It’s k.d. lang’s birthday!
Singer k.d. lang celebrates her birthday today. Born in the Alberta region of Canada in 1961, lang began her music career when she became fascinated the life and music of singer Patsy Cline.
She formed a band, k.d. lang and the Reclines, and they put out their first album in 1984. They would go on to release three albums and be described as a country punk outfit.
k.d. lang released her first solo album Shadowland in 1987 and was produced by Owen Bradley, who had produced most of her hero Patsy Cline’s most successful recordings.
However, it was her next album Ingenue that brought her global success as she moved from country to a contemporary sound.
Throughout the 90’s lang would have several successful albums including All You Can Eat, covers album Drag, and the soundtrack to the Gus Van Sant film Even Cowgirls Get the Blues.
Her success continued in the new century as she continued releasing records including Invincible Summer, Hymns of the 49th Parallel, and Watershed.
In 2002 lang collaborated with Tony Bennett to record an album, and her more recent work has included collaborations with backing band The Siss Boom Bang, as well as teaming up with Neko Case and Laura Veirs.
lang came out publicly as lesbian in 1992 via an article in the magazine The Advocate. At the time few musicians were publicly sharing if they were same sex attracted. She has been a campaigner for LGBTIQA+ rights, animal rights, veganism and human rights in Tibet.
