Iron & Wine

Biography

Samuel Ervin Beam (born July 26, 1974), better known by his stage name Iron & Wine, is an American singer-songwriter. He has released eight 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.
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.

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.
He had been writing songs for over seven years before a friend lent him a four-track recorder. One of Beam's home recordings came to the attention of Ben Bridwell, of Band of Horses, and eventually to Mike McGonigal, editor of Yeti magazine. McGonigal chose the song "Dead Man's Will", later released on In the Reins, for inclusion on one of his magazine's compilation CDs. Jonathan Poneman of Sub Pop records contacted Beam to propose a deal.

Musical career

Beam released his first Iron & Wine album, The Creek Drank the Cradle×The Creek Drank the Cradle24 September 2002 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Lion’s Mane2:502Bird Stealing Bread4:213Faded From the Winter3:184Promising Light2:495The Rooster Moans3:256Upward Over the Mountain5:567Southern Anthem3:548An Angry Blade3:489Weary Memory4:0110Promise What You Will2:2411Muddy Hymnal2:44, 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, Simon and Garfunkel, 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×Such Great Heights31 July 2006 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracks1Such Great Heights4:142Trapeze Swinger (live recording from Radio Vienna)7:083Naked as We Came (live recording from Radio Vienna)2:30". 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×Around the Well19 May 2009 · Album · CompilationSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 23 tracks · 2 discsDisc 11Dearest Forsaken3:502Morning2:423Loud as Hope2:574Peng! 333:285Sacred Vision3:206Friends They Are Jewels4:147Hickory4:358Waitin' for a Superman4:349Swans and the Swimming3:2510Call Your Boys3:4711Such Great Heights4:11Disc 21Communion Cups and Someone's Coat2:032Belated Promise Ring3:463God Made the Automobile3:554Homeward, These Shoes1:355Love Vigilantes3:276Sinning Hands5:317No Moon4:168Serpent Charmer2:409Carried Home6:3210Kingdom of the Animals5:0611Arms of a Thief3:4212The Trapeze Swinger9:31. He then followed up on his debut album in 2003 with The Sea & The Rhythm×The Sea & the Rhythm9 September 2003 · EPSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 5 tracks1Beneath the Balcony3:302The Sea and the Rhythm5:243The Night Descending3:144Jesus the Mexican Boy4:575Someday the Waves4:14, 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×Our Endless Numbered Days23 March 2004 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 16 tracks · 2 discsDisc 11On Your Wings3:532Naked as We Came2:323Cinder and Smoke5:444Sunset Soon Forgotten3:195Teeth in the Grass2:216Love and Some Verses3:407Radio War1:568Each Coming Night3:279Free Until They Cut Me Down4:3410Fever Dream4:1611Sodom, South Georgia4:5912Passing Afternoon4:09Disc 21Cinder and Smoke (demo)4:212Swans and the Swimming3:253Free Until They Cut Me Down (demo)3:244Hickory4:35 (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×The Trapeze Swinger12 May 2005 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1The Trapeze Swinger9:31" 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.

In February 2005, he released an EP entitled Woman King×Woman King22 February 2005 · EPSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 6 tracks1Woman King4:212Jezebel5:073Gray Stables3:554Freedom Hangs Like Heaven4:015My Lady’s House3:336Evening on the Ground (Lilith’s Song)3:05, 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×In the Reins12 September 2005 · EPSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 7 tracks1He Lays in the Reins3:442Prison on Route 414:113A History of Lovers3:104Red Dust3:315Sixteen, Maybe Less4:496Burn That Broken Bed5:067Dead Man’s Will3:13, 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.
The third full-length Iron & Wine album, entitled The Shepherd's Dog×The Shepherd's Dog23 September 2007 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracks1Pagan Angel and a Borrowed Car4:332White Tooth Man3:573Lovesong of the Buzzard4:264Carousel4:025House by the Sea4:226Innocent Bones3:437Wolves (Song of the Shepherd's Dog)4:578Resurrection Fern4:509Boy With a Coin4:0610The Devil Never Sleeps2:0711Peace Beneath the City4:4512Flightless Bird, American Mouth4:1113Carried Home6:2714Kingdom of the Animals5:06, was released September 25, 2007. This album was voted one of the ten best of 2007 by Paste magazine. Contributors included Joey Burns and Paul Niehaus of Calexico, as well as jazz musicians Matt Lux and Bob Burger. 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."
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×Love Vigilantes17 August 2009 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Love Vigilantes3:27". 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×Flightless Bird, American Mouth2008 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Flightless Bird, American Mouth3:59" 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. With this album, Beam blended his earlier styles with a stronger pop influence.

