)
-Charts:-Personnel:* k.d. lang – banjo, guitar, percussion, piano, harp, keyboards, vocals, drum programming, production* Teddy Borowiecki – organ, guitar, piano, keyboards, programming, vibraphone, string conductor, photography* Grecco Buratto – guitar...
on February 5, 2008. It is her first collection of original material since Invincible Summer
Invincible Summer
Invincible Summer is the ninth solo album by k.d. lang, released in 2000.-Track listing:#"The Consequences of Falling" – 3:52#"Summerfling" Invincible Summer is the ninth solo album by k.d. lang, released in 2000.-Track listing:#"The Consequences of Falling" (Marie-Claire D'Ubaldo, Rick Nowels,...
(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."
Lang's first complete Greatest Hits collection was released February 2, 2010 on the Nonesuch label as "Recollection". Her debut album, which was dedicated to her life partner, Jenni Coonan, was re-released as a deluxe version on February 9.
In 2010, lang was in Nashville, working on a new country album, titled Sing it Loud
Sing It Loud (album)
Sing It Loud is the thirteenth studio album by k.d. lang and was released on . It is her first collection of original material since 2008's Watershed.-Track listing:All songs written by k.d...
. The album, officially recorded as a release by k.d. lang and the Siss Boom Bang, was released in spring 2011 release, via Nonesuch.
The band is touring North America in summer 2011.
Film and television appearances
In 1988 k.d. lang & The Reclines performed on Austin City LimitsAustin City Limits
Austin City Limits is an American public television music program recorded live in Austin, Texas by Public Broadcasting Service Public television member station KLRU, and broadcast on many PBS stations around the United States...
. Lang played the lead in the 1991 drama film, Salmonberries
Salmonberries
Salmonberries is a 1991 drama film directed by Percy Adlon and written by Adlon and his son Felix. It stars k.d. lang as Kotzebue, a young woman of androgynous appearance who works as a miner in Alaska, and Rosel Zech as Roswitha, an East German immigrant and librarian...
, and also co-starred with Ewan McGregor
Ewan McGregor
Ewan Gordon McGregor is a Scottish actor. He has had success in mainstream, indie, and art house films. McGregor is perhaps best known for his roles as heroin addict Mark Renton in the drama Trainspotting , young Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequel trilogy , and poet Christian in the...
and Ashley Judd
Ashley Judd
Ashley Judd is an American television and film actress, who has played lead roles in films including Ruby in Paradise, Kiss the Girls, Double Jeopardy, Where the Heart Is and High Crimes...
in Eye of the Beholder
Eye of the Beholder (film)
Eye of the Beholder is a 1999 thriller film starring Ewan McGregor and Ashley Judd, based on the novel of the same name by Marc Behm. It was written and directed by Stephan Elliott...
(1999). She had an uncredited role as a lounge singer in 2006's The Black Dahlia
The Black Dahlia (film)
The Black Dahlia is a 2006 neo noir crime film directed by Brian De Palma. It is based on the novel of the same name by James Ellroy, writer of L.A. Confidential and starred Josh Hartnett, Scarlett Johansson, Aaron Eckhart and Hilary Swank. The story is based on the murder of Elizabeth Short...
. She has also made guest appearances on the sitcoms The Larry Sanders Show
The Larry Sanders Show
The Larry Sanders Show is a satirical television sitcom that aired from August 1992 to May 1998 on the HBO cable television network in the United States. It starred stand-up comedian Garry Shandling as vain, neurotic talk show host Larry Sanders, and centered on the running of his TV show, and the...
, Dharma & Greg
Dharma & Greg
Dharma & Greg is an American television sitcom that aired from September 24, 1997, to April 30, 2002.It starred Jenna Elfman and Thomas Gibson as Dharma and Greg Montgomery, a couple who married instantly on their first date despite being complete opposites...
, and the famous coming out episode of Ellen
Ellen (TV series)
Ellen is a U.S. television sitcom that ran on the ABC network from March 29, 1994 to July 22, 1998, producing 109 episodes.The theme song, "So Called Friend" is by Scottish band Texas...
