Prudence Johnson

Prudence Johnson is an American folk and jazz singer.

Prudence Johnson
Bornca. 1952/53 Moose Lake, Minnesota, U.S.
GenresFolk, jazz
Occupation(s)Singer
InstrumentsVocals
LabelsRed House
Associated actsRio Nido
Websitewww.prudencejohnson.com

Biography

Prudence Johnson grew up in a musical family in Moose Lake, Minnesota. In the early 1970s, Prudence was a co-founder with Tim Sparks of the vocal jazz group Rio Nido. The group recorded three albums and performed extensively, most often in the Minneapolis, Minnesota area.[1][2]

After her time with Rio Nido, she recorded three solo albums for Red House Records: Vocals, Songs of Greg Brown, and Little Dreamer, the latter a collection of children's lullabyes from around the world which earned Johnson a 1992 Grammy Award nomination.[2]

She was awarded a McKnight Fellowship to record Moon Country, a collection of Hoagy Carmichael songs. She collaborated with four Minnesota composers to create A Girl Named Vincent, a presentation of the poetry of Edna St. Vincent Millay set to music.[3]

In 2005, Johnson produced, directed, and performed in a musical production about the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald titled Ten November. The production featured Claudia Schmidt, Ruth McKenzie, Kevin Kling and Peter Ostroushko. She produced the album.[4] The production tells the story of the sinking of the ship from the point of view of crew members, local sailors, and the wives of crew members.

She has been a guest on the radio program A Prairie Home Companion.

Films

Johnson's film credits include Robert Redford's A River Runs Through It in a role as a singer and Robert Altman's A Prairie Home Companion as herself.

Discography

Solo
  • Little Dreamer (Red House, 1984)
  • Vocals (Red House, 1987)
  • Dick King Classic Swing and Prudence Johnson: King Swings, Pru Sings (1998)
  • Songs of Greg Brown (Red House, 1991)
  • Moon Country (Sleeper, 2002)
  • S' Gershwin with Dan Chouinard (Sleeper, 2004)
  • Gales of November (Sleeper, 2005)
  • Peru (Sleeper, 2006)

With Rio Nido

References
  1. "Matt Peiken journalism website". Archived from the original on 2006-05-22. Retrieved 2008-02-01.
  2. Canter, Andrea (February 2005). "Prudence Johnson and Dan Chouinard: February 3rd at the Dakota". Jazz Police. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
  3. Homestead Community Concerts.
  4. New Music Arts. Archived 2006-12-16 at the Wayback Machine
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