Judy Henske

Though she didn't achieve the same level of notoriety as some of her peers, Judy Henske was a key figure on the '60s folk scene. Born in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin on December 20, 1936, Henske was living in San Diego by the time she started pursuing a musical career at the end of the '50s. She sang in coffeehouses before becoming a member of erstwhile Kingston Trio singer Dave Guard's new group, The Whiskeyhill Singers. They released an LP in 1962 but didn't last long. Henske subsequently made some TV appearances that boosted her profile, and eventually ended up getting a deal with Elektra Records. The label released Henske's self-titled debut album in 1963. Henske became a major presence in the folk world, due in part to her striking physical presence. (The doe-eyed, brunette Henske stood six feet tall in her stocking feet.) Her second album, 1964's High Flying Bird, was notable for being one of the first folk albums to feature an electric band, and is considered one of the first folk-rock albums. Henske moved to Mercury Records for her next LP, 1965's Little Bit of Sunshine Little Bit of Rain, and then shifted again, this time to Reprise, for her 1966 album, The Death Defying Judy Henske, which would be her last solo LP for 33 years. In 1969, Henske teamed up with her husband, producer/musician Jerry Yester, for the duo album Farewell  Aldebaran, an unexpectedly outside-the-box psychedelic folk-rock album that sank without a trace at the time but was achieved cult classic status decades later. Henske and Yester subsequently formed the group Rosebud along with renowned keyboardist Craig Doerge and others, releasing a self-titled 1971 album that mixed folk, rock, and pop but suffered from lack of promotion after Henske left Yester for Doerge and the band split up. After that, Henske quite performing and recording, concentrating on songwriting instead. It wasn't until the '90s that she made her way to the stage again; she finally released another album, Loose in the World, in 1999. Henske followed it five years later with She Sang California.