In Care of the Blues k.d. lang's first time visiting Johnny Carson! 1987

The first of many, many visits to the late, great Johnny Carson. He LOVED k.d. and had her on several times early in her career

[@daryljackson3430]

No auto tune just pure talent . Today’s artist should watch these classic performances and see how live performances should be done.

[@grandcarriage1]

I can't imagine what the audience felt: She looks so unexpected, and that voice is truly just out of this world. Her vocal talent and control is just insane.... Truly unique.

[@davidhuber2679]

Loved it!!

[@dbentleyto95]

It was possibly the same thing I thought when I first saw her. Who the hell is that, and where can I find more? The band was fantastic and they were all obviously having the vest time with their interpretations.

[@laurinnnn]

One of the best singers of our generation. Hands Down!!! ❤

[@kjmorley]

As a Canadian familiar with her work back home, I relished her early appearances on US talkshows, SNL etc. , and the WTF reactions she would elicit, especially from country audiences. 🤣

[@laurinnnn]

@@kjmorley yes, I remember her making a comment about country western and trying to break into Nashville and she said they never really accepted her because she was gay and I liked when she said she couldn’t get out of there fast enough and she headed for the hills and went to Hollywood. She does a great one with, kitty Wells and Loretta Lynn. I really like that video it’s black-and-white. I think you would enjoy it.

[@lyndawatson8312]

Proud to say she is from Alberta Canada 🇨🇦

[@barbolson8768]

Absolutely, I'm from Calgary.

[@WendyTruscott]

🇨🇦👍

[@Ghostdog4]

I remember this moment in time clearly. The audience and Johnny weren't ready for KDL. She blew the roof off the TV let alone the theater. One of The Carson shows greatest moments.

[@cjcurtis8944]

I’ll never forget this!

[@Candlelightbrill]

I cannot imagine anyone i mean im under a spell with her wow what a talent

[@edbarker8636]

She is an amazing powerhouse of vocal ability

[@sign543]

MY GOD, that voice. Her singing is practically a food group!

[@jodyalbright5179]

Amazing. She had it all from the very beginning. One of the greatest singers of all time.

[@alskjdfsldkjf]

This is simply mind-boggling, stunning, and beyond belief. No one else even comes close to this woman's talent, soul, and power. Amazing! I'm sorry but whoever gives this a thumbs-down is brain-dead... or maybe heart-dead.

[@PatR2243]

Or both.

[@betqpublic9901]

Linda Ronstandt😊

[@nickp4961]

That voice…incredible!

[@JP-wg3uq]

Talented to the extreme.

[@atolm1]

A vocal titan, one of the best live performances of all time ❤

[@tragicsheepincident1]

We were initially supposed to do two songs on the show but a longer than expected Gore Vidal interview left us with only time for one song. kd knocked it out of the park, it was her first US TV performance and, well, the rest is history.

[@phyllisholmes2120]

Thanks Dennis for adding your commentary! It's now 2019. I loved her then & I love her still. I'm 60 now. God Bless her!

[@madslater01]

She is an incredible talent, thanks for the story...

[@padfolio]

What was the other song you were supposed to do? The Reclines were such a great band! Shame there's not a live album or DVD from the '87--"89 era.

[@salsmith1323]

Oh my one of the best performances I've ever seen. I have seen her live but this blows me away

[@barbee0715]

I remember this-became an immediate fan.

[@Weegeekatz]

I vividly recall being in a room away from the tv when she started to sing and dashing in to see WHO was singing and remember my mouth literally dropping open in shock when I saw her. Became a lifelong fan at that moment.

[@rhumphrey7779]

Being a long time Johnny Carson fan, I don't know how I missed seeing this. Talk about powerhouse singing, KD Lang was born with a supernatural gift. The control she has over her voice is beyond amazing. LOVE this. Just WOW! ❤

[@matthewmangum6320]

When people say that kd lang is a voice of a generation and the best torch song singers ever, that’s putting it lightly. To be able to see kd lang live in concert is just an experience you have to live for yourself. She gave me the goosebumps! Love kd lang 🥰

[@jamesmacaulay4064]

One of the greatest singers ever, Tony Bennet, has said "kd lang is the greatest female singer since Judy Garland". He should know !

