Prudence Johnson

Johnson grew up in a musical family in Moose Lake, Minnesota. She earned a bachelor's degree in international studies from Hamline University.[1]

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.[2][3]

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.[3]

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.[4]

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.[5] 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.

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