Priscilla Herdman (born February 11, 1948) is an American folk singer, whom ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' called "one of the clearest and most compelling voices of

contemporary folk music Contemporary folk music refers to a wide variety of genres that emerged in the mid 20th century and afterwards which were associated with traditional folk music. Starting in the mid-20th century a new form of popular folk music evolved from tradit ...

." Although she has written songs, she is notable chiefly for her interpretations of other artists' work.

Early life

Born in

Eastchester, New York Eastchester is a town in southern Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was over 34,641 at the 2020 United States census over 32,363 at the 2010 census. There are two villages within the town: Bronxville and Tuckahoe. The ...

in 1948, she attended the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...

, finishing her studies at the

Fashion Institute of Technology The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) is a public college in New York City. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) and focuses on art, business, design, mass communication, and technology connected to the fashion industry. It ...

in New York. While working in the fashion industry, she began to play in the coffeehouses of

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

and the church basements of the

Upper West Side The Upper West Side (UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. The Upper West ...

, and toured in Europe. In 1976, she moved to

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 ...

and decided to become a professional singer.

Music career

Her first album, ''The Water Lily'', was released in 1977, on the Philo label. In 1980, her second album, ''Forgotten Dreams'', consisting mainly of covers of songs by contemporary North American songwriters, was released on the

Flying Fish The Exocoetidae are a family of marine fish in the order Beloniformes class Actinopterygii, known colloquially as flying fish or flying cod. About 64 species are grouped in seven to nine genera. While they cannot fly in the same way a bird do ...

label. In 1982, Herdman left Philadelphia and moved to the small rural community of

Pine Plains, New York Pine Plains is a town in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The population was 2,218 at the 2020 census. The name is derived from the geographic character of the region. The hamlet of Pine Plains is on the northern border of the county. ...

, where she met her husband, Dick Hermans. In 1983 she then released her third album, ''Seasons of Change''. To date, Herdman has released 12 albums, including several in a trio with

Anne Hills Anne Hills (born October 18, 1953) is an American folk singer-songwriter. Hills was born to a family of missionaries in Moradabad, India, and grew up in Michigan, United States. She studied at the Interlochen Center for the Arts, where she pl ...

and

Cindy Mangsen Since their marriage in 1989, Steve Gillette (born 1942) and Cindy Mangsen have been traveling, performing and recording together. Their album ''Live In Concert'', recorded at The Ark in Ann Arbor in 1991, is available from their own company, C ...

Discography

Studio albums

* 1977: ''The Water Lily'' (

Philo Philo of Alexandria (; grc, Φίλων, Phílōn; he, יְדִידְיָה, Yəḏīḏyāh (Jedediah); ), also called Philo Judaeus, was a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher who lived in Alexandria, in the Roman province of Egypt. Philo's deplo ...

) * 1980: ''Forgotten Dreams'' (

) * 1983: ''Seasons Of Change'' (Flying Fish) * 1987: ''Darkness Into Light'' (Flying Fish) * 1988: ''Stardreamer: Nightsongs and Lullabies'' (Alacazam!) * 1990: ''Voices'' (Flying Fish) - with

and

* 1993: ''Daydreamer'' (Music For Littl) * 1995: ''Forever & Always'' (Flying Fish / New Rounder) * 1997: ''Voices of Winter'' (Gadfly) - with [Anne Hills and Cindy Mangsen * 1998: ''Moondreamer'' (Redwing) * 2000: ''At the Turning of the Year'' (Hand & Heart) * 2003: ''The Road Home'' (Redwing) * 2009: ''Into the Stars'' (Stardreamer)

As composer

* 1981: Martyn Wyndham-Read - ''Emu Plains'' (Fellside) - track 5, "Water Lily" (co-written with Henry Lawson)

Also appears on

* 1977: Jim Ringer - ''Tramps & Hawkers'' (Philo) - vocals * 1981: Bill Staines - ''Rodeo Rose'' (Philo) - vocals * 1983:

Martin Curtis Martin Curtis is a leading New Zealand folksinger and songwriter. Biography Born in Great Britain on 7 February 1944, he came to New Zealand in 1964. In 1976, he and his wife Kay went to Wānaka in Central Otago in the South Island to manage ...

- ''Gin & Raspberry'' (Cityfolk) - vocals * 1985: Fred Small - ''No Limit'' (Rounder) - vocals * 1992: Cindy Mangsen - ''Songlines'' (Compass Rose) - vocals * 1993: Allen Power - ''The Healing Arts'' (Beacon) - vocals * 1993: various artists - ''

Christine Lavin Christine Lavin (born January 2, 1952) is a New York City-based singer-songwriter and promoter of contemporary folk music. She has recorded numerous solo albums, and has also recorded with other female folk artists under the name Four Bitchin ...

Presents: On a Winter's Night'' (Philo) - track 15, "Stars" * 1994: Anne Hills and Cindy Mangsen - ''Never Grow Old'' (Flying Fish) * 1995: Anne Hills - ''Angle of the Light'' (Flying Fish) * 1996:

Jay Ansill Jay Ansill is a composer and folk musician, known primarily as a Celtic harpist and fiddler. Ansill has released several solo albums including ''Origami'', ''A Lost World'' (an adaptation of poems by Robert Graves), and three privately release ...

- ''A Lost World (Poems of Robert Graves Set as Songs)'' (Beacon) - vocals * 1998: Anne Hills - ''Never Grow Up'' (Flying Fish) * 1998: Cindy Mangsen - ''Songs of Experience'' (Redwing) - vocals * 2009: Anne Hills - ''Points of View'' (Appleseed) - vocals

References

Bibliography

Michael Erlewine John Michael Erlewine (; born July 18, 1941) is an American musician, astrologer, photographer, TV host, publisher and Internet entrepreneur who founded the music online database site AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide) in 1991. Car ...

& Scott Bultman (ed.) (1992)
All Music Guide, 1st ed., p. 509
', . * Neal Walters &

Brian Mansfield Brian Mansfield (born September 24, 1963) is an American writer and journalist. Early life and education Mansfield grew up in Nashville, Tennessee. He graduated from David Lipscomb High School. In 1984, Mansfield received a bachelor's degre ...

(ed.) (1998)
MusicHound Folk: The Essential Album Guide, p. 360-361
', (the source of her birth date). * Carlin, Richard (2007)
American Popular Music: Folk, p. 94
', .

External links

Official web site
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Herdman, Priscilla American folk singers American women singer-songwriters 1948 births Living people Fashion Institute of Technology alumni 20th-century American guitarists Flying Fish Records artists 20th-century American women guitarists 21st-century American women