Know Your History: k.d. lang
LGBT, NewsBites — By Speak Equal on October 20, 2009 at 12:00 pm
K.D. Lang
She first came to the attention of the US audiences when she toured with Roy Orbison as one of three female backup singers. Her career received a huge boost when 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 song was first used in the Jon Cryer film Hiding Out released in 1987.
1988 marked the release of Shadowland, an album of torch country produced by Owen Bradley. That year she also performed “Turn Me Round” at the closing ceremonies of the XV Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta, and 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, 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 has performed and supported many causes over the years, including HIV/AIDS care and research. 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.
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.[3]
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 Summer Olympics torch relay made its way through the Australian capital.[4]
[1] www.kdlang.com
[2] “k.d.lang: A Who2 Profile”. who2.com. Retrieved 2008-06-29.
[3] “K.D. Lang’s Career Takes Another Twist”. AfterEllen.com. April 2004. Retrieved 2008-06-29.
[4] “Canadian Singer K.D. Lang Will Protest for Tibetans Today: Here She Tells Why”. The Age. 2008-04-24. Retrieved 2008-04-26.
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