{{short description|American folk and jazz singer (born 1952)}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = Prudence Johnson | image = | background = solo_singer | birth_name = | birth_date = {{circa|1952/1953}} | birth_place = Moose Lake, Minnesota, U.S. | genre = Folk, jazz | occupation = Singer | instrument = Vocals | years_active = | label = Red House | associated_acts = Rio Nido | website = {{URL|www.prudencejohnson.com}} }}
'''Prudence Johnson''' is an American folk and jazz singer.
==Early life and education== Johnson grew up in a musical family in Moose Lake, Minnesota. She earned a bachelor's degree in international studies from Hamline University.<ref>{{Cite web |last=French |first=Laura |title=My Job: Prudence Johnson, vocalist |url=https://www.startribune.com/my-job-prudence-johnson-vocalist/302353011/ |access-date=2022-06-01 |website=Star Tribune|date=3 May 2015 }}</ref>
== Career == In the early 1970s, Prudence was a co-founder with Tim Sparks of the vocal jazz group Rio Nido. The group recorded three albums and performed extensively, most often in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul area.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://mattpeiken.com/Journalism/Rock-Jazz/prudencejohnson.htm |title=Matt Peiken journalism website. |access-date=2008-02-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060522203855/http://www.mattpeiken.com/Journalism/Rock-Jazz/prudencejohnson.htm |archive-date=2006-05-22 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="JP">{{cite web | last=Canter| first=Andrea |title=Prudence Johnson and Dan Chouinard: February 3rd at the Dakota |publisher=Jazz Police |date=February 2005 |url=http://www.jazzpolice.com/content/view/4858/72/ |accessdate=September 17, 2015}}</ref>
After her time with Rio Nido, she recorded three solo albums for Red House Records: ''Vocals'', ''Songs of Greg Brown'', and ''Little Dreamer'', the latter a collection of children's lullabies from around the world which earned Johnson a 1992 Grammy Award nomination.<ref name="JP" />
She was awarded a McKnight Fellowship to record ''Moon Country'', a collection of Hoagy Carmichael songs. She collaborated with four Minnesota composers to create ''A Girl Named Vincent'', a presentation of the poetry of Edna St. Vincent Millay set to music.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Prudence Johnson: "A Girl Named Vincent" |url=https://beta.prx.org/stories/63576 |access-date=2022-06-01 |website=beta.prx.org}}</ref>
In 2005, Johnson produced, directed, and performed in a musical production about the sinking of the ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' titled ''Ten November''. The production featured Claudia Schmidt, Ruth McKenzie, Kevin Kling and Peter Ostroushko. She produced the album.<ref>[http://www.newmusicarts.org/gales.asp New Music Arts.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061216045328/http://www.newmusicarts.org/gales.asp |date=2006-12-16 }}</ref> The production tells the story of the sinking of the ship from the point of view of crew members, local sailors, and the wives of crew members.
She has been a guest on the radio program ''A Prairie Home Companion''. Johnson's film credits include Robert Redford's ''A River Runs Through It'' in a role as a singer and Robert Altman's ''A Prairie Home Companion'' as herself.
== Discography== ===Solo=== * ''Little Dreamer'' (Red House, 1984) * ''Vocals'' (Red House, 1987) * ''Dick King Classic Swing and Prudence Johnson: King Swings, Pru Sings'' (1998) * ''Songs of Greg Brown'' (Red House, 1991) * ''Moon Country'' (Sleeper, 2002) * ''S' Gershwin'' with Dan Chouinard (Sleeper, 2004) * ''Gales of November'' (Sleeper, 2005) * ''Peru'' (Sleeper, 2006)
===With Rio Nido=== * ''I Like to Riff'' (1978) * ''Hi Fly'' (1983) * ''Voicings'' (1986)
== References == {{reflist}}
==External links== *[https://web.archive.org/web/20080509183142/http://www.prudencejohnson.com/ Official site]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Prudence}} Category:American jazz singers Category:American folk singers Category:American women jazz singers Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Living people Category:People from Moose Lake, Minnesota Category:Singers from Minneapolis Category:Jazz musicians from Minnesota Category:Red House Records artists Category:21st-century American women Category:Hamline University alumni