Iron & Wine

From Vero - Wikipedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox musical artist

Iron & Wine at a 2006 concert at Brooklyn's McCarren Park Pool

Samuel Ervin Beam<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> (born July 26, 1974), better known by his stage name Iron & Wine, is an American singer-songwriter. He has released six studio albums, several EPs and singles, as well as a few download-only releases, which include a live album (a recording of his 2005 Bonnaroo performance). He occasionally tours with a full band.<ref>Tangari, Joe "Iron & Wine Interview" Template:Webarchive Pitchfork – October 1, 2007</ref>

The name Iron & Wine is taken from a dietary supplement named "Beef, Iron & Wine" that he found in a general store while shooting a film.<ref>Marchese, David "Why He's Called... Iron and Wine" Spin.com – January 10, 2011</ref>

Early life

Beam was raised in Chapin, South Carolina, where his father worked in land management and his mother was a schoolteacher. When he was a child, his family took regular trips to the country, where his grandfather ran a farm. He attended Seven Oaks Elementary School and Chapin High School. While home from college, he was a waiter at California Dreaming restaurant in Columbia. Beam earned a bachelor's degree in art from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia. He specialized in painting before graduating from the Florida State University Film School with an MFA degree. Before the release of the first Iron & Wine album, Beam's main source of income was as a professor of film and cinematography at the University of Miami and Miami International University of Art & Design.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He had been writing songs for over seven years before a friend lent him a four-track recorder. He began making demos and gave one to his friend Michael Bridwell, brother of Band of Horses lead singer, Ben Bridwell. Michael handed it to Mike McGonigal, editor of Yeti magazine, who chose "Dead Man's Will", later released on In the Reins, for inclusion on one of his magazine's compilation CDs. Beam later came to the attention of Sub Pop Records co-owner, Jonathan Poneman, who contacted Beam to propose a deal.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="AmericanStatesman"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Musical career

Beam released his first Iron & Wine album, The Creek Drank the Cradle, on the Sub Pop label in 2002. Beam wrote, performed, recorded and produced the album in his home studio. Featuring acoustic guitars, banjo, and slide guitar, the album's music has been compared to that of Nick Drake,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Simon and Garfunkel,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Elliott Smith, Neil Young and John Fahey.

Also in 2002, Beam recorded a cover of The Postal Service's then-unreleased song "Such Great Heights". Rather than being included on an Iron & Wine release, the track was initially included as a b-side of the original version by The Postal Service. It was later included on the B-sides and rarities album, Around the Well. He then followed up on his debut album in 2003 with The Sea & The Rhythm, an EP containing other home-recorded tracks with a similar style to the songs on the debut.

Beam's second full-length album, Our Endless Numbered Days (2004), was recorded in a professional studio with a significant increase in fidelity. Produced in Chicago by Brian Deck, the focus was still on acoustic material, but the inclusion of other band members gave rise to a slightly different sound. That same year, he recorded the song "The Trapeze Swinger" for the film In Good Company, and had his version of "Such Great Heights" featured in an advertisement for M&M's and in the film and soundtrack for Garden State. This version was later used in a 2006 Ask.com advertisement, and eventually released as a single in 2006 backed with recordings of "The Trapeze Swinger" and "Naked as We Came" made for Radio Vienna.

File:Sarahbeam.JPG
Sarah Beam, Samuel's sister, at the Beachland Ballroom in Cleveland

In February 2005, he released an EP entitled Woman King, which expanded on the sounds of his previous LP with the addition of electric guitars. Each track features a spiritual female figure, and had Biblical overtones.

The EP In the Reins, a collaboration with the Arizona-based rock band Calexico, was released in September 2005. Beam wrote all of the EP's songs years earlier, but Calexico added their trademark fusion of southwestern rock, traditional Mexican music and jazz to the songs' arrangements. Several tracks, most notably, "Burn That Broken Bed", feature brass instruments, a first for Beam's music.<ref>Template:Cite AV media notes</ref>

The third full-length Iron & Wine album, entitled The Shepherd's Dog, was released September 25, 2007.<ref>Khanna, Vish."Iron and Wine’s Guiding Light", Exclaim!, October 2007.</ref> This album was voted one of the ten best of 2007 by Paste magazine.<ref>Paste magazine issue No. 38</ref> Contributors included Joey Burns and Paul Niehaus of Calexico, as well as jazz musicians Matt Lux and Bob Burger.<ref name="exclaimmag">Template:Cite web</ref> When asked to describe the album to The Independent, Beam remarked that "it's not a political propaganda record, but it's definitely inspired by political confusion, because I was really taken aback when Bush got reelected."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Beam has released most of his music on iTunes, including several exclusive EPs. The Iron & Wine iTunes Exclusive EP features unreleased studio recordings, including a Stereolab cover and two tracks which had previously only appeared on vinyl. The Live Session (iTunes Exclusive) features Beam and his sister, Sarah Beam, performing a number of tracks from his albums, as well as a cover of New Order's "Love Vigilantes". Sarah Beam has contributed backing vocals on many of Beam's studio recordings.

