WMM Celebrates Iris Dement and David Bowie

Wednesday MidDay Medley
TEN to NOON Wednesdays – Streaming at KKFI.org
Wednesday, January 5, 2022

WMM Celebrates Iris DeMent and David Bowie

At 10:00 we reserve our first hour for Iris DeMent, born January 5, 1961, in rural Paragould, Arkansas. She was the youngest of 14 children. At the age of 3, her devoutly religious family moved to California, where she grew up singing gospel music. During her teenage years, Iris was exposed to country, folk, & R&B. In the mid 1980s Iris moved to the midwest, and after a series of jobs as a waitress and typist she wrote her first song at the age of 25. She moved to Kansas City and played Harling’s Upstairs and open-mic nights alongside Scott Hrabko and Howard Iceberg. Iris DeMent made her recording debut in 1991, with her album, “Infamous Angel.” We’ll feature music from Iris DeMent, Greg Brown, and John Prine, and from her inspirations: Loretta Lynn, Johnny Cash, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, and Merle Haggard.

At 11:00 we dedicate our second hour to David Bowie, born January 8, 1947. Over a span of 5 decades, Bowie sold over 140 million records and released 27 studio albums. His career is notable for his reinvention, his pushing of the boundaries of gender, art and music. He was also an actor who appeared in over 20 films. We celebrate David Bowie with musical tracks from his studio albums, from his Reality Tour Live recordings, from songs performed by musicians he influenced: The Sea and Cake, Julia Othmer, and Ondara, from electronic musical pioneers Kraftwerk, and from Oscar winning film composer Ryuichi Sakamoto, who in his very first motion picture role as an actor and film composer played opposite of David Bowie in the 1983 feature, “Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence”.

Show #923

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