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. 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. 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. 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×Sing Into My Mouth14 July 2015 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1This Must Be the Place3:312Done This One Before2:593Any Day Woman2:504You Know Me More Than I Know3:295Bullet Proof Soul4:396No Way Out of Here4:387God Knows (You Gotta Give to Get)3:228The Straight and Narrow5:159Magnolia3:5110Am I a Good Man3:4711Ab’s Song1:1912Coyote, My Little Brother5:05, recorded with Band of Horses singer Ben Bridwell, was released in July. 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.
In August 2017, Iron & Wine's sixth studio album Beast Epic×Beast Epic25 August 2017 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Claim Your Ghost2:282Thomas County Law3:243Bitter Truth3:034Song in Stone3:215Summer Clouds3:346Call It Dreaming3:527About a Bruise3:118Last Night2:559Right for Sky3:5910The Truest Stars We Know2:5211Our Light Miles3:12 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.
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.
Live at Third Man Records was released in 2019, after being recorded on August 31, 2017.
In 2024, Iron & Wine released their seventh studio album, Light Verse×Light Verse26 April 2024 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1You Never Know4:512Anyone’s Game3:493All in Good Time4:154Cutting It Close3:005Taken by Surprise5:206Yellow Jacket3:267Sweet Talk3:398Tears That Don’t Matter6:549Bag of Cats3:2310Angels Go Home4:23 and a cover of American Football's Never Meant×Never Meant31 July 2024 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Never Meant3:202Never Meant (Remastered 2024)4:29.

Personal life

Beam, his wife Kim, and their five daughters live in Durham, North Carolina. 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."

Other contributions

The Six Parts Seven's Lost Notes from Forgotten Songs (2003) – "Sleeping Diagonally"
The O.C. Soundtrack (2004) – "The Sea & the Rhythm×The Sea & the Rhythm9 September 2003 · EPSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 5 tracks1Beneath the Balcony3:302The Sea and the Rhythm5:243The Night Descending3:144Jesus the Mexican Boy4:575Someday the Waves4:14"
Garden State Soundtrack (2004) – "Such Great Heights×Such Great Heights31 July 2006 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracks1Such Great Heights4:142Trapeze Swinger (live recording from Radio Vienna)7:083Naked as We Came (live recording from Radio Vienna)2:30"
Sweetheart: Love Songs (2004) – "Ab's Song" (The Marshall Tucker Band cover)
L Word: Season Two Soundtrack (2004) – "Naked as We Came"
Grey's Anatomy: Season Two Soundtrack (2004) – "Naked as We Came"
In Good Company (2004) – "Naked as We Came", "Sunset Soon Forgotten", "The Trapeze Swinger×The Trapeze Swinger12 May 2005 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1The Trapeze Swinger9:31"
Fighting in a Sack (2004) – "New Slang (Featuring Iron & Wine) [Live]"
KCRW Sounds Eclectic Volume 3 (2005) – "Waitin' for a Superman" (Flaming Lips cover)
I Am a Cold Rock. I Am Dull Grass. (2006) – "We All, Us Three, Will Ride"
I'm Not There Soundtrack (2007) – "Dark Eyes" (with Calexico)
The Road Mix Volume 3, music from One Tree Hill (2007) – "He Lays in the Reins" (with Calexico)
Acoustic 07 (2007) – "Naked as We Came"
Numb3rs Season 3, Episode 19, "Pandora's Box" (2007) – "Naked as We Came"
Friday Night Lights Season 1, Episode 12 (2007) – "Upward Over the Mountain"
Friday Night Lights: Original Television Soundtrack (2007) – "Dead Man's Will" (with Calexico)
Twilight Soundtrack (2008) – "Flightless Bird, American Mouth×Flightless Bird, American Mouth2008 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Flightless Bird, American Mouth3:59"
90210 Season 1, Episode 18, "Off the Rails" (2008) – "Cinder & Smoke"
House M.D.
Season 4, Episode 16 (Season Finale, Part 2) "Wilson's Heart" (2008) – "Passing Afternoon×Passing Afternoon19 October 2004 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracks1Passing Afternoon4:002Communion Cups and Someone's Coat2:033Dearest Forsaken3:08"
Season 6, Episode 1 (Season Premiere, Part 1) "Broken" (2009) – "Love Vigilantes×Love Vigilantes17 August 2009 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Love Vigilantes3:27" (New Order cover)
Dark Was the Night (2009) – "Stolen Houses (Die)"
Ugly Betty Season 3, Episode 16 (2009) – "Naked as We Came"
The Mysteries of Pittsburgh (2009) – "Naked as We Came"
Misfits Season 1, Episode 6 (2009) – "Such Great Heights"
TiMER (2009) – "The Trapeze Swinger"
The Last Song Soundtrack (2010) – "Each Coming Night"
Degrassi Season 10, Episode 31, "Halo, Part 2" (2010) – "Passing Afternoon"
Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 Soundtrack (2011) – "Flightless Bird, American Mouth (wedding version)"
The Lone Ranger: Wanted (Music Inspired by the Film) (2013) – "Rattling Bone"
The Resident Season 5, Episode 5 (2021) – "Naked as We Came"