With her vaguely campy approach, androgynous appearance, and edgy, rock-inflected music, very few observers knew what to make of her or her music, although no one questioned her considerable vocal talents. Born in Alberta, Canada, lang was first drawn to music while she was in college, when she became acquainted with Patsy Cline while preparing to star in a collegiate theatrical production based on the vocalist's life.
Soon, lang immersed herself in Cline 's life and music and decided that she would pursue a career as a professional singer. They recorded a debut single, "Friday Dance Promenade," which received some positive notices in the independent press.
Their album A Truly Western Experience followed in and received even better reviews and national attention. All of the Canadian attention led to the interest of a number of American record labels. Sire signed lang in early , and she recorded her first record for the label later that year.
The mix of '50s-styled ballads, kitschy rockabilly, and honky tonk numbers on Angel with a Lariat had heavy support from college radio as well as cutting-edge country stations. Though it was a mainstream hit in Canada and an underground smash in the U. As she was recording her second Nashville album in , lang performed a duet with Roy Orbison of his old hit "Crying" for the film Hiding Out.
The single was released at the end of the year and was a hit, marking her first appearance on the U. Shadowland , her second Sire album, made her debt to Patsy Cline explicit. Recorded with Cline 's producer, Owen Bradley , the album lacked the campy humor of Angel with a Lariat , which helped it succeed in traditional country circles -- "I'm Down to My Last Cigarette," the first single from the record, went to a career-high number 21 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.
Shadowland became a sizable word-of-mouth hit, both in modern country and alternative music circles, which led to it going gold. The following year, lang released the harder-edged Absolute Torch and Twang , which increased her mainstream American country audience in addition to being a college radio and Canadian hit.
The attention made lang a minor celebrity, which meant that when she launched a protest against meat eating in , it became a media sensation. The album eventually reached double-platinum status in the States, Australia, and Canada. Jimmy Cefalo. Celebrities Born in Canada. Janice Tanton Artist. Jill Horstead Swimmer. Ryan Garbutt Ice Hockey Player. Jessica Brouillette Wrestler. Paul Quarrington Novelist. Sean Fraser Politician.
Famous Birthdays November 2. Kim Man-chol Politician. Mehrdad Hedayatian Football Player. Faith Picozzi Model. Dejan Tiago Stankovic Writer. Louis Vorster Cricketer. Report Post « » Your Name:. I think the combination of my voice and my look was pre-ordained. Every day, she says, she gets mistaken for a man. I definitely get less harassment, less attention.
It felt so alien. Being androgynous changes the sexual playing field too, because a lot of gay guys flirt with me, a lot of straight women flirt with me. Lang was five when she realised she was gay "I remember taking swimming lessons and being completely enamoured with Christy, the swimming instructor" , 13 when she came out to herself, 17 when she came out to her mother and 30 when she came out to the world.
It's easy to forget now what an impact announcing you were gay had back then. There was some pressure from her record company not to, but looking back, she says, coming out both helped and hindered her. But at the same time, I'm different. Doesn't it infuriate her when straight women pretend to be gay for publicity, for titillation?
I don't know much about Katy Perry, but I think there needs to be some inning now and then. Ultimately, we're all bisexual, honestly I think that's true. I think [the gay community's] fears and expectations are the things that get all flustered when someone like Katy Perry has a song.
Her mother was a teacher and her father ran the local drugstore. When she was 12, her father left for another woman and, apart from a chance encounter when she was an adult, lang never saw him again he died last year and neither lang, nor her siblings, went to his funeral. She bristles when I mention her father, but she appears to have made peace with him. After winning a singing competition as a child, lang knew this was where her future lay and all but gave up on school.
She spent the 80s singing country, although by the time lang came out in not only as gay but also as vegetarian, fronting an animal rights campaign , the affair with Nashville was over. She switched to torch songs, moved to LA to be near a married woman she had fallen for and channelled that unrequited love into Ingenue. There and then, lang exploded. She describes the height of her fame as "really exciting but it was a fuck-up too.
You can think you have the capacity to deal with it but nothing prepares you for it. I really thought I didn't care, that I could be famous and not be altered by it - but you are.
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