. She appeared on the Christmas special of Pee Wee's Playhouse, where she performed the song "Jingle Bell Rock
Jingle Bell Rock
"Jingle Bell Rock" is the name of a popular Christmas song first released by Bobby Helms in 1957. It has received frequent airplay in the United States during every Christmas time since then. "Jingle Bell Rock" was composed by Joseph Carleton Beal , and James Ross Boothe...
." She also made a guest appearance on the "Garbage" episode of The Jim Henson Hour
The Jim Henson Hour
The Jim Henson Hour was a short-lived television series that aired on NBC in 1989. It was developed as a showcase for The Jim Henson Company's various puppet creations, including the popular Muppet characters. Only nine of the twelve episodes produced managed to air on NBC before the low-rated...
, and in 2008 appeared on Rove McManus' live hour show, Rove.
Lang performed with the BBC Concert Orchestra for an intimate crowd at 18th century church LSO St Luke's in London on February 3, 2008. First aired as part of the BBC Four Sessions, the concert was released as a DVD entitled "Live In London" in 2009.
On February 12, 2010, she performed Leonard Cohen
Leonard Cohen
Leonard Norman Cohen, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, poet and novelist. Cohen published his first book of poetry in Montreal in 1956 and his first novel in 1963. His work often explores religion, isolation, sexuality and interpersonal relationships...
's "Hallelujah" at the Olympics Opening Ceremony
2010 Winter Olympics opening ceremony
The Opening Ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics was held on February 12, 2010 beginning at 6:00 pm PST at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. This was the first Olympic opening ceremony to be held indoors...
in Vancouver, British Columbia. In early May 2010, Lang filled in at the last minute for Susan Boyle
Susan Boyle
Susan Magdalane Boyle is a Scottish singer who came to international public attention when she appeared as a contestant on the TV programme Britain's Got Talent on 11 April 2009, singing "I Dreamed a Dream" from ...
at the Australian TV Logie Awards to reprise her Winter Olympics performance of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah", receiving an extended standing ovation. In 2010 she sang "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" with Matthew Morrison
Matthew Morrison
Matthew James "Matt" Morrison is an American actor, director, musician, and singer-songwriter. He is best known for starring in multiple Broadway and Off-Broadway productions, including his portrayal of Link Larkin in Hairspray on Broadway, and most notably for his Emmy and Golden Globe nominated...
in a Christmas episode of Glee
Glee (TV series)
Glee is an American musical comedy-drama television series that airs on Fox in the United States, and on GlobalTV in Canada. It focuses on the high school glee club New Directions competing on the show choir competition circuit, while its members deal with relationships, sexuality and social issues...
, and is featured on Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album
Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album
Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album is the fourth soundtrack album by the cast of the American musical television series Glee. The album was released on November 9, 2010 and accompanies the season two Christmas episode "A Very Glee Christmas", aired December 7, 2010. Dante Di Loreto and Brad...
.
Activism
Lang, who came outComing out
Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....
as a lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
in a 1992 article of the LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
-related news magazine The Advocate
The Advocate
The Advocate is an American LGBT-interest magazine, printed monthly and available by subscription. The Advocate brand also includes a web site. Both magazine and web site have an editorial focus on news, politics, opinion, and arts and entertainment of interest to LGBT people...
, has actively championed gay rights causes. She has performed and supported many causes over the years, including HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
/AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
care and research. Her cover of Cole Porter
Cole Porter
Cole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter. Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, he defied the wishes of his domineering grandfather and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn towards musical theatre...
's "So in Love
So in Love
"So in Love" is a popular song, written by Cole Porter, from his musical Kiss Me, Kate, based on Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew. It was sung in the show by Patricia Morison, reprised by Alfred Drake and further popularized by Patti Page in 1949.The Page recording was issued by Mercury Records...
" (from the Broadway musical, Kiss Me, Kate
Kiss Me, Kate
Kiss Me, Kate is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. It is structured as a play within a play, where the interior play is a musical version of William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew. The original production starred Alfred Drake, Patricia Morison, Lisa Kirk and Harold Lang.Kiss...