[@TheRealTrididos]

Having seen her on every tour and a few one-offs since the early 90s, you are absolutely right. Every time I am blown away, again, even though I know what to expect. She can touch the soul in unexpected ways. Plus, she's charming and funny as hell.

[@cjcurtis8944]

Got to see her on the torch and twang tour in a fairly good size performance hall and I was blessed with front row center seats! Amazing performance.

[@Starr-rg3yb]

I had the kd experience in the front row at the Wiltern early in her career. She threw down her tambourine in the middle of Didn't I. It shattered and a chunk of it lodged against the monitor right in front of me. Before the encore, I nabbed it. Still have it. LOVE kd!!!!

[@cjcurtis8944]

@@Starr-rg3yb me too! That front row center seat came in handy and I still have my piece!

[@deborahchapman222]

This is where I fell in love with k.t. I was blessed to catch Johnny that night. I rarely watched him. I was instantly huge fan.

[@sharonkeasling4403]

What a range!! Wow!! And talk about breath control....so impressing for tons of reasons. Thank you, God, for k d.

[@ABee714]

I feel so blessed to have seen her. I love everything about her vocals, her style and her personality.

[@evelynmulvaney173]

Kd, is in a class of her own. God bless her, That voice is unreal. No matter what she sings. Totally goes through my whole body. This is what you call genius vocals. She has to be the best I have ever heard, in my entire life, I'm now in my 70s.Still enjoy listening to KD. Every day. Thank you KD, you make me proud to be a woman. 🇮🇪💚

[@LolitaDavidovich934]

The voice, unmistakably k. d. lang, gives me the chills.

[@richardlefaive1944]

I saw her live a few years before this at a summer country fair festival in a little outpost called Williams Lake in B.C.. Might have been 200 people there ... Could tell as early as then that she was no average country, R&B singer and was going places. Can't believe I got to see a talent like this in a venue like that.

[@murrayscott9546]

Squaw - halla. ? Willy's Pond ?

[@Candlelightbrill]

give her every award ever avail in history

[@charlesmonroe3124]

I stumbled on KD years ago. I was crushed when I found out I'd never get to marry her. The most electrifying singer ever!

[@johnrltr]

Holy Guacamole!! Arguably the best singing performance on TV... EVER! ...naah, now that I think about it, no argument at all. There are hard acts to follow...and then there are *impossible* acts to follow! Anyone else have a little shiver go thru them at the end of this song? Just...WOW!

[@javagirl]

She has no equal. There are other terrific singers, but not like kd. I just love her voice and what she does with it.

[@everardoromero4121]

We don't have singers and music like this anymore. First time seeing this in 2021, better than anything I have heard in the last 15 years.

[@wildoceanappaloosawomangay2535]

When I saw her on Johnny it made the hair on my head stand up I immediately went out and bought her records and played them over and over Her voice filled all the space and hit every note perfectly 💚

[@categurl3967]

Simply an amazing talent, love listening to her

[@misschatelaine]

six dislikes, there's something wrong in the world. She is Elvis with skirt. God bless you K.D

[@loriromano6399]

Elvis was one of the greats no doubt. But K.D. even a better one. That power and range makes her a world class singer. Elvis was prettier and had better moves and swagger!

[@ProNorden]

..Um ...Why is Rod Stewart's son wearing a dress ?

[@danelogan1532]

eat shit and get glasses

[@glendametivier6027]

@@loriromano6399 They would have been great together, both had a beautiful voice. I am sure Elvis would have loved her singing.

[@joepeterson2819]

@@loriromano6399 crap

[@clapoutloudclapoutloud]

What a voice, she is good. This woman can sing blues, country, pop, rock, she can do it all single-handedly. And to date, she still kills it the first time around.

