Essra Mohawk (born Sandra Elayne Hurvitz on April 23, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter who has recorded a dozen albums, many receiving critical acclaim. Her best-known songs include "Sufferin' Til

Suffrage Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in representative democracy, public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally i ...

" and "Interjections!" (both from ''

Schoolhouse Rock! ''Schoolhouse Rock!'' is an American interstitial programming series of animated musical educational short films (and later, videos) that aired during the Saturday morning children's programming block on the U.S. television network ABC. The theme ...

''), " Change of Heart", recorded by

Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper Thornton (born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and activist. Her career has spanned over 40 years. Her album ''She's So Unusual'' (1983) was the first debut album by a female artist to achi ...

and "Stronger Than the Wind", recorded by

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer o ...

Biography

Hurvitz was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, Pennsylvania. Her first record, ''The Boy with the Way'', credited as Jamie Carter, was issued on

Liberty Records Liberty Records was a record label founded in the United States by chairman Simon Waronker in 1955 with Al Bennett as president and Theodore Keep as chief engineer. It was reactivated in 2001 in the United Kingdom and had two previous revival ...

in 1964. As Sandy Hurvitz, she was then discovered by

Shadow Morton George Francis "Shadow" Morton (September 3, 1941 – February 14, 2013) was an American record producer and songwriter best known for his influential work in the 1960s. In particular, he was noted for writing and producing "Remember (Walking in ...

, who placed her songs with both the Shangri-Las ("I'll Never Learn") and the

Vanilla Fudge Vanilla Fudge is an American rock band known predominantly for their slow extended heavy rock arrangements of contemporary hit songs, such as their hit cover of The Supremes' "You Keep Me Hangin' On". The band's original line–up—vocalist a ...

("The Spell That Comes After"). While living in New York City in 1967 she met

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by wikt:nonconformity, nonconformity, Free improvisation, free-form improvisation, sound experimen ...

, who persuaded her to perform for a short time with

The Mothers of Invention The Mothers of Invention (also known as The Mothers) was an American rock band from California. Formed in 1964, their work is marked by the use of sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Originally an R&B band ...

and then signed her to his

Bizarre Records Bizarre Records, self-identified simply as Bizarre, was a production company and record label formed for artists discovered by rock musician Frank Zappa and his business partner/manager Herb Cohen. History Bizarre was originally formed as a produ ...

production company. She opened for

Procol Harum Procol Harum () were an English rock music, rock band formed in Southend-on-Sea, Essex in 1967. Their best-known recording is the 1967 hit single "A Whiter Shade of Pale", one of the few singles to have List of best-selling singles, sold over ...

when they performed at the

Cafe Au Go Go The Cafe Au Go Go was a Greenwich Village night club located in the basement of the New Andy Warhol Garrick Theatre building in the late 1960s, and located at 152 Bleecker Street in Manhattan, New York City. The club featured many musical groups, ...

in 1967, and

Keith Reid Keith Stuart Brian Reid (born 19 October 1946 Allmusic.com biography by Jason Ankeny/ref>) is a lyricist and songwriter who wrote the lyrics of every song released by Procol Harum that was not previously recorded by someone else, with the except ...

wrote "Quite Rightly So", which appeared on their second album ''

Shine On Brightly ''Shine On Brightly'' is the second studio album by English rock band Procol Harum, released in 1968 by record labels Regal Zonophone and A&M. It is considered an early example of progressive rock. The album's single, "Quite Rightly So", faile ...

