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.

Do you have a favorite guest musician you've had the opportunity to meet or perform with on the show?
Odetta! She looked right into my soul! Billy Collins and I sang a duet or two--Billy if you're reading this, my crush has never faded. Linda Ronstadt saw I was facing a lonely night of room service and tv after the show and whisked me off to dinner with her friends. What a sweetheart. Back before there were actual actors doing the scripts, Garrison wrote a sketch for Leo Kottke, Chet Atkins and me. I'm still amazed when I think about it.
Prudence talks about the Department of Folk Songs, Sings and takes a few more questions

On the show, you took over as host of the Department of Folk Song for a period of time. . . .did you choose all the songs to feature or do you have a favorite song that you discovered as part of the Department of Folk Song?
I did a lot of research, brought home armloads of books from the library. I discovered a lot of songs from different centuries about women in various kinds of distress which led to projects with the MN Sinfonia as well as a production called Fearless and Fallen, with guitarist Dean Magraw and cellist Michelle Kinney.
As we covered in our feature on the Hopeful Gospel Quartet, you stepped in as the fourth voice for the A Prairie Home Companion film directed by Robert Altman.   Any favorite memories you care to share about the making of the film?

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 >>>

You will be partnering up with Garrison and Robin & Linda Williams and Dan Chouinard for a few Hopeful Gospel Quartet dates as well as performing several shows with Garrison . . . do you have a favorite duet to sing with Garrison?
I do! We sing one lately by Ann Reed called If You Were Mine, and one I hope we revive someday is If I Needed You by Townes Van Zandt. Both are sweet wistful love songs and sort of hypnotic to sing. The four voices together is a whole different thing; it's a powerful sound and it's going to be a lot of fun. And any time I spend making music with Dan is happy time.
'Lullaby for Lesha' from Little Dreamer

Since you are a teacher, any prescient advice for someone who wants to pursue a career in music?

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

How can fans best keep up with your latest projects or where you will be appearing?
I may possibly be the world's worst self-promoter, but I am in the process of designing a new website (the current one has been terribly neglected. If you looked at it, you'd probably think I'd died!) But I do usually post notices of performances on facebook. Check in with prudencejohnson.com in a month or so--I have music and projects I'd love to share with you all.

1196 comments

  • I lost $567,860 in a major financial scam and spent three years trying to get it back without success. Then I was introduced to SUPREME ASSETS RECOVERY. Thanks to their skills and persistence, I finally recovered my stolen funds. I strongly recommend their services to anyone facing a similar situation. I highly recommend their services to anyone who has fallen victim to similar scams." SUPREME ASSETS RECOVERY>> >>Email: supremeassetrecovery07@gmail.com

    Juliet
  • Scammers continue to invent new ways to steal money, which is terrible, therefore scams are not going away anytime soon. The true concern for victims of scams, however, is how to get our money back or hold the con artists accountable. I was referred to Recovery Hacker101 (recoveryhacker101@gmail.com) by a buddy who helped me. They assisted me in finding the con artist and getting my money back. I’m sure they can assist you as well. Anyone who has lost their hard-earned money to scammers might find this helpful.

    Janiyah Ruiz
  • Before you place any investment with a broker, ensure that you do your proper research so you don’t end up sending scammers your hard-earned money. I suffered from this after I sent a scammer I perceived to be a legitimate broker, but it later turned out he was a scammer. But I am happy I got introduced to recoveryhacker101, because indeed I wouldn’t have gotten my funds if not for their expert services in tracing stolen crypto funds. I eventually got my money back and, trust me, I am not investing anymore. I can remember the sudden pain I got after I realized the broker was a scammer. That’s why I have taken my time to post this comment here to anyone in need of a crypto recovery expert can simply reach me at (recoveryhacker101@gmailcom). I vouch for their services 100%.

    Leia Fitzpatrick
  • Are you searching for a real spell caster ?
    It is amazing how quickly Dr. Excellent brought my husband back to me.
    My name is Heather Delaney. I married the love of my life Riley on 10/02/15 and we now have two beautiful girls Abby & Erin, who are conjoined twins, that were born 07/24/16. My husband left me and moved to be with another woman. I felt my life was over and my kids thought they would never see their father again. I tried to be strong just for the kids but I could not control the pains that tormented my heart, my heart was filled with sorrows and pains because I was really in love with my husband. I have tried many options but he did not come back, until i met a friend that directed me to Dr. Excellent a spell caster, who helped me to bring back my husband after 11hours. Me and my husband are living happily together again, This man is powerful, contact Dr.Excellent if you are passing through any difficulty in life or having troubles in your marriage or relationship, he is capable of making things right for you. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to work with the best spell caster.
    Here his contact. Call/WhatsApp him at: +2348084273514 "
    Or email him at: Excellentspellcaster@gmail.com ,
    For more information visit his website:https://drexcellentspellcaster.godaddysites.com

    Heather Delaney
  • When people hear about crypto scams, their typical reaction is disbelief, as if it only happens to careless or reckless individuals. Before I share my experience, if you’re in need of a reliable crypto asset and fund recovery service, their contact information is listed below.

    E-Mail: Morphohack@cyberservices .com

    My family fell victim to a crypto investment scam that wiped out nearly everything we had worked so hard to build. We lost $407,000 worth of USDT and Bitcoin earlier this year, funds that represented years of savings, hard work, and dreams for the future.
    It all began with what appeared to be a legitimate investment opportunity. We were contacted, or more accurately, targeted by individuals claiming to represent a well-established crypto trading platform. They were smooth, articulate, and came armed with all the hallmarks of a trustworthy financial institution. This led us to believe they were legitimate, and we began investing with them. Unfortunately, we soon discovered they were fraudsters. By the time we realized the truth, our investment had vanished. All communication ceased, and there was no way to reach them.
    The story didn’t end there. While the emotional toll was immense, we were desperate for answers and reached out to everyone we knew who might be able to help. A family friend introduced us to a group called Morphohack, a team specializing in digital asset and cryptocurrency recovery. Their contact information is provided above.
    Morphohack was professional, knowledgeable, and incredibly helpful throughout the entire process. After conducting their investigation, they successfully recovered our funds within a few days. Thanks to their meticulous documentation and coordination with the relevant authorities, we were able to reclaim the full $407,000.
    Morphohack accomplished what we thought was impossible, and we are deeply grateful for their outstanding work and support

    Barry Silbert

Leave a comment