[@equanimityzen58]

Up there in one of the greatest voices of her generation. Wow! I forgot how good she is

[@Zihannya]

Her voice is so amazing, it gives me chills in a very good way.

[@MrMarkpark]

I doubt anyone seeing her for the first time was expecting that. She gives you your money's worth for sure.

[@FrancesLandgar]

Wowzer! My heart just jumped out of my throat and went SPLAT on the ground. Whew. This was an experience.

[@brendadufaur37]

This is a masterclass in non-showy spectacularness - of voice and being. Incredible voice - powerhouse but refined and delineated and inward. Incredible charisma. Incredible performer. Incredible sensuality. Incredibly natural. Realness. Raw talent. Being herself. W O W!!!! And gives her whole being before an audience. And has great fellow musicians she is genuinely connected to. No ego. Just a powerful, unselfconcious presence and a musician/songstress to the hilt and from the core. I read a comment below that she's a torch singer. Wow. She is the most un-dull and wonderful and interesting and sweeping torch singer I have ever seen. Honestly, the power of her being is trilling on the heart and soul. P.s. She's so precious the way she flares the skirt out at the end. She has this self-sardonic wit that captivates.

[@deborahchapman222]

This very performance is how I got to be a fan of k.d. Amazing!! Shadowland is one my favorite albums of all time. This was one of cuts on it. Incredible!

[@nilsandlexi]

Holy mother, that voice. That delivery. Stunning.

[@rva]

As soon as she drops to the floor. You knew it was going to be good

[@robiny.4395]

She was a surprise to everyone and so different looking, but that voice, wow!

[@highbelter]

WOW. Have never seen this clip. I've always thought she was a phenomenal singer, but have never seen her sing quite this way. So, so, so talented.

[@annburlingham4563]

I saw her on Carson and was terrified I wasn't getting her name right. Luckily he had her back almost right away, as I recall.

[@jamesmacaulay4064]

Same here, too. I'm a huge kd fan yet I never saw this before. The Reclines were a phenomenal band with impeccable timing. Add kd's vocals and it's like nuclear fusion !

[@FCEtier44]

kd and Cass Elliott--in a class of their own.

[@ViralTuber]

I remember watching this with my dad when it originally aired, and being immediately floored by her talent. Not my style of song, but she makes it very clear she's an amazing singer.

[@VIDEOHEREBOB]

All I know is if people don't react to her emotion and vocal skill, they are from another planet!!! Chills from 3:20 to the end!!

[@MerleBowers]

From the first note!

[@leslyeramirez9395]

i loved this performace!!!

[@lindaburton1633]

VIDEOHEREBOB Or deaf!

[@coreymoraes8235]

And that is the difference between Canada and the US, and I’m Canadian and American

[@kennethswartz5425]

wow-she is a force of nature!

[@mrfrogbutt1]

She's like Annie Lennox, those 2 can sing ANYTHING and do it with such style, elegance and take over your heart...

[@louiseroman1145]

In perfect vocal form here. That pure, soft, beautiful, voice can also be SOOOOO powerful when she unleashes it. Too much of a character, sings with her soul and her entire body. A young k.d. not holding one thing back.

[@janetcarlson31]

She's like the rest of us, gettin' too old to be hitting the floor with those knees, LOL

[@davesittler8244]

The best🥰

[@jamestreible4545]

In case there are any Rush fans seeing this, the guy immediately to her right playing what appears to be an electric mandolin, or something similar, is Ben Mink, who played the awesome electric violin solo on Rush's song "Losing It" from their Signals album. FYI.

[@bobrosenburg988]

The best singing ever, bar none!!!

[@vgcrashnburn]

+Bob Rosenburg AMEN!!! she should b on top of this WORLD!!

[@deanmartell5726]

+Bob Rosenburg Yes,kd can sing her Tail off,i'm NOT a c/w fan but have always loved this lp and the 2 following it,i was done after Torch & Twang.