'', for her. Her first album ''Sandy's Album Is Here At Last'' was released on Bizarre/

Verve Verve may refer to: Music * The Verve, an English rock band * ''The Verve E.P.'', a 1992 EP by The Verve * ''Verve'' (R. Stevie Moore album) * Verve Records, an American jazz record label Businesses * Verve Coffee Roasters, an American coffee ho ...

in December 1968. In 1969 she was signed by

Reprise Records Reprise Records is an American record label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operates through Warner Records, one of its flagship labels. Artists currently signed to Reprise Records include Enya, Michael ...

after executive

Mo Ostin Mo Ostin (born Morris Meyer Ostrofsky; March 27, 1927 – July 31, 2022) was an American record executive who worked for several companies, including Verve, Reprise Records, Warner Bros. Records, and DreamWorks. He was chairman and chief execu ...

discovered her singing at a club in New York. The resulting album, ''

Primordial Lovers ''Primordial Lovers'' is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Essra Mohawk. Released on June 6, 1970, the album sold poorly. In 2000 the album was re-released by Rhino Handmade as a 22-track collection, combining the original al ...

'', was later said to be "one of the best 25 albums ever made" in ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' magazine. The album featured contributions from

CSN&Y Crosby, Stills & Nash (CSN) were a folk rock supergroup made up of American singer-songwriters David Crosby and Stephen Stills and English singer-songwriter Graham Nash. When joined by Canadian singer-songwriter Neil Young as a fourth member, ...

drummer Dallas Taylor and former

Rhinoceros A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...

members Doug Hastings and

Jerry Penrod Jerry "The Bear" Penrod (born September 25, 1946 in San Diego, California) is a bass player. He was a member of Iron Butterfly and Rhinoceros A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species ...

. Essra nearly joined Rhinoceros in its original line-up. While recording the album, she married her producer

Frazier Mohawk Frazier Mohawk (born Barry Friedman, December 12, 1941 – June 2, 2012) was an American record producer and sometime photographer, publicist, circus owner, and farmer. Life and career Friedman attended the Happy Valley School in California. He ...

(born Barry Friedman, 1941) and from then on was known as Essra Mohawk. "Essra" (S-ra) is an abbreviated form of Sandra. She was scheduled to perform at the

Woodstock Festival Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. ...

in August 1969, but her manager missed a turn, resulting in them barely arriving before the end of the last act on Friday evening, too late to perform. Members of

Generation X Generation X (or Gen X for short) is the Western world, Western demographic Cohort (statistics), cohort following the baby boomers and preceding the millennials. Researchers and popular media use the mid-to-late 1960s as starting birth years a ...

may recognize her distinctive voice from the Saturday morning TV series ''

'', as she lent her voice to "Interjections!", "Mother Necessity" and "Sufferin' Till Suffrage" in the mid-1970s. In addition, Mohawk sang the theme song to " Teeny Little Super Guy", a regular segment on ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) a ...

'' during the 1980s. Her third, eponymous, album came out on

Asylum Records Asylum Records is an American record label, founded in 1971 by David Geffen and partner Elliot Roberts. It was taken over by Warner Communications (now the Warner Music Group) in 1972, and later merged with Elektra Records to become Elektra/As ...

in 1974. It was panned by ''

Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the creat ...

'' critic

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

, who wrote in '' Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies'' (1981): "Here is a vocalist who should throw away all her

Leon Russell Leon Russell (born Claude Russell Bridges; April 2, 1942 – November 13, 2016) was an American musician and songwriter who was involved with numerous bestselling records during his 60-year career that spanned multiple genres, including rock and ...

records. When she calls herself a 'full-fledged woman,' it sounds like 'pool player's' woman, which given her persona makes more sense." The next album, ''Essra'', was released on yet another label, Private Stock, in 1976. During that period, she also worked as a session and background singer, for

John Mellencamp John J. Mellencamp (born October 7, 1951), previously known as Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp, is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for his catchy brand of heartland rock, which emphasizes traditional instrument ...

and

Carole King Carole King Klein (born Carol Joan Klein; February 9, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who has been active since 1958, initially as one of the staff songwriters at 1650 Broadway and later as a solo artist. Regarded as one ...

, and later she performed with the

Jerry Garcia Band The Jerry Garcia Band was a San Francisco Bay Area rock band led by Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead. Garcia founded the band in 1975; it remained the most important of his various side projects until his death in 1995. The band regularly tour ...

