Iris DeMent
Iris Luella DeMent is an American two-time Grammy-nominated singer and songwriter. DeMent's musical style includes elements of folk, country and gospel.
Early life
DeMent was born in Paragould, Arkansas, the 14th and youngest child of Pat DeMent and wife Flora Mae. Iris' mother had harbored dreams of going to Nashville and starting a singing career. Although she put those plans on hold to get married, her singing voice was an inspiration and influence for her youngest daughter Iris. DeMent was raised in a Pentecostal household. Her family moved from Arkansas to the Los Angeles area when she was three. While growing up, she was exposed to and influenced by country and gospel music. Singing at age five as one of "the little DeMent sisters", Iris had a bad experience when she forgot her words during her first performance, which caused her to avoid performing in public for some time.Music and career
DeMent was inspired to write her first song "Our Town" by a drive through a boarded-up Midwest town, at the age of 25. The song lyrics came to her "exactly as it is now", without need for re-writing, and she realized then that songwriting was her calling in life. "Our Town" was played during the closing scene for the final episode of CBS's television series Northern Exposure. The song has been recorded by Kate Rusby, Kate Brislin & Jody Stecher and Trampled by Turtles.Her first album, Infamous Angel, was released in 1992 on the Rounder-Philo label and explored such themes as religious skepticism, small-town life, and human frailty. "Let the Mystery Be" has been covered by a number of artists, including 10,000 Maniacs and Alice Stuart, and was used in the opening scenes of the film Little Buddha. In the fall of 2015, a version of "Let the Mystery Be" from the Transatlantic Sessions became the musical theme for the opening credits of the HBO series The Leftovers, replacing the original "Main Title Theme" composed by Max Richter, and it would once again serve as the opening theme for the series finale.
In her second album, My Life, released in 1994, she continued the personal and introspective approach. The record is dedicated to her father, who died two years earlier. My Life was nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Contemporary Folk Album category.
DeMent's third album, The Way I Should, was released in 1996. Featuring the protest song "Wasteland of the Free", it is DeMent's most political work. It covers topics such as sexual abuse, religion, government policy, and Vietnam.
DeMent sang the duet "Bell Bottomed Tear" as part of The Beautiful South's Much Later with Jools live special in 1997.
In 1998, the song "Iris" by the rock band Goo Goo Dolls was named after her. Singer and songwriter John Rzeznik had already written the lyrics to the song but was having a problem naming it. He opened up the LA Weekly and noticed that DeMent was playing in town and thought her name was beautiful and then decided to name it after her.
– Driftwood, Texas, 2007
She sang four duets with John Prine on his 1999 album In Spite of Ourselves, including the title track. She appeared in the 2000 film Songcatcher, playing the character Rose Gentry and singing on the soundtrack as well. Her duet with Ralph Stanley on "Ridin' That Midnight Train" was the opening track on his 2001 album, Clinch Mountain Sweethearts: Ralph Stanley & Friends.
In 2004 she released Lifeline, an album of gospel songs. It included 12 covers and one original composition. It was the first album she released on Flariella Records, a label she started herself and named after her mother. A shortened version of her rendition of "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms" was later used in the closing credits of the Coen brothers' film True Grit. On October 2, 2012, DeMent released her first album of original songs in 16 years, Sing the Delta.
DeMent has sung duets with Steve Earle and Emmylou Harris and is featured on the albums of many other performers. She sang the Merle Haggard song "Big City" on Tulare Dust: A Songwriters' Tribute to Merle Haggard. She has made frequent appearances on Garrison Keillor's radio show A Prairie Home Companion. DeMent contributed harmony vocals to "Pallbearer", a song from country artist Josh Turner's 2012 album Punching Bag.
In 2015, DeMent released The Trackless Woods, an album based upon and inspired by the words of Russian poet Anna Akhmatova, on her own Flariella record label. She reunited with John Prine in 2016 for his second duets album For Better, or Worse and performed on two tracks. DeMent received the Americana Trailblazer Award at the 2017 Americana Music Honors & Awards.
Personal life
DeMent was married to Elmer McCall in 1991, but the marriage ended in divorce.She married singer-songwriter Greg Brown on November 21, 2002. They live in rural southeast Iowa with their adopted Russian-born daughter.