[@bibigems]

+vgcrashnburn So agree. This song heals me and how she sings this. AMAZING!

[@TheLadrowski]

Karen Carpenter came a close second.

[@vocalistpianist2639]

Unique, passionate, defiantly individualistic. Don't ever change, you're perfect the way you are!

[@RisoSystems]

And a nod to the late, great sound engineer Ron Estes for capturing her sound so expertly.

[@carolcraig1654]

Joey Riso sounds like a very BLESS MAN.

[@TheMrChrisO19]

Wow. I honestly don't see how that performance could be improved upon.

[@Parallel34]

I've always loved her. She's amazing. Too bad she stopped singing.

[@patcook4010]

The first time I saw her on Johnny Carson I was in shock.

[@roshakasravi1989]

Dido... Shock, Is RIGHT ! WEARING a skirt & odd lil Boots, no make-up & a Butch haircut ... only i thought it was ... ☆ " Down to my last Cigrette" ☆ Amazing Song ☆☆☆ Like liquid Warm Smokey Velvet being poured over your head slowly working it way down your body. Speechless ! ... .. had to have the song the next day. Bought it at Tower Records in Sherman Oaks in SF Valley, So Cal.

[@stevesmith5687]

Agreed! Was like what the fuck! How amazing is she!!

[@Navillus.55]

Whooeeh, she belted out that song !!! How great.... You'll never see anything like that performance again.

[@patcook4010]

I have liked her right from the first time I saw her on the Johnny Carson show.Her voice is amazing.

[@waltermirren7957]

Young K.D.!!!!! That voice!

[@onetuliptree]

Earliest k.d.Lang I've seen, what an amazing voice.

[@sorrelconnor7690]

Wowza!! I’ve loved kd since 1985...she was my first concert! Lucky me!! This performance however is THE MOST AMAZING PERFORMANCE OF ANYONE, ANYWHERE!! I can’t wait to see her for the fifth time in Seattle at The Moore Theater!!❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ I love you, kd!!!

[@gayle1599]

you're so lucky

[@Maliceah]

I fell in love with her on that first note!

[@brianclare9884]

Nobody....I mean NOBODY...better!!!

[@shaannun]

Now that's how you do it. This was her big chance to show Canada and the States what she was made of and boy did she show them. She knew what was at stake with this performance and gave it more than her all. It was her defining moment and the rest is history. So lucky to have seen her preform several times. First time was a cold rainy autumn evening on the Canadian prairie in 1985. A place called Caloway Park about fourty mile west of Calgay Alberta. Only about 40 people were there but she played to the crowd like there were 40 thousand present. We all knew that night she would be a star.

[@kgrant3184]

Oh man - I missed her when she performed live in 1985 at UBC for Homecoming Week. I was working for the Welcome Back BBQ. We heard her/ The Reclines on loudspeaker, but, not the same. Too bad my shift was at the exact same time as HER/ THEIR performances. I have been impressed ever since by her phenomenal lives. Amazing, God-given talent!

[@rosearnold4376]

This song blew me away the first time hearing it. Great song with great words with a great singer singing it.

[@annnorman3621]

She’s so amazing! Her voice is Godly! When she covers Neil Young’s “Helpless” it tears me up every time! ❤️KD

[@jamesmacaulay4064]

Everything she sings tears me up, even "Big Boned Girl" !

[@JohnSmith-rr2kt]

That curtsey at the end is so darling and endearing.

[@chrisb7142]

HOLY MOLY!!! I've never seen this....talent off the frickin' charts!!

[@gurinapsait8602]

I remember seeing this.. My jaw dropped.. Amazing voice..

[@rebeccavaughan3615]

What a great performance! What a powerful voice !❤ sends my heart pounding!

[@maggierae9918]

The girl is bad to the bone !!! Would love to see her in person because I do love Kd Lang. She is one of the best !!!

[@melissafernandez79]

That voice, that magnificent voice!

