Judy Roderick
Encyclopedia
Judith Allen Roderick was an American
blues
singer and songwriter
. She was born in Wyandotte, Michigan
to Howard and Emily Roderick.
, perform at the Philly Folk Festival and offered to get her signed with Columbia. Bobby Scott was assigned to produce and Roderick released her first album, Ain't Nothin' But the Blues.
1965 - In 1965, Maynard Solomon
signed Roderick to Vanguard Records
and a second album, Woman Blue, was recorded, with accompaniment by two of her close friends, both guitarists, Dick Weissman and Artie Traum
. Woman Blue was a well known folksong sung and recorded by several artists, usually titled I Know You Rider
, and made even more popular by the Grateful Dead. Roderick's Woman Blue (the original title) included lyrics not heard in the traditional song or in subsequent versions. Santa Cruz poet, Maude Meehan, described it well: ". . . with all those subtle glissandos, that smoldering soul sound, those growls and tender vibratos, so inimitable to Judy. There just isn't a voice I've ever heard with such versatility, and raw power and emotion, sass and sex, and hurt. She makes me laugh, she makes me cry."
1966 - In 1966, Woman Blue was released in the United Kingdom on the Fontana label and a promotional trip was arranged. Roderick performed at Broadside Folk Club, Strand Hotel, Jug O' Punch Folk Club, Newton Club, Anglia TV, on Grampia TV and in the Cambridge Folk Festival.
1972 - In 1972 Roderick signed with Atco, an Atlantic subsidiary, and produced Nevada Jukebox, with Bill Szymczyk
, producer, and Bill Ashford, associate producer. Nevada Jukebox has recently been made available on CD by Collectors' Choice Music
1975 - In 1975, Roderick moved to Hamilton, Montana where her partner, clarinet and sax player Dexter Payne, had formed a swing band The Big Sky Mudflaps, and later played on two of their albums.
1976 - In 1976, Roderick played a solo gig at Harry Tuft's Denver Folklore Center and a new band, Judy Roderick & Friends , got rolling, with Don DeBacker, Brian Brown, Kibben, Jerry Mills and many more. In July, Payne left the Big Sky Mudflaps, and moved to Colorado. That fall, after her Martin guitar was destroyed, Max Krimmel built her a new guitar. The later Judy Roderick & Friends included Jaime Kibben, Jay Forrest, Michael Reese, Dan Curlin and sometimes Michael Roach. In 1977 the two returned to Montana and the Mudflaps.
1981 - In 1980 and 1981, Roderick and the "Flaps" were invited to perform at the Kool Jazz Festival, once in Rye, NY and next in Saratoga. In both years they were featured on the Today Show, in NYC
1982 - In 1982, Roderick and Payne created a new project, Judy Roderick & The Forbears, and with the help of Randy Rand, recorded four songs with an 11 piece line-up including Mac Rebennack aka Dr. John
. The core of the group included Don DeBacker, "Washboard" Chaz Leary, later known from Playing for Change
videos, and Tim Martin.
1983 - Roderick took the musicians East, playing the Philly Folk Festival, Bottom Line in New York
and Jonathan Swifts in Boston. A night shared with Dr. John and his band at the Lone Star Cafe
in NYC was a special event, as well as an evening with Mac Rebennack solo at Sandy Berman's Jazz Revival in Beverly, Mass. While in NY, Roderick & the Forbears spent two afternoons at JAC Studio with the engineer Malcolm Addey, completing "Judy Roderick & the Forbears," a limited independent release.
1992 - On January 22 1992, Judy Roderick died of a heart attack
from complications due to diabetes.
1993 - In 1993 Woman Blue was remastered with additional liner notes by Payne and family photos, as well as previously unreleased tracks and made available on CD by Vanguard Records, now owned by the Welk Music Group.
2008 - The 1983 cassette was remastered and released on CD December 13, as When I'm Gone on Dexofon Records with the addition of one earlier solo track by Roderick: "Floods of South Dakota", also recorded by Rand.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
singer and songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
. She was born in Wyandotte, Michigan
Wyandotte, Michigan
Wyandotte is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 25,883 at the 2010 census, a decrease of 7.6% from 2000. Wyandotte is located in southeastern Michigan, approximately south of Detroit on the Detroit River, and is part of the collection of communities known as...
to Howard and Emily Roderick.
Music biography
1964 - In 1964, Lee Silberstein saw a 19-year-old folk singer from Boulder, ColoradoBoulder, Colorado
Boulder is the county seat and most populous city of Boulder County and the 11th most populous city in the U.S. state of Colorado. Boulder is located at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of...
, perform at the Philly Folk Festival and offered to get her signed with Columbia. Bobby Scott was assigned to produce and Roderick released her first album, Ain't Nothin' But the Blues.
1965 - In 1965, Maynard Solomon
Maynard Solomon
Maynard Solomon has carried out a multiple career: he was a co-founder of Vanguard Records as well as a music producer, and later became a writer on music.-Career in the recording industry:...
signed Roderick to Vanguard Records
Vanguard Records
Vanguard Records is a record label set up in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon in New York. It started as a classical label, but is perhaps best known for its catalogue of recordings by a number of pivotal folk and blues artists from the 1960s; the Bach Guild was a subsidiary...
and a second album, Woman Blue, was recorded, with accompaniment by two of her close friends, both guitarists, Dick Weissman and Artie Traum
Artie Traum
Artie Traum was a New Age Voice Award-winning guitarist, producer and songwriter. Traum's work appeared on more than 35 albums...
