Iris and I are from the same small town in Arkansas. When I was a youngster, her uncle (I think) was locally in/famous for his letters to the editor.
I also spent time living in Iowa City, where I discovered Greg Brown, later to become her husband, who has recorded 4 or 5 of the best albums I've ever heard. As underacknowledged as Iris is, she's easily the more recognized of the two (and that's probably just fine with Greg, especially now, at his age). Both of them are treasures.
When they went back to that small town in Arkansas some years ago for her uncle's (I think) funeral, a friend of mine tweeted, "Two of the greatest singer/songwriters in America are in town right now, and nobody even knows who they are." (I get credit for introducing him to the male half of that duo.)
I also spent time living in Iowa City, where I discovered Greg Brown, later to become her husband, who has recorded 4 or 5 of the best albums I've ever heard. As underacknowledged as Iris is, she's easily the more recognized of the two (and that's probably just fine with Greg, especially now, at his age). Both of them are treasures.
When they went back to that small town in Arkansas some years ago for her uncle's (I think) funeral, a friend of mine tweeted, "Two of the greatest singer/songwriters in America are in town right now, and nobody even knows who they are." (I get credit for introducing him to the male half of that duo.)