[@langley269]

I sure wish she would do this one again...wow been a fan since

[@TheLadrowski]

kd lang is amazing. It was so sad to lose Karen Carpenter kd Lang has a similar voice I would of loved to heard them both sing together there voices would of soothed life's problems away. I love the wholeness kd Lang puts in her singing it touches your soul. I havent heard a better voice. Seriously I can't think of anyone today who can sing as good as kd Lang.

[@dkonciousblkfemknightman]

I'm on KD Lang binge this weekend from interviews to music clips.. eventually a few music videos but so far this clip has got to be my favorite... I almost got the holy ghost with that voice...whew!

[@gracedamore8186]

Carson knew how to pick ‘em… he had a knack for pure talent. The first of many appearances on his show. Girl crush forever ❤ kd is the best!

[@maryparsons4833]

OMG, she can sing ANYTHING amazingly !!!!!!!!!! I love the Blues.

[@946jean]

Excellent penformance and what a voice !

[@brucemoyers1006]

Incredible. To have that voice AND the talent to know what to do with it.

[@lorihere7946]

These comments go back 6 years but I notice some recent ones, which I wish they would put up top here and hope there will be more coming. To see k d lang here over 30 years ago is phenomenal! I'm so happy to know that she became a sucsess. I'll never forget her in her white suit singing Hallelujah in the Canadian National Olympics and the deserving award she won! I pray that she has the happiest retirement years of anyone on earth! Always love k d lang!

[@marcyonsgard544]

KD Lang and Patsy Cline....wow 👏. 👏 😮 ❤

[@catherineboyd1539]

Her voice - like liquid velvet - is so powerful she holds the mic well back from her face.

[@dalekdx]

She has on her cool boots! Great to see & hear her first time on the Tonight Show.

[@pg1171]

This performance should put anyone into shock and awe! OMG! The power and feeling! DAMN!

[@PrinceKlutz]

WHAT A VOICE!!!!

[@TacoKicker]

I had never heard of her till I saw this performance when it originally aired, and it made me an instant fan.

[@kgrant3184]

Have you seen her live performance at the 2010 winter Olympics in Vancouver? Absolutely amazing...

[@erinbacca59]

GodDAMN, what a voice.

[@Nummymuffincocobutter]

Would love to see the concert she did on Austin City Limits around this time or early or mid 80's..she did this song on ACL,too..

[@francesprice618]

Dear god, I had forgotten she could do that! Wow!

[@rhondahunt8080]

With her first note, I had chillbumps.

[@ginachiodo3178]

KD sings the Blues from her heart and soul. Damn she's good.

[@hannahcress6289]

I love her voice and the way she gets into her music!

[@grebra00]

Thank you Declan John for this rare GEM...More please!!!

[@funathome123]

I remember that show, clear as day. One of best performances I had ever seen on TV. Her vocals were out of this world.

[@stevesmith5687]

Same, she is absolutely amazing!!

[@maddogmcgregor565]

and I've got chills now :)

[@karinglockner3100]

what a voice - awesome !

[@nelsonvega3444]

You can dress her anyway you want….but that voice is magnificent….thats a talent that only happens every few decades ….and she is one of the greats ….

[@johnnacourtway8305]

She sure left it all on that stage! You go KD💕

[@dojobebo4541]

I immediately identified with kd as a young person. Thank you for doing it. Love.

[@Jubal918]

Such a TALENT !!!!

[@michelejohanson42]

I think I have sadly missed out. I know about k d lang, adore her version of Hallelujah, and had no idea whatsoever that she is a blues virtuoso.

[@nancylectorres5094]

I remember this, I loved her since.

[@charlesmonroe3124]

Her old stuff is so awesome

[@Nummymuffincocobutter]

wish there was the full performance of her on Austin City Limits...she does this song and Rose Garden..excellent show..

[@Candlelightbrill]

EVERY BAND MEMBER IS PHENOMENAL !!! THANK YOU