Iris Dement

One of the most celebrated country-folk performers of her day, singer/songwriter Iris Dement was born in rural Paragould, AR. At the age of three, her devoutly religious family moved to California, where she grew up singing gospel music; during her teenage years, however, she was first exposed to country, folk, and R&B, drawing influence from Loretta Lynn, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, and Joni Mitchell. Upon graduating high school, she relocated to Kansas City to attend college.