), appears on the Red Hot + Blue
Red Hot + Blue
Red Hot + Blue is the first in the series of compilation albums from the Red Hot Organization. The recording was the first in the Red Hot Benefit Series...
compilation album and video from 1990 (a tribute to Cole Porter to benefit AIDS research and relief). Her 2010 Greatest Hits album, Recollection, also includes this cover of "So in Love".
Her animal rights vegetarian stance, including a "Meat Stinks" campaign, created much controversy, particularly at her hometown in the middle of Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
's cattle ranching industry.
Lang appeared on the cover of the August 1993 issue of Vanity Fair
Vanity Fair (magazine)
Vanity Fair is a magazine of pop culture, fashion, and current affairs published by Condé Nast. The present Vanity Fair has been published since 1983 and there have been editions for four European countries as well as the U.S. edition. This revived the title which had ceased publication in 1935...
. The cover featured Lang in a barber
Barber
A barber is someone whose occupation is to cut any type of hair, and to shave or trim the beards of men. The place of work of a barber is generally called a barbershop....
chair while model Cindy Crawford
Cindy Crawford
Cynthia Ann "Cindy" Crawford is an American model. Known for her trademark mole just above her lip, Crawford has adorned hundreds of magazine covers throughout her career. She was named #3 on VH1's 40 Hottest Hotties of the 90s...
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
Peta
Peta can refer to:* peta-, an SI prefix denoting a factor of 1015* Peta, Greece, a town in Greece* Peta, the Pāli word for a Preta, or hungry ghost in Buddhism* Peta Wilson, an Australian actress and model* Peta Todd, English glamour model...
however, Nashville was less impressed owing to the relationship between country music and cattle ranching.
In April 2008, Lang spent time in Melbourne, Australia, as a guest editorial
Editorial
An opinion piece is an article, published in a newspaper or magazine, that mainly reflects the author's opinion about the subject. Opinion pieces are featured in many periodicals.-Editorials:...
ist for The Age
The Age
The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
. This was in connection with her support for the Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
human rights issues
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
. On April 24, 2008, she joined pro-Tibet protesters in Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
as the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics torch relay
2008 Summer Olympics torch relay
The 2008 Summer Olympics torch relay was run from March 24 until August 8, 2008, prior to the 2008 Summer Olympics, with the theme of "one world, one dream". Plans for the relay were announced on April 26, 2007, in Beijing, China...
made its way through the Australian capital.
Recognition
On June 3, 2008, it was announced that she would receive a star on Canada's Walk of FameCanada's Walk of Fame
Canada's Walk of Fame , located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is a walk of fame that acknowledges the achievements and accomplishments of successful Canadians...
.
Awards and nominations
Of the multiple GrammyGrammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
nominations that lang has received, she has won four Awards.
1989
- Grammy AwardGrammy AwardA Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
— Best Country Vocal CollaborationGrammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with VocalsThe Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals was an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to quality country music collaborations for artists who do not normally perform together...
for "Crying" (shared with Roy Orbison)
1990
- Grammy Award — Best Female Country Vocal PerformanceGrammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal PerformanceThe Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance was first awarded in 1965, to Dottie West. The award has had several minor name changes:*From 1965 to 1967 the award was known as Best Country & Western Vocal Performance - Female...
for "Absolute Torch and TwangAbsolute Torch and TwangAbsolute Torch and Twang is the third album by k.d. lang and the Reclines, released in 1989.-Track listing:#"Luck in My Eyes" – 4:10#"Three Days" – 3:17#"Trail of Broken Hearts" – 3:24...
"
1993
- Grammy Award — Best Female Pop Vocal PerformanceGrammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal PerformanceThe Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance is the latest in a series of awards recognizing superior vocal performance by a female in the pop category, the first of which was presented in 1959. The award goes to the artist...
for "Constant CravingConstant Craving"Constant Craving" is a song written by k.d. lang and Ben Mink, and performed by k.d. lang on her album Ingénue. The song first made the charts in 1992, and won her the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 1993 and an MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video...
