In college, lang studied music at the Red Deer College in Alberta. By this time, she was participating in the local punk rock scene and taking part in performance art pieces. When, on her 21st birthday, someone introduced her to some Patsy Cline records, lang was taken completely by surprise.
It wasn't long before Cline became a hard and fast hero for lang, who soon auditioned for her first country music band.
Later, she formed The Reclines band with the intention of bringing together the kitsch and camp of old school country music with her penchant for performance art and her punk rock background.
For years, k.d. lang and The Reclines made their way up the ranks of the country music circuit, much to the chagrin of Nashville, who didn't seem to understand or want to embrace her as one of their own.
Nevertheless, lang managed to take home a Grammy award for Female Country Vocal in 1989 for her album Absolute Torch & Twang. Her next effort saw her moving more toward a pop sound with Ingenue (1992), which was embraced by the VH1 video channel.
Just before the release of Ingenue, lang came out as a lesbian in The Advocate magazine. The same year, she won her second Grammy for her song "Constant Craving."
Throughout her career, lang has touched on just about every form of music, from punk to country to crooning and pop, although she is most often referred to as an alt.country (or "new country") artist.
Listen/Download k.d. lang MP3s