Discography
Albums and chart positions
Singles
Music videos
Other contributions
Primary/contributing artist
- 1994: various artists – Tulare Dust: A Songwriter's Tribute to Merle Haggard – track 2: "Big City"
- 1997: various artists – The Songs of Jimmie Rodgers: A Tribute – track 10: "Hobo Bill's Last Ride"
- 1997: various artists – Folk Live from Mountain Stage – track 3: "Sweet is the Melody"
- 1997: various artists – KGSR Broadcasts Vol. 5 – track 1–10: "Let the Mystery Be"
- 1998: various artists – The Horse Whisperer: Songs from and inspired by the Motion Picture – track 11: "Whispering Pines"
- 1998: various artists – The Folkscene Collection: From the Heart of Studio A – "Our Town"
- 1998: various artists – Real: The Tom T. Hall Project – track 8: I Miss a Lot of Trains
- 1999: various artists – Bleecker Street: Greenwich Village In The 60's – track 5: "Pack Up Your Sorrows"
- 2001: various artists – Songcatcher: Music From and Inspired by the Motion Picture – track 2: "Pretty Saro"
- 2002: various artists – Going Driftless: An Artist's Tribute to Greg Brown – track 3: "The Train Carrying Jimmie Rodgers Home"
- 2002: various artists – WYEP Live & Direct: Volume 4 – On Air Performances
- 2007: various artists – Transatlantic Sessions 3 – track 12: "There's a Whole Lot of Heaven"
As composer
- 1998: The Caravans – Glamorous Heart Motel Blues – track 1: "Our Town"
- 2000: Grace Griffith – Minstrel Song – track 2: "My Life"
- 2001: Joel RL Phelps and the Downer Trio – Inland Empires – track 3: "Calling For You"; track 7, "My Life"
- 2002: Aselin Debison – Sweet is the Melody – track 1: "Sweet is the Melody"
- 2002: John Wright – Dangerous Times – track 1: "When My Mornin' Comes Around"
- 2007: Doug Cox – Canadian Borderline – track 2: "Let The Mystery Be"
- 2012: Megan Reilly – The Well – track 8: "After You're Gone"
- 2017: Bonnie 'Prince' Billy – Best Troubador – track 18: "No Time To Cry"
Also appears on
- 1990: Emmylou Harris – Brand New Dance – "Wheels of Love"; "Brand New Dance"
- 1990: Jann Browne – Tell Me Why – Lovebird
- 1991: Jann Browne – It Only Hurts When I Laugh – unknown track
- 1993: Nanci Griffith – Other Voices, Other Rooms – "Ten Degrees and Getting Colder"; "Are You Tired of Me My Darling?"
- 1994: Tom Paxton – Wearing the Time – "Along the Verdigris"
- 1997: The Beautiful South – Liar's Bar CD single – "You’ve Done Nothing Wrong"
- 1997: Tom Russell – The Long Way Around – track 3: "Big Water"; track 17: "Box of Visions"
- 1998: Randy Scruggs – Crown of Jewels – "Wildwood Flower" ; "City of New Orleans"
- 1998: Jeff Black – Birmingham Road – "Ghosts in the Graveyard" ; a second unknown track
- 1999: John Prine – In Spite of Ourselves – track 1: " The Jet Set"; track 9: "Let's Invite Them Over"; track 12: "We Could"; track 14: "In Spite of Ourselves"
- 1999: Tom Russell – The Man from God Knows Where – "Wayfarin’ Stranger" ; "Patrick Russell" ; "Ambrose Larsen" ; "Acres of Corn" ; "The Old Rugged Cross" ; "When Irish Girls Grow Up" ; "Throwin’ Horseshoes at the Moon" ; "Wayfarin’ Stranger " ; "Love Abides"
- 1999: Steve Earle and The Del McCoury Band – The Mountain – track 4: "I'm Still in Love with You"
- 2001: Delbert McClinton – Nothing Personal – "Birmingham Tonight"
- 2001: Keith Sykes – Don't Count Us Out – "It's Just You"; "Lavender Blue"
- 2001: Ralph Stanley and Friends – Clinch Mountain Sweethearts – track 1: "Ridin' That Midnight Train"; track 11: "Trust Each Other"
- 2002: Nitty Gritty Dirt Band – Will the Circle Be Unbroken, Volume III – track 1-05, "Mama's Opry"
- 2007: Teddy Thompson – Upfront & Down Low – track 6: "My Heart Echoes"
- 2010: John Prine – In Person & On Stage – track 3: "In Spite of Ourselves"; track 12: "Unwed Fathers"
- 2012: Josh Turner – Punching Bag – track 9: "Pallbearer"
- 2016: The Pines – Above the Prairie – unknown track
- 2016: John Prine – For Better, or Worse – track 1: "Who's Gonna Take the Garbage Out"; track 13: "Mr. & Mrs. Used to Be"