" - Grammy Award nomination — Song of the YearGrammy Award for Song of the YearThe Song of the Year is one of the four most prestigious awards in the Grammy Awards ceremony, if not in all of the American music industry. It has been awarded since 1959 and unlike the Record of the Year award, which goes to the performer and production team of a single song, Song of the Year...
for "Constant Craving" - Grammy Award nomination — Record of the YearGrammy Award for Record of the YearThe Record of the Year is one of the four most prestigious Grammy Awards presented annually. It has been awarded since 1959.-History:The honorees through its history have been:*1959-1965: Artist only.*1966-1998: Artist and producer....
for "Constant Craving" - Grammy Award nomination — Album of the YearGrammy Award for Album of the YearThe Grammy Award for Album of the Year is the most prestigious award category at the Grammys. It has been awarded since 1959 and though it was originally presented to the artist alone, the award is now presented to the artist, the producer, the engineer and/or mixer and the mastering engineer...
for "IngenueIngenue (album)Ingénue is the second solo album by k.d. lang, released in 1992. It has more of a cabaret flavor than Lang's previous work, and was her most successful album on the pop charts both in her native Canada and internationally....
"
1994
- Grammy Award nomination — Best Female Pop Vocal PerformanceGrammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal PerformanceThe Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance is the latest in a series of awards recognizing superior vocal performance by a female in the pop category, the first of which was presented in 1959. The award goes to the artist...
for "Miss ChatelaineChatelaine (magazine)Chatelaine is an English-language Canadian magazine of women's lifestyles. Both Chatelaine and its French-language version, Châtelaine, are published monthly by Rogers Media, Inc., a division of Rogers Communications, Inc...
"
1995
- Grammy Award nomination — Best Pop Collaboration with VocalsGrammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with VocalsThe Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals was an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality pop songs on which singers collaborate...
for "MoonglowMoonglow (song)"Moonglow", also known as "Moonglow and Love" is a 1933 popular song with music by Will Hudson and Irving Mills and words by Eddie DeLange.-Musicological Notes:...
" (with Tony BennettTony BennettTony Bennett is an American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz....
)
2003
- Grammy Award nomination — Best Pop Collaboration with VocalsGrammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with VocalsThe Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals was an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality pop songs on which singers collaborate...
for "What A Wonderful WorldWhat a Wonderful World"What a Wonderful World" is a song written by Bob Thiele and George David Weiss. It was first recorded by Louis Armstrong and released as a single in 1968. Thiele and Weiss were both prominent in the music world . Armstrong's recording was inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999...
" (with Tony BennettTony BennettTony Bennett is an American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz....
)
2004
- Grammy Award — Best Traditional Pop Vocal AlbumGrammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal AlbumThe Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album is an award presented to recording artists at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards...
for "A Wonderful WorldA Wonderful WorldA Wonderful World is an album by Tony Bennett and k.d. lang, released in 2002.It later won the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album...
" (shared with Tony BennettTony BennettTony Bennett is an American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz....
) - Grammy Award nomination — Best Pop Collaboration with VocalsGrammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with VocalsThe Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals was an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality pop songs on which singers collaborate...
for "La Vie En RoseLa vie en rose"La Vie en Rose" was the signature song of French singer Édith Piaf.-Signature song of Édith Piaf:Édith Piaf first popularized La Vie en Rose in 1946. The lyrics were written by Piaf and the melody of the song by "Louiguy" . Initially, Piaf's peers and her songwriting team did not think the song...
" (with Tony BennettTony BennettTony Bennett is an American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz....
)
See also
- Academy of Country MusicAcademy of Country MusicThe Academy of Country Music was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Whereas the Country Music Association, founded in 1958, was based in Nashville, the Academy sought to promote country music in the western states. Among those involved in the...
- Country Music AssociationCountry Music AssociationThe Country Music Association was founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee. It originally consisted of only 233 members and was the first trade organization formed to promote a music genre...
- List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart
- List of country musicians
- List of number-one dance hits (United States)