Iris DeMent Biography
Iris DeMent is an American singer and songwriter born on 5th January 1961 in Paragould, Arkansas, U.S. Her musical style includes elements of folk, country and gospel.
Iris DeMent Age
Iris DeMent was born on January 5, 1961.
Iris DeMent Net worth
Iris DeMent has an estimated net worth of $14 million.
Iris DeMent Family
Iris DeMent was born to Pat DeMent (father) and Flora Mae (mother). He father had married two wifes. She is the youngest child of Pat DeMent with his second wife. she is the 14th child to Pat DeMent’s 14th child, and Flora Mae’s eighth child. She was raised from Pentecostal household.
Iris DeMent Wife
Iris DeMent is married to Elmer McCall in 1991 but they divorced. She was engaged to another husband Greg Brown on November 21, 2002. The couples live in rural southeast Iowa.
Iris DeMent children
She has one adopted, Russian-born daughter.
Iris DeMent Height
Iris Dement height not available right now. We will update Iris’s Height, weight soon as possible.
Iris DeMent Singer
Iris DeMent started singing when she was five years old. She 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 (July 26, 1995) of CBS’s television series Northern Exposure. The song has been recorded by Kate Brislin and Jody Stecher.
She released her first album of, Infamous Angel, which 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.
She released her second album of, My Life, which was released in 1994, she continued with the personal and introspective approach. The record is dedicated to her father, who died two years earlier. She said her Life was nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Contemporary Folk Album category. 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. She sang the duet “Bell Bottomed Tear” as part of The Beautiful South’s Much Later with Jools live special in 1997.
In 1998 she released another song of 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 she was playing in town and thought her name was beautiful and then decided to name it after her. The singer and song writer 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. 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 (“He Reached Down”). 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.
She 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, she released the song of 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. she received the Americana Trailblazer Award at the 2017 Americana Music Honors & Awards.
Iris DeMent Songs
- Let The Mystery Be
Infamous Angel · 1992 - Leaning On The Everlasting Arms
Lifeline · 2004 - Our Town
Infamous Angel · 1992 - Mama’s Opry
Infamous Angel · 1992 - Wasteland of the Free
The Way I Should · 1996 - No Time to Cry
My Life · 1994 - Easy’s Gettin’ Harder Every Day
My Life · 1994 - Sweet Is The Melody
My Life · 1994 - When My Mornin’ Comes Around
The Way I Should · 1996 - After You’re Gone
Infamous Angel · 1992 - Go On Ahead and Go Home
Sing the Delta · 2012 - He Reached Down
Lifeline · 2004 - I Don’t Want To Get Adjusted
Lifeline · 2004 - These Hills
Infamous Angel · 1992 - The Shores of Jordan
My Life · 1994 - The Night I Learned How Not to Pray
Sing the Delta · 2012 - You’ve Done Nothing Wrong
My Life · 1994 - God Walks The Dark Hills
Lifeline · 2004 - Childhood Memories 1994
- Pretty Saro
- Fifty Miles of Elbow Room 1992
- Sweet Forgiveness 1992
- Hotter Than Mojave in M… 1992
- I Never Shall Forget The… 2004
- Fill My Way With Love 2004
- Mom & Dad’s Waltz 1994
- Out of the Fire 2012
- When Love Was Young 1992
- I’ve Got That Old Time R… 2004
- Walki’n Home 1996
- That Glad Re union 2004
- There’s a Wall in Washington
Iris DeMent Albums
- Wounded Heart Of Am.. 2007
- Crown Jewels 1998
- Live At The Freight & Sa.. 2017
- Live in Our town 2016
- Infamous Angel 1992
- My Life 1994
- Sing the Delta 2012 The Way I Should 1996
- Lifeline 2004
- Wounded Heart Of Am.. 2007
- The Trackless Woods 2015
- Bleecker Street Gree.. 1999
- I’m a Lonesome 1967
- Let The Mystery Be (Rem.. 2016)
Iris DeMent Tour
- Fri, 1 Mar
00:00
Omaha, NE, United States
The Waiting Room Lounge - Fri, 22 Mar
19:30
Jasper, IN, United States
Astra Theatre - Sat, 23 Mar
20:00
St. Louis, MO, United States
The Sheldon Concert Hall and Art Galleries - Fri, 17 May
19:00
Fort Collins, CO, United States
Armory Event Center - Sat, 18 May
19:00
Fort Collins, CO, United States
Armory Event Center - Sun, 30 Jun
Holyoke, MA, United States
Gateway City Arts, Office Information - Sat, 5 Oct
20:00
Bethlehem, NH, United States
The Colonial Theatre
Iris DeMent Other contributions
- 1994: various artists – Tulare Dust: A Songwriter’s Tribute to Merle Haggard (Hightone) – track 2: “Big City”
