Annie Herring

Gospel singer and pianist Annie Herring has released recordings both within the lineup of 2nd Chapter of Acts and under her own name. Born and raised in North Dakota as Annie Ward, she grew up in a household of nine siblings whose parents actively promoted participation in the church choir along with performances at school openings, rural church picnics, and farm co-op gatherings. Shortly after her 1969 marriage, which changed her surname to Herring, both parents passed away within less than two years of each other. She took responsibility for her two youngest siblings, fourteen-year-old Nellie (later Nellie Greisen) and twelve-year-old Matthew Ward. Music became a source of solace during this period, prompting Herring, Greisen, and Matthew Ward to perform religious material together and refine their approach into layered three-part harmonies. Although the resulting ensemble, 2nd Chapter of Acts, initially had no plans to function as a formal band and restricted most appearances to churches and coffeehouses, Pat Boone encountered their early track “Jesus Is” and facilitated a contract with MGM Records. From the start of the 1970s onward the trio produced multiple albums, among them In the Volume, How the West Was One, and Mansion Builder, while achieving modest crossover appeal with the 1974 single “Easter Song.” They maintained an active schedule of releases and performances through the 1980s until concluding activities with a farewell tour in 1988. Herring, who had written most of the group’s songs, subsequently launched a solo career that yielded 1990s albums such as Flying Lessons, Waiting for My Ride Home, There’s a Stirring, Glimpses, and Wonder. In 1992 the trio marked the twentieth anniversary of their debut by issuing the retrospective collection 20: 1972-1992.