Prudence Johnson
Prudence Johnson's silky voice has taken her from the Midwest to the Middle East, honky-tonks to Carnegie Hall, theater stages to the silver screen — appearing in Robert Redford's A River Runs Through It and in Robert Altman's A Prairie Home Companion. But be it concert hall or tiny jazz club, Prudence is the perfect complement. As one music critic put it, "[There's] not a genre she hasn't interpreted with her ducky, sensual alto voice and terminally good taste."
So, how does one go from a small town like Moose Lake, MN, to the world stage? Were you raised in a musical family?
My father has a beautiful voice and loves to sing. For decades, he was the go-to guy in our area for weddings and funerals. Singing together was something we always did; until a certain age, I thought all families did. People ask me how to learn to hear harmony parts. Ummm … your dad teaches you when you’re four?
I wouldn’t say I had ambition, so much as a certainty that that’s what I was meant to do, and I just put one foot in front of the other. My family of course thought I was nuts, especially since I was a young mother trying to make a living as a freelance musician. I believe it was my appearances on the Prairie Home show in the early ’80s ( it was nationally broadcast by then) that changed their minds.
'Remember Me' with Prudence & Garrison
You’ve released more than a dozen albums, collaborated on many more, written and performed in plays, performed in several feature films, released several multimedia projects combining music and history. With all the time at home due to the pandemic, are there any new projects on the horizon?
I was very busy during the darkest days of the pandemic working at an independent bookstore (Birchbark Books) in Minneapolis. I love the world of books and got a part-time job there in 2008, mostly to support my book habit. But over the years, my commitment deepened and I took on a lot of duties there while maintaining a schedule creating new shows, recording, and performing. To everyone’s surprise, when we closed our doors to the public in spring 2020, the store got much busier than ever before. So I wasn’t really isolated and I had very little downtime. I left Birchbark in the end of May after 12 1/2 years and had a great summer, and I’m just now really giving some thought to what’s next. I LOVE being in the studio but I realize I don’t recognize the landscape anymore — the business of making and releasing recordings has changed so fundamentally. Working with Garrison and with Robin and Linda, as the next incarnation of the Hopeful Gospel Quartet, is sort of a “new old” project that I’m really looking forward to.
You have performed on A Prairie Home Companion, toured with the show as part of the Rhubarb tour, been featured in the movie, toured with Garrison . . . do you have any favorite memories?
Oh! so many. I thought of the Beatles standing in the very same spot on the Hollywood Bowl stage. My granddaughter celebrating her ninth birthday with me on the APHC cruise of the Norwegian fjords. (She's a 23 yr old Registered Nurse now and has great memories of that time) Feeling Leonard Bernstein's spirit at Tanglewood. Red Maddock's glorious smile. I could go on and on.
It was so much fun being on set of the movie; I pretended to be a smoker so I could bum cigarettes from Kevin Kline and hang out with him. Meryl Streep & Lily Tomlin--truly excellent & sweet human beings. The day I sang in the quartet was totally spontaneous. Jearlyn Steele wasn't able to be on set that day, I was, and they wanted to shoot that song, so I learned it....fast!
We had just been on tour for about 3 weeks; how Garrison, Richie and the whole band and crew slipped right into that movie schedule I don't know--I was exhausted. I was asked to costume myself so I chose a suit I had worn sometimes on the tour. After a few 10 hour days in it, I dearly wished I'd chosen something more comfortable. (ok, not so much a favorite memory as a regret)
'Let Your Light Shine On Me' from the A Prairie Home Companion film >>>
Not all jobs require the integration of physical skills, intellect and the heart--some only require one of those--so it's a rare gift to make one's living doing something so spiritually gratifying. Offer your music with love and it will have an impact, and no matter how you weather the ups and downs of the music "business," it will feed your soul.
As a singer, I think of myself foremost as a storyteller, and I encourage young singers, when they are tempted to get frilly and fancy, to concentrate on telling the story.