. Woman Blue was a well known folksong sung and recorded by several artists, usually titled I Know You Rider
I Know You Rider
"I Know You Rider" is a traditional woman's blues song that has been adapted by numerous artists. Modern versions can be traced back to the song's appearance in the 1934 book, American Ballads and Folk Songs, by the noted father and son musicologists and folklorists, John Lomax and Alan Lomax...
, and made even more popular by the Grateful Dead. Roderick's Woman Blue (the original title) included lyrics not heard in the traditional song or in subsequent versions. Santa Cruz poet, Maude Meehan, described it well: ". . . with all those subtle glissandos, that smoldering soul sound, those growls and tender vibratos, so inimitable to Judy. There just isn't a voice I've ever heard with such versatility, and raw power and emotion, sass and sex, and hurt. She makes me laugh, she makes me cry."
1966 - In 1966, Woman Blue was released in the United Kingdom on the Fontana label and a promotional trip was arranged. Roderick performed at Broadside Folk Club, Strand Hotel, Jug O' Punch Folk Club, Newton Club, Anglia TV, on Grampia TV and in the Cambridge Folk Festival.
1972 - In 1972 Roderick signed with Atco, an Atlantic subsidiary, and produced Nevada Jukebox, with Bill Szymczyk
Bill Szymczyk
Bill Szymczyk is an American music producer and technical engineer best known for working with rock and blues musicians, most notably the Eagles in the 1970s. He produced many top albums and singles of the 1970s, though he retired from the music business by 1990...
, producer, and Bill Ashford, associate producer. Nevada Jukebox has recently been made available on CD by Collectors' Choice Music
Collectors' Choice Music
Collectors' Choice Music is a company primarily in two businesses. They are best known for re-issuing albums originally recorded in LP record form as compact discs...
1975 - In 1975, Roderick moved to Hamilton, Montana where her partner, clarinet and sax player Dexter Payne, had formed a swing band The Big Sky Mudflaps, and later played on two of their albums.
1976 - In 1976, Roderick played a solo gig at Harry Tuft's Denver Folklore Center and a new band, Judy Roderick & Friends , got rolling, with Don DeBacker, Brian Brown, Kibben, Jerry Mills and many more. In July, Payne left the Big Sky Mudflaps, and moved to Colorado. That fall, after her Martin guitar was destroyed, Max Krimmel built her a new guitar. The later Judy Roderick & Friends included Jaime Kibben, Jay Forrest, Michael Reese, Dan Curlin and sometimes Michael Roach. In 1977 the two returned to Montana and the Mudflaps.
1981 - In 1980 and 1981, Roderick and the "Flaps" were invited to perform at the Kool Jazz Festival, once in Rye, NY and next in Saratoga. In both years they were featured on the Today Show, in NYC
1982 - In 1982, Roderick and Payne created a new project, Judy Roderick & The Forbears, and with the help of Randy Rand, recorded four songs with an 11 piece line-up including Mac Rebennack aka Dr. John
Dr. John
Malcolm John "Mac" Rebennack, Jr. , better known by the stage name Dr. John , is an American singer-songwriter, pianist and guitarist, whose music combines blues, pop, jazz as well as Zydeco, boogie woogie and rock and roll.Active as a session musician since the late 1950s, he came to wider...
. The core of the group included Don DeBacker, "Washboard" Chaz Leary, later known from Playing for Change
Playing for Change
Playing for Change is a multimedia music project created by the American producer and sound engineer Mark Johnson with his Timeless Media Group, that seeks to bring together musicians from around the world...
videos, and Tim Martin.
1983 - Roderick took the musicians East, playing the Philly Folk Festival, Bottom Line in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and Jonathan Swifts in Boston. A night shared with Dr. John and his band at the Lone Star Cafe
Lone Star Cafe
The Lone Star Cafe was a cafe and club in New York City at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 13th Street, from 1976 to 1989. The Texas-themed cafe opened in February 1976 and became the premier country music venue in New York and booked big names and especially acts from Texas, like Asleep at the...
in NYC was a special event, as well as an evening with Mac Rebennack solo at Sandy Berman's Jazz Revival in Beverly, Mass. While in NY, Roderick & the Forbears spent two afternoons at JAC Studio with the engineer Malcolm Addey, completing "Judy Roderick & the Forbears," a limited independent release.
1992 - On January 22 1992, Judy Roderick died of a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
from complications due to diabetes.
1993 - In 1993 Woman Blue was remastered with additional liner notes by Payne and family photos, as well as previously unreleased tracks and made available on CD by Vanguard Records, now owned by the Welk Music Group.
2008 - The 1983 cassette was remastered and released on CD December 13, as When I'm Gone on Dexofon Records with the addition of one earlier solo track by Roderick: "Floods of South Dakota", also recorded by Rand.