Beam's music has appeared in television series such as Grey's Anatomy, The L Word and House M.D. "Flightless Bird, American Mouth" was used in the film Twilight. The song was specifically chosen for the film's prom scene by Kristen Stewart, the female lead, and appears on the film's soundtrack.

The B-sides and rarities album Around the Well was released in 2009. Iron & Wine also contributed the song "Stolen Houses (Die)" to the AIDS benefit album Dark Was the Night produced by the Red Hot Organization.

On November 26, 2010, Iron & Wine released a special edition Record Store Day Black Friday 12" vinyl and CD single called, Walking Far From Home for independent record stores.

Kiss Each Other Clean, Iron & Wine's fourth full-length album, was released on January 25, 2011, on Warner Bros. Records in North America and 4AD for the rest of the world.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> With this album, Beam blended his earlier styles with a stronger pop influence.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Beam in concert in Atlanta on August 5, 2024

Ghost on Ghost, Iron & Wine's fifth studio album, was released in April 2013 on Nonesuch Records in North America and 4AD for the rest of the world.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Ghost on Ghost marked a further exploration into the pop sounds of Kiss Each Other Clean while also exhibiting jazz and R&B influences, with jazz drummer Brian Blade contributing to the album.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In January 2014, recording during the polar vortex in Chicago, Beam and his regular collaborator Brian Deck co-produced eight of the ten songs on Chadwick Stokes' 2015 album The Horse Comanche.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Beam contributed the Iron & Wine band to the sessions and sang backing vocals.

Iron & Wine released two albums in 2015. Archive Series: Volume 1, released in February, featured unreleased songs recorded during the same period as The Creek Drank the Cradle. A covers album, Sing Into My Mouth, recorded with Band of Horses singer Ben Bridwell, was released in July.<ref name="siym">Template:Cite web</ref> Love Letter for Fire, an album of duets with American singer-songwriter Jesca Hoop, was released in 2016 on Sub Pop. Produced, recorded, and mixed by Tucker Martine, the album also featured contributions from Wilco's Glenn Kotche, Rob Burger, Eyvind Kang, Sebastian Steinberg, and Edward Rankin-Parker.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In August 2017, Iron & Wine's sixth studio album Beast Epic was released through Sub Pop Records. The record saw Beam strip back the production and array of instruments from previous records to return to more simple and melodic song structures.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On March 21, 2019, Calexico and Iron & Wine announced Years to Burn, their first collaboration album. It was released on June 14, 2019, via Sub Pop.<ref name="calexico">Template:Cite web</ref>

Live at Third Man Records was released in 2019, after being recorded on August 31, 2017.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2024, Iron & Wine released their seventh studio album, Light Verse and a cover of American Football's Never Meant.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref>

Personal life

Beam, his wife Kim, and their five daughters live in Durham, North Carolina.<ref>Menconi, David "Iron & Wine finds a new home in Durham" The News & Observer – June 26, 2014</ref> He was raised in the Bible belt as a Christian, but is now an agnostic: "That was a confusing time for me, but I don't miss being misled. I'm not an atheist. There's an undeniable unseen world that some people call God and think they know more about than other people. I try not to get hung up on the names."<ref>Newton, Maud "Planting Together: An interview with Iron and Wine’s Sam Beam" Template:Webarchive The High Hat</ref><ref>Brown, Helen "Iron and Wine: Don't mention the beard" The Telegraph – September 15, 2007</ref>

In 2011, a portrait of Beam was painted by British artist Joe Simpson. The painting was exhibited around the UK, including in a solo exhibition at The Royal Albert Hall.<ref>Breihan, Tom "Ezra Koenig, Matt Berninger, Sam Beam Immortalized in Oil Paintings" Pitchfork – February 23, 2011</ref>