'Early' with Prudence & Garrison
Tracking stolen crypto — Century Web Recovery helps Scam victims recover their lost funds. Century Web Recovery is a legitimate Crypto recovery company Who are considered to be one of the most reliable and experienced crypto recovery Experts that provides bitcoin recovery services to scam victims. Utilizing the latest and most advanced recovery tools to date, Century Web Recovery is capable of retrieving lost funds for Crypto scam victims safely, quickly, and affordably. If you happen to have lost your funds to crypto scams, Embark on a journey to reclaim your lost Bitcoin with Century Web Recovery. Email Add; ( century@cyberservices.com ) WhatsApp: +18288143630 Telegram: @centurywebrecovery
In early 2024, my life took a devastating turn. After years of disciplined saving, hard work, and sacrifices, I had managed to build up a life savings of $748,400. It was meant to be my security, my children’s future, my retirement, a cushion I had painstakingly built dollar by dollar. Like many others trying to adapt to the changing financial landscape, I decided to invest in cryptocurrency. I was lured by promises of high returns and fast profits through a platform that seemed reputable and polished. But what I didn’t know was that I had fallen into the trap of a sophisticated scam. Within weeks, the platform began acting strange. I couldn’t withdraw my funds. Customer support vanished. My account was under review indefinitely. Panic set in as I realized I had been defrauded. I contacted my bank, local authorities, and even tried to trace the wallet addresses myself, but everything led to a dead end. Depression hit hard. I barely slept or ate. I had lost everything I worked for, $748,400 dollars gone in seconds to faceless criminals on the internet. Then, someone in a cybersecurity forum mentioned Alpha Spy Nest, a covert highly-skilled recovery and intelligence team that specialized in digital fraud, crypto asset tracing, and fund recovery. I was skeptical. I’d already been scammed once. But something about their professionalism and transparency gave me hope. I decided to take the risk, there was nothing more to lose. From the moment I contacted Alpha Spy Nest, the experience was unlike anything I had encountered. They assigned a dedicated recovery agent to my case, someone with an extensive background in crypto forensics and blockchain intelligence. I provided them all the documentation, transaction records, emails, screenshots, wallet addresses. They immediately began tracing the stolen crypto through layers of blockchain transactions, mixers, and decoy wallets. It wasn’t easy. The thieves had used advanced laundering techniques, routing funds through multiple chains and exchanges. But Alpha Spy Nest didn’t back down. They worked in coordination with global cybercrime networks, flagged accounts through blockchain analytics tools, and even used legal avenues to freeze certain exchange wallets. They eventually recovered, totaling over 90% of my lost savings. What Alpha Spy Nest gave me wasn’t just money, it was dignity, justice, and a second chance. I’ll never forget the kindness, patience, and brilliance of that team. Their dedication saved not just my finances, but my faith in people and technology. If anyone ever finds themselves in a similar nightmare, I urge you, reach out to Alpha Spy Nest. They don’t just recover funds, they restore lives. email: alphaspynest@mail.com, whatsapp: +15132924878, website: www.alphaspynest.org, telegram: t.me/Alphaspynest
THE BEST HACKER RECOVERY – ZENITH HACKER
I am writing to express my deepest thank you for your excellent service I got from ZENITH HACKERS after I lost my BITCOIN to a fake Crypto recovery company. My unwavering patience during the 24-hour period truly stood out, and ZENITH HACKER’s recovery delivered beyond what I anticipated. I am profoundly grateful for your hard work and will be happy to share my positive experience with others. Thank you once again for everything.
Contact: +44(755)248-6027
Email: zenithintel@consultant.com.
Website: https://zenithhackers.com
Their office is located at 100 Preston’s Rd, London E14 9RL, UK.
THE BEST HACKER RECOVERY – ZENITH HACKER
I am writing to express my deepest thank you for your excellent service I got from ZENITH HACKERS after I lost my BITCOIN to a fake Crypto recovery company. My unwavering patience during the 24-hour period truly stood out, and ZENITH HACKER’s recovery delivered beyond what I anticipated. I am profoundly grateful for your hard work and will be happy to share my positive experience with others. Thank you once again for everything.
Contact: +44(755)248-6027
Email: zenithintel@consultant.com.
Website: https://zenithhackers.com
Their office is located at 100 Preston’s Rd, London E14 9RL, UK.
HIRE. THE HACK ANGELS // BEST BITCOIN // CRYPTO // ETH // USDT // WALLET RECOVERY EXPERT
If you are a victim of a crypto investment scam, send your crypto to the wrong address or someone hacked your wallet, THE HACK ANGELS can recover your funds!. After losing $855,60 to a scam, I spent three months searching for help. THE HACK ANGELS came through when no one else could. They recovered my funds and gave me hope again. I realized that even in the darkest moments, there’s always a way forward. Don’t give up if you’re facing a similar situation. Reach out to THE HACK ANGELS Expertise for guidance and support. Contact.
WhatsApp (+1(520)200-2320 ), or shoot them an email at (support@thehackangels.com) They also have a great website at (www.thehackangels.com)
I’m grateful for their help and highly recommend their services to anyone out there.