Janice Gadsden Pendarvis is an American singer, songwriter, and voiceover artist. She has worked with artists such as Sting,

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

, Steely Dan, Peter Tosh, Brandy,

the O'Jays The O'Jays are an American R&B group from Canton, Ohio, formed in 1958 and originally consisting of Eddie Levert, Walter Lee Williams, William Powell, Bobby Massey, and Bill Isles. The O'Jays made their first chart appearance with the minor ...

, Philip Glass, Jimmy Cliff,

Laurie Anderson Laurel Philips Anderson (born June 5, 1947), known as Laurie Anderson, is an American avant-garde artist, composer, musician, and film director whose work spans performance art, pop music, and multimedia projects. Initially trained in violin and ...

, the Naked Brothers Band, and

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

Personal life

Janice was born and raised in

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

, New York. She started her career as a songwriter and was once married to

Leon Pendarvis Leroy Leon Pendarvis (born 1945) is an American session musician. He plays keyboards and is a background vocalist. He is also an occasional guitarist. The artists he has worked with over the years include Bonnie Raitt on her ''Streetlights'' album ...

, who is a longtime SNL band-member and keyboardist as well as a music industry composer-arranger. She sang on a Roberta Flack background session for the '' Feel Like Makin' Love'' album, which included fellow background singers

Deniece Williams Deniece Williams (born June Deniece Chandler; June 3, 1951) is an American singer. She has been described as "one of the great soul voices" by the BBC. She is best known for the songs " Free", " Silly", "It's Gonna Take a Miracle" and two ''Bil ...

and Patti Austin.Interview with Janice Pendarvis on Walking Passions (Blog Talk Radio)
/ref>

David Spinozza David Spinozza is an American guitarist and producer. He worked with former Beatles Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and John Lennon during the 1970s, and had a long collaboration with singer-songwriter James Taylor, producing Taylor's album '' Walkin ...

, a good friend of Pendarvis, convinced her to become serious about learning the craft of singing. Her most well-known commercial success has been being featured in the documentary ''Bring on the Night'',Bio of Janice Pendarvis on Berklee Website
/ref> profiling the music of Sting at the beginning of his solo career. She was featured in the music video "If You Love Somebody (Set Them Free)". She also sang lead on the song "Lightning" from the Philip Glass album '' Songs from Liquid Days''. Pendarvis has served on the National Boards of the

Screen Actors Guild The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. On March 30, 2012, the union leadership announced that the SAG membership voted to m ...

(SAG) and the

American Federation of Television and Radio Artists The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) was a performers' union that represented a wide variety of talent, including actors in radio and television, radio and television announcers and newspersons, singers and recording a ...

(AFTRA). She has also served on the NY Chapter Board of Governors of

The Recording Academy The Recording Academy (formally the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences; abbreviated NARAS) is an American learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is famous for its Grammy A ...

(NARAS). Currently, Pendarvis is an associate professor of voice at Berklee College of Music in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. She appears in the

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...

20 Feet from Stardom ''20 Feet from Stardom'' is a 2013 American documentary film directed by documentary filmmaker Morgan Neville and produced by Gil Friesen, a music industry executive whose curiosity to know more about the lives of background singers inspired the ...

'' (2013), directed by Morgan Neville.

Work with Sting

Janice provided background vocals for Sting on his first solo album, ''

The Dream of the Blue Turtles ''The Dream of the Blue Turtles'' is the first solo album by English musician Sting, released in June 1985. The album reached number three on the UK Albums Chart and number two on the US ''Billboard'' 200. Five singles were released from the ...

'', which was nominated for a Grammy for Album of the Year in 1986. Pendarvis took part in Sting's first solo tour, sharing choruses with Dolette McDonald on the live album and movie ''

Bring on the night ''Bring On the Night'' is the first live album by Sting recorded over the course of several live shows in 1985 and released in 1986. The title is taken from a song by the Police from their 1979 album ''Reggatta de Blanc''. The songs performed ...

''. They both returned for Sting's next studio album '' ...Nothing Like the Sun''. Finally, she was featured on Sting's '' ...All This Time'' live album recorded at the British singer's "Villa Il Palagio" in Italy, on September 11th 2001.

Discography

* 1974 : ''Feel Like Makin' Love'' by Roberta Flack * 1977 : ''Jungle Girl/It Ain't Easy'' - Single by Tamara Dobson * 1978 : ''Evolution (The Most Recent)'' by Taj Mahal * 1979 : ''City Connection'' by Terumasa Hino * 1981 : ''Holding Out My Love To You'' by Max Romeo * 1985 : ''The Dream of the Blue Turtles'' by Sting * 1986 : ''Dirty Work'' by the Rolling Stones - Alongside with Dolette McDonald on backing vocals * 1986 : ''Bring On the Night'' by Sting * 1986 : ''Magnetic Love'' by Steps Ahead * 1986 : ''Songs From Liquid Days'' by Philip Glass * 1986 : ''Home of the Brave (soundtrack)'' by Laurie Anderson * 1987 : ''...Nothing Like the Sun'' by Sting * 1990 : ''Terumasa Hino'' by Terumasa Hino * 2001 : ''...All This Time'' by Sting * 2008 : ''I Don't Want to Go to School'' by the Naked Brothers Band - Soundtrack of the movie of the same name. * 2013 : ''The Next Day'' by David Bowie

Filmography

* 1978 : ''

The Wiz ''The Wiz: The Super Soul Musical "Wonderful Wizard of Oz"'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls (and others) and book by William F. Brown. It is a retelling of L. Frank Baum's children's novel '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' ...

'' by Sidney Lumet - ''Singer'' * 1985 - 1986 : ''

American Masters ''American Masters'' is a PBS television series which produces biographies on enduring writers, musicians, visual and performing artists, dramatists, filmmakers, and those who have left an indelible impression on the cultural landscape of the ...

'' by Susan Lacy - TV Series - ''Herself'' * 1986 : ''

Bring On the Night ''Bring On the Night'' is the first live album by Sting recorded over the course of several live shows in 1985 and released in 1986. The title is taken from a song by the Police from their 1979 album ''Reggatta de Blanc''. The songs performed ...

'' by Michael Apted - ''Herself'' * 1986 : '' Home of the Brave: A Film by Laurie Anderson'' - ''Herself'' * 1990 : ''

Green Card A green card, known officially as a permanent resident card, is an identity document which shows that a person has permanent residency in the United States. ("The term 'lawfully admitted for permanent residence' means the status of having been ...

'' by Peter Weir - ''Singer'' * 1997 - 2014 : ''

Behind the Music ''Behind the Music'' is a documentary television series on VH1. Each episode profiles and interviews a popular musical artist or group. The program examines the beginning of their career, their road to success, and the hardships they may have ...

'' by Gay Rosenthal - TV Series - ''Herself'' * 2001 : '' Sting ...All This Time'' by Jim Gable - ''Herself'' * 2004 - 2017 : ''

The Apprentice ''The Apprentice'' is a reality talent game show franchise originally aired in 2004 in the United States. Created by U.S.-based British producer Mark Burnett, the show depicts contestants from around the country with various professional backg ...

'' by Mark Burnett - TV Series - ''Herself'' * 2013 : ''

'' by Morgan Neville - ''Herself''

References

External links

* https://www.discogs.com/artist/774945-Janice-Gadsden * https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0671648/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cl_t119 {{DEFAULTSORT:Pendarvis, Janice Living people Singers from New York City Year of birth missing (living people) People from Queens, New York Berklee College of Music faculty