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Each Sunday, Pitchfork takes an in-depth look at a significant album from the past, and any record not in our archives is eligible. Today, we revisit the devastating and sublime debut from one of the most outstanding voices and songwriters in country music.
When Iris DeMent was a baby, her father staged a wildcat strike—meaning a strike without the backing or safety of a union—at the Emerson Electric plant in Arkansas. He stood for a year on the picket line before the whole thing collapsed in 1964, sending his family of 16 scrambling for a new home. They packed up everything they had and hastily relocated to Buena Park, California, and then Sacramento. Iris’ father found work as a gardener and a janitor, and her mother raised the family in extreme hardship. When things grew unbearably difficult, as they often did, Iris’ mother Flora Mae sat down at the piano to sing. ....

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