Biography
Priscilla Herdman distinguishes herself from many fellow folk performers by specializing in interpretation after the manner of Joan Baez and Judy Collins rather than writing original material. She has portrayed her work as that of a songfinder who selects others’ compositions, remarking that locating material worthy of wider notice forms an essential part of the process. Reviewers have repeatedly praised the three-octave range in which she delivers these choices. The Philadelphia Inquirer observed that “Herdman’s gifted with a rich, almost opulent timbre…impeccable enunciation and seemingly effortless deliveries…,” Stephen Holden wrote in The New York Times that “Priscilla Herdman [is] one of the clearest and most compelling voices of contemporary folk music,” and The Chicago Sun Times stated, “Herdman has a remarkable voice: clear shiny sparkling….”
Born February 11, 1948, in Eastchester, NY, to Raymond C. Herdman and Ellen (Saunders) Herdman, she taped her first album, The Water Lily, during 1976 and issued it the following year; Rounder Records later reissued the set on its Philo imprint. The recording reflected a pronounced Australian orientation through seven musical settings of poems by Henry Lawson (1867-1922) plus a rendition of Eric Bogle’s antiwar piece “The Band Played ‘Waltzing Matilda’,” which recounts the Gallipoli campaign of World War I.
Flying Fish brought out her second collection, Forgotten Dreams, in 1980. Along with standards such as the Depression-era “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” and interpretations of songs by Randy Newman, Tom Waits, and James Taylor, the album incorporated numbers by Bogle, Lui Collins, and Stan Rogers. In 1982 Herdman and her husband, environmental activist Dick Hermans, relocated from Philadelphia to Pine Plains, NY. Seasons of Change, her third album, appeared in 1983 and again featured Rogers material together with works by Si Kahn, David Mallett, Fred Small, and Judy Small.
Between that release and the summer 1987 arrival of her fourth album, Darkness into Light, Herdman gave birth to daughter Suzanna in 1985; she later described the record as “definitely my post-baby album,” observing that “a lot of things which had been important became stronger feelings in me after giving birth.” The LP contained another Lawson poem, “When the Children Come Home,” and a medley pairing Malvina Reynolds’ “Turn Around” with the traditional Irish air “The Gartan Mother’s Lullaby.” Billboard’s critic noted, “Folk singer Herdman’s placidly beautiful voice demands attention….”
Motherhood’s influence extended to her fifth project, the children’s album Star Dreamer: Nightsongs & Lullabies, issued by Alcazam! Records in 1988. Three years later she joined Anne Hills and Cindy Mangsen for the 1990 Flying Fish release Voices, documenting a trio that had already performed together for several seasons. A second children’s set, Daydreamer, came out on Music for Little People in 1993. Herdman returned to adult solo work with Forever & Always in 1995; that album presented pieces by Hills, Mallett, Bill Staines, John McCutcheon, and Cathy Fink as well as Billy Joel’s “And So It Goes” and renditions of “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” and “The Water Is Wide.”
The same trio reassembled for the holiday live recording Voices of Winter, which Gadfly Records released in October 1997, while Moondreamer, Herdman’s third children’s collection, appeared on Redwing in April 1998. At the Turning of the Year, the third Herdman/Hills/Mangsen album, emerged on Hand & Hand in October 2000 and again centered on seasonal themes. Redwing issued her sixth adult solo album—and twelfth overall—The Road Home in May 2003.
Born February 11, 1948, in Eastchester, NY, to Raymond C. Herdman and Ellen (Saunders) Herdman, she taped her first album, The Water Lily, during 1976 and issued it the following year; Rounder Records later reissued the set on its Philo imprint. The recording reflected a pronounced Australian orientation through seven musical settings of poems by Henry Lawson (1867-1922) plus a rendition of Eric Bogle’s antiwar piece “The Band Played ‘Waltzing Matilda’,” which recounts the Gallipoli campaign of World War I.
Flying Fish brought out her second collection, Forgotten Dreams, in 1980. Along with standards such as the Depression-era “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” and interpretations of songs by Randy Newman, Tom Waits, and James Taylor, the album incorporated numbers by Bogle, Lui Collins, and Stan Rogers. In 1982 Herdman and her husband, environmental activist Dick Hermans, relocated from Philadelphia to Pine Plains, NY. Seasons of Change, her third album, appeared in 1983 and again featured Rogers material together with works by Si Kahn, David Mallett, Fred Small, and Judy Small.
Between that release and the summer 1987 arrival of her fourth album, Darkness into Light, Herdman gave birth to daughter Suzanna in 1985; she later described the record as “definitely my post-baby album,” observing that “a lot of things which had been important became stronger feelings in me after giving birth.” The LP contained another Lawson poem, “When the Children Come Home,” and a medley pairing Malvina Reynolds’ “Turn Around” with the traditional Irish air “The Gartan Mother’s Lullaby.” Billboard’s critic noted, “Folk singer Herdman’s placidly beautiful voice demands attention….”
Motherhood’s influence extended to her fifth project, the children’s album Star Dreamer: Nightsongs & Lullabies, issued by Alcazam! Records in 1988. Three years later she joined Anne Hills and Cindy Mangsen for the 1990 Flying Fish release Voices, documenting a trio that had already performed together for several seasons. A second children’s set, Daydreamer, came out on Music for Little People in 1993. Herdman returned to adult solo work with Forever & Always in 1995; that album presented pieces by Hills, Mallett, Bill Staines, John McCutcheon, and Cathy Fink as well as Billy Joel’s “And So It Goes” and renditions of “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” and “The Water Is Wide.”
The same trio reassembled for the holiday live recording Voices of Winter, which Gadfly Records released in October 1997, while Moondreamer, Herdman’s third children’s collection, appeared on Redwing in April 1998. At the Turning of the Year, the third Herdman/Hills/Mangsen album, emerged on Hand & Hand in October 2000 and again centered on seasonal themes. Redwing issued her sixth adult solo album—and twelfth overall—The Road Home in May 2003.
Albums
