Singer-songwriter Sam Beam—aka Iron & Wine—wrote and recorded songs in his basement while working as a professor of film and cinematography at the University of Miami. ∙ Beam named himself Iron & Wine after a protein supplement that he came across in a Florida general store. ∙ Sub Pop signed him after buddy Ben Bridwell, frontman for Band of Horses, passed along early Iron & Wine demos to the indie powerhouse label. ∙ Iron & Wine’s 2002 debut studio LP—the spare, folky The Creek Drank the Cradle—was one of Pitchfork’s Top 200 albums of the 2000s. ∙ Kristen Stewart chose “Flightless Bird, American Mouth” to play during the scene from the film Twilight in which Bella and Edward dance at the prom. ∙ In 2011, the ’70s-pop-flavored Kiss Each Other Clean, was a No. 2 hit on the Billboard 200 chart. ∙ Beam recorded 2015’s Sing Into My Mouth with Ben Bridwell, covering songs by artists who inspired them both.