artists:  k.d. lang and Roy Orbison

songwriter:  Roy Orbison and Jim Melson

date released:  1961 by Roy Orbison; 1987 for the duet

 Katherine Dawn Lang was born in Edmonton, Alberta, in 1961.  Her family moved to the rural town of Consort, Alberta, where her father was a drugstore owner. He left the family when lang was twelve, and her mother remarried with the principal of a school in Consort.

After lang graduated from high school, she attended Red Deer College and the country singer, Patsy Cline, became her muse.  Singing and performing at country and western venues with her newly-adopted name, k.d.lang, she received some critical reviews, prompting her to win at 1985 Juno Award for Most Promising Female Vocalist.  Since her early recognition, she has won seven more Juno Awards.  In 1986, she was wooed to Nashville, Tennessee, to record an album, "Angel with a Lariat" with an American producer.

U.S. audiences began paying attention to k.d.lang while she was touring with the great Roy Orbison. In 1989, Orbison chose her to sing their now-famous duet, "Crying".  

In addition to her many Junos, our Albertan won four Grammys out of the five nominations she has received in her life.