Professor and Maryann

Ken Rockwood and Danielle Brancaccio shaped the folk-rock direction of Professor and Maryann, a group they launched in their hometown of New York during the early 1990s. Rockwood’s gifts as a singer and songwriter paired with Brancaccio’s luminous voice to mark the pair as an act destined for attention right away. After only their third performance—an opening slot for Freedy Johnston at the legendary CBGB’s—they signed with Bar-None Recordings. Fairy Tale arrived as their first album in 1994, prompting Alternative Press to hail them as “a Simon and Garfunkel for our age...” Two years later came Lead Us Not Into Penn Station, an album whose richer textures arose from the seamless fusion of deep jazz roots and cabaret-inspired material with pop hooks and straightforward harmonies. Their third release, the self-titled Professor and Maryann, followed in early 2001.