Discography

Studio albums

List of albums, with selected chart positions, sales figures and certifications
Title Year Peak chart positions Sales Certifications
US
<ref name=amg>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> 		AUS
<ref>Peaks in Australia: 		CAN
<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> 		NLD
<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 		NOR
<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 		SWE
<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 		SWI
<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 		UK
<ref name="uk chart">Peaks in the UK:
The Creek Drank the Cradle 2002 — — — — — — — —
Our Endless Numbered Days 2004 158 — — — — — — —
The Shepherd's Dog 2007 24 98 — — 24 — — 74
Kiss Each Other Clean 2011 2 36 15 54 10 24 57 32
Ghost on Ghost 2013 26 — — 88 32 43 100 40
Sing into My Mouth Template:Small 2015 116 — — 67 — — — 191
Love Letter for Fire<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Template:Small 2016 173 — — — — — — —
Beast Epic 2017 44 83 77 93 — — — 60
Years to Burn Template:Small 2019 — — — 55 — — 46 —
Light Verse 2024 — — — — — — — —
"—" denotes a release that did not chart or was not released in that territory

Live albums and soundtracks

List of live albums and soundtracks
Year Album
2005 Iron & Wine Live Bonnaroo
2009 Norfolk 6/20/05
2011 Morning Becomes Eclectic
2019 Live at Third Man Records
2023 Who Can See Forever Soundtrack

Compilations

List of compilations
Year Album US Notes
2009 Around the Well<ref name=amg/> 25 B-sides and rarities compilation

Archive series

The "Archive Series" of early Sam Beam / Iron & Wine recordings
Year Album Notes
2015 Archive Series Volume No. 1 Album of previously unreleased early home recordings
2015 Archive Series Volume No. 2 7" covers single, 2 tracks, early home recordings
2017 Archive Series Volume No. 3 Record Store Day 7" single, two original songs from 2009
2017 Archive Series Volume No. 4 8 track vinyl album, acoustic versions of songs from The Shepherd's Dog
2021 Archive Series Volume No. 5 Album of previously unreleased songs recorded in Tallahassee in 1998
2024 Archive Series Volume No. 6 Album of cover songs, a vinyl only release available during the 2024 tour.

EPs

List of EPs
Year Title US Notes
2002 Iron & Wine Tour EP —
2003 The Sea & The Rhythm —
2004 Iron & Wine iTunes Exclusive EP — iTunes only
2005 Woman King<ref name=amg/> 128
2005 In the Reins<ref>[[[:Template:AllMusic]] Iron & Wine in the Reins Charts > Billboard Albums], AllMusic</ref> 135 with Calexico
2006 Live Session (iTunes Exclusive) — iTunes only
2006 Live at Lollapalooza 2006 — iTunes only
2018 Weed Garden<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> —
2022 Lori — Covering four Lori McKenna songs
2025 Making Good Time — with Ben Bridwell, covers

Singles

Title Year Certifications Album
"Call Your Boys" / "Dearest Forsaken" 2002 Template:Non-album single
"Such Great Heights" 2003
  • RIAA: Gold<ref name="RIAA" />
 Such Great Heights
"No Moon" / "Sinning Hands" 2004 Template:Non-album single
"Passing Afternoon" Our Endless Numbered Days
"The Trapeze Swinger" 2005 Template:Non-album single
"Arms of a Thief" / "Serpent Charmer" 2007 Template:Non-album single
"Boy with a Coin" / "Carried Home" and "Kingdom of the Animals"
  • RIAA: Gold<ref name="RIAA" />
 The Shepherd's Dog
"Dark Eyes" (with Calexico) 2007 Template:Non-album single
"Lovesong of the Buzzard" 2008 The Shepherd's Dog
"Flightless Bird, American Mouth"
"Love Vigilantes" 2009 Template:Non-album single
"Walking Far from Home" 2010 Kiss Each Other Clean
"Me and Lazarus" 2011
"Tree by the River"
"Time After Time" 2016 Template:Non-album single
"Call It Dreaming" 2017
  • RIAA: Gold<ref name="RIAA" />
 Beast Epic
"Bitter Truth"
"Song in Stone"
"You Never Know" 2024 Light Verse
"Never Meant"<ref name=":0" /> American Football (Covers)
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Other certified songs

Title Year Certifications Album
"Naked as We Came" 2004
  • RIAA: Gold<ref name="RIAA" />
 Our Endless Numbered Days
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Music videos

  • "Southern Anthem" (2002)
  • "Lion's Mane" (2002)
  • "Boy with a Coin" (2007)
  • "Joy" (2013)
  • "Call It Dreaming" (2017)
  • "Thomas County Law" (2017)
  • "Bitter Truth" (2018)
  • "Last Night" (2018)

Other contributions

References

Template:Reflist

Template:Commons category

Template:Iron & Wine

Template:Authority control

Retrieved from "https://wiki.sarg.dev/index.php?title=Iron_%26_Wine&oldid=166688"