- 1997: various artists – The Songs of Jimmie Rodgers: A Tribute (Egyptian / Columbia) – track 10: “Hobo Bill’s Last Ride”
- 1997: various artists – Folk Live from Mountain Stage (Blue Plate) – track 3: “Sweet is the Melody” (live)
- 1997: various artists – KGSR Broadcasts Vol. 5 (KGSR) – track 1-10: “Let the Mystery Be” (live)
- 1998: various artists – The Horse Whisperer: Songs from and inspired by the Motion Picture (MCA Nashville) – track 11: “Whispering Pines”
- 1998: various artists – The Folkscene Collection: From the Heart of Studio A (Red House) – “Our Town” (live in KPFK Studios)
- 1998: various artists – Real: The Tom T. Hall Project (Sire) – track 8: I Miss a Lot of Trains
- 1999: various artists – Bleecker Street: Greenwich Village In The 60’s (Astor Place) – track 5: “Pack Up Your Sorrows” (with Loudon Wainwright III)
- 2001: various artists – Songcatcher: Music From and Inspired by the Motion Picture (Vanguard) – track 2: “Pretty Saro”
- 2002: various artists – Going Driftless: An Artist’s Tribute to Greg Brown (Red House) – 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 (Volume 1) (Whirlie) – track 12: “There’s a Whole Lot of Heaven”
Iris DeMent Composer
- 1998: The Caravans – Glamorous Heart Motel Blues (Fury) – track 1: “Our Town”
- 2000: Grace Griffith – Minstrel Song (Blix Street) – track 2: “My Life”
- 2001: Joel RL Phelps and the Downer Trio – Inland Empires (12XU) – track 3: “Calling For You”; track 7, “My Life”
- 2002: Aselin Debison – Sweet is the Melody (Odyssey Records) – track 1: “Sweet is the Melody”
- 2002: John Wright – Dangerous Times (Big Sky) – track 1: “When My Mornin’ Comes Around”
- 2007: Doug Cox – Canadian Borderline (Malahat Mountain) – track 2: “Let The Mystery Be”
- 2012: Megan Reilly – The Well (Carrot Top) – track 8: “After You’re Gone”
- 2017: Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy – Best Troubador (Domino) – track 18: “No Time To Cry”
Iris DeMent Appearance
- 1990: Emmylou Harris – Brand New Dance (Reprise) – “Wheels of Love”; “Brand New Dance” (harmony vocalv)
- 1990: Jann Browne – Tell Me Why (WEA/Atlantic/Curb Records) – Lovebird (harmony vocal)
- 1991: Jann Browne – It Only Hurts When I Laugh – unknown track(s)
- 1993: Nanci Griffith – Other Voices, Other Rooms (Elektra) – “Ten Degrees and Getting Colder”; “Are You Tired of Me My Darling?” (harmony vocal)
- 1994: Tom Paxton – Wearing the Time (Sugar Hill) – “Along the Verdigris” (backing vocal)
- 1997: The Beautiful South – Liar’s Bar CD single (A&M/GO! Discs Ltd) – “You’ve Done Nothing Wrong” (harmony vocal, “Later With Jools Holland”, live)
- 1997: Tom Russell – The Long Way Around (Hightone) – track 3: “Big Water”; track 17: “Box of Visions” (duets)
- 1998: Randy Scruggs – Crown of Jewels (Reprise) – “Wildwood Flower” (duet with Emmylou Harris); “City of New Orleans” (backing vocal)
- 1998: Jeff Black – Birmingham Road (BMG/Arista) – “Ghosts in the Graveyard” (backing vocal); a second unknown track
- 1999: John Prine – In Spite of Ourselves (Oh Boy) – track 1: “(We’re Not) The Jet Set”; track 9: “Let’s Invite Them Over”; track 12: “We Could”; track 14: “In Spite of Ourselves” (duets)
- 1999: Tom Russell – The Man from God Knows Where (Hightone) – “Wayfarin’ Stranger” (lead vocal); “Patrick Russell” (duet with Tom Russell); “Ambrose Larsen” (duet with Sondre Bratland); “Acres of Corn” (lead vocal); “The Old Rugged Cross” (duet with Kari Bremnes); “When Irish Girls Grow Up” (duet with Dolores Keane); “Throwin’ Horseshoes at the Moon” (duet with Tom Russell); “Wayfarin’ Stranger (revisited)” (lead vocal); “Love Abides” (duet with Tom Russell)
- 1999: Steve Earle and The Del McCoury Band – The Mountain (E-Squared) – track 4: “I’m Still in Love with You” (duet with Steve Earle)
- 2001: Delbert McClinton – Nothing Personal (New West Records) – “Birmingham Tonight” (harmony vocal)
- 2001: Keith Sykes – Don’t Count Us Out (Syren Records) – “It’s Just You”; “Lavender Blue” (duets)
- 2001: Ralph Stanley and Friends – Clinch Mountain Sweethearts (Rebel) – track 1: “Ridin’ That Midnight Train”; track 11: “Trust Each Other” (duets)
- 2002: Nitty Gritty Dirt Band – Will the Circle Be Unbroken, Volume III (Capitol) – track 1-05, “Mama’s Opry” (lead vocal)
- 2007: Teddy Thompson – Upfront & Down Low (Verve Forecast) – track 6: “My Heart Echoes”
- 2010: John Prine – In Person & On Stage (Oh Boy) – track 3: “In Spite of Ourselves”; track 12: “Unwed Fathers” (duets, live)
- 2012: Josh Turner – Punching Bag (MCA Nashville) – track 9: “Pallbearer” (background vocals)
- 2016: The Pines – Above the Prairie (Red House) – unknown track
- 2016: John Prine – For Better, or Worse (Oh Boy) – track 1: “Who’s Gonna Take the Garbage Out”; track 13: “Mr. & Mrs. Used to Be”
Iris DeMent Lyrics
Leave a Comment