, and recorded and arranged background vocals for

Kool & the Gang Kool & the Gang is an American R&B/soul/funk band formed in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1964 by brothers Robert "Kool" Bell and Ronald Bell, with Dennis "Dee Tee" Thomas, Robert "Spike" Mickens, Charles Smith, George Brown, and Ricky West. T ...

. In 1982 after recording another album in L.A., she worked with

McFadden and Whitehead McFadden and Whitehead were an American R&B duo, best known for their signature tune "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now". They wrote and produced some of the most popular R&B hits of the 1970s, and were primarily associated with the Gamble and Huff re ...

in Philadelphia, penning "Not With Me" for their Capitol album, ''Movin' On''. She released another solo album, ''E-Turn'', before

had a hit with her song " Change of Heart" in 1986. In 2011 she provided the lead vocal for an animated short film produced by TDA Animation, about the struggle for gay rights, called "Sufferin' Till You're Straight". The spot featured former

Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group and a premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful ...

Scherrie Payne Scherrie Ann Payne (born November 4, 1944) is an American singer. Payne is best known as a member of the R&B/Soul vocal group The Supremes from 1973 until 1977. Because of her powerful voice and petite stature (5'2"), Payne is sometimes referred ...

and

Susaye Greene Susaye Greene (born September 13, 1948) is an American singer and songwriter. She was the last official member to join the Motown girl group The Supremes, remaining in the group during its final years of existence from 1976 to 1977. She is a su ...

on background vocals. She has written songs for other artists including co-writing a song entitled "Infinite Eyes" with blues artist

Keb Mo Kevin Roosevelt Moore (born October 3, 1951), known as Keb' Mo', is an American blues musician and five-time Grammy Award winner. He is a singer, guitarist, and songwriter, living in Nashville, Tennessee. He has been described as "a living link ...

as well as recording and performing in concert. She has released six more albums since moving to Nashville in 1993. Essra's songs have been aired on the TV series ''

Joan of Arcadia ''Joan of Arcadia'' is an American fantasy family drama television series telling the story of teenager Joan Girardi (Amber Tamblyn), who sees and speaks with God and performs tasks she is given. The series originally aired on Fridays on CBS for ...

'' and the soap opera ''

All My Children ''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 20 ...

''. Rhino released a special limited edition of her second and third albums, ''Primordial Lovers MM'', in 2000. Mohawk has been a longtime advocate of peace and environmental protection. She is a member of the board of Musicians and Artists for Peace and is their Nashville coordinator.

Discography

Studio albums

*1968 ''Sandy's Album is Here at Last'' (as Sandy Hurvitz) *1970 ''

'' *1974 ''Essra Mohawk'' *1976 ''Essra'' *1982 ''Burnin’ Shinin’'' (released without knowledge of the artist) *1985 ''E-Turn'' *1995 ''Raindance'' *1999 ''Essie Mae Hawk Meets the KillerGrooveBand'' *2003 ''You’re Not Alone'' *2006 ''Love is Still The Answer'' *2007 ''Revelations of the Secret Diva''

Live albums

*2001 ''Essra Live at Genghis Cohen''

Compilations

*2005 ''Mama Kangaroos: Philly Women Sing

Captain Beefheart Don Van Vliet (; born Don Glen Vliet; January 15, 1941 – December 17, 2010) was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and visual artist best known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. Conducting a rotating ensemble known as Th ...

''. Performs "Party of Special Things To Do," backed by the Philadelphia band EDO. *2013 '' Four-beat Rhythm: The Writings of Wilhelm Reich''

References

*Donovan, Charles. "

Essra Mohawk Essra Mohawk (born Sandra Elayne Hurvitz on April 23, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter who has recorded a dozen albums, many receiving critical acclaim. Her best-known songs include "Sufferin' Til Suffrage" and "Interjections!" (both from ...

. ''

Allmusic Guide AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

''.

External links

Official websiteEssra Mohawk Interview
NAMM Oral History Library (2019) {{DEFAULTSORT:Mohawk, Essra Living people Musicians from Philadelphia 1948 births Singer-songwriters from Pennsylvania Jerry Garcia Band members The Mothers of Invention members