Queen Of The Beatniks

January 19, 2005 6:33 PM

Judy Henske. One of The Great Lost Artists of the early 60's folk/blues revival. An original among hacks and pretenders. Forgotten by most beloved by many, including crime novelist Andrew Vachss. A torch singer worthy of the name.
posted by jonmc (26 comments total)

A torch singer worthy of the name.

Nope , not really. Not at all. Forgotten by most, loved by few and Andre Vachss is an abomination unto himself. Such is my opinion.
posted by y2karl at 7:18 PM on January 19, 2005

Well, I kind of expected that response from you, karl. But I won't let it bother me.
posted by jonmc at 7:19 PM on January 19, 2005

Dinah Washington could easily be called a torch singer, certainly at least when she covered standards--as one could call, say, Peggy Lee a torch singer. Judy Henske is no match for Dinah Washington nor Peggy Lee for me. As was the case with Jim Croce, I was alive in her heyday and have heard more than enough of Ms. Henske's music to last me. Obviously, our tastes differ as your mileage has varied in this regard.
posted by y2karl at 7:48 PM on January 19, 2005

I always get super excited when I get a chance to check out torch singers I don't know because I'm a singer myself. Judy's fan site had a connection failure so I did a google search for samples of hers. I really hesitate to agree with karl, but I kinda have to. She doesn't appear to me to be a "torch singer" as much as a former folk singer who's doing cabaret and Mildred Bailey/Janis Joplin blues. There's a big difference. (In particular, I'm not fond of how she overuses her vibrato when a straight tonal note could work better with a lyric.) She's not bad, but after listening to about 5 samples, none made my heart go pitter pat the way that say, Dinah Washington or even Peggy Lee or Julie London do. Actually, the list is a lot longer than that.

Disclaimer: before anyone heckles me for sounding like a know-it-all, I can can easily put my money where my mouth is on this particular topic.
posted by miss lynnster at 7:53 PM on January 19, 2005

y2karl, you misunderstand me.

I wouldn't call them equals. But, as revivalists go, she was pretty damned good, on a par with Al Wilson of Canned Heat, and Maria Muldaur, meaning she got it, more than most and did a lot for spreading the music to people who needed to hear it. And to those who only know the folk revival through Peter, Paul & Mary & the Kingston Trio, she definitely stands out. And one could say the same of Croce.

No offense, but the "I was alive for it, you weren't," argument is getting kind of old, and dosen't hold much water with me. It's too close to "You kids just don't understand, things were better in my day," or "been there, done that."

We come from different perspectives and directions on music, even if we've come to love a lot of the same stuff. I just find stuff I like from all eras and genres and when I feel like it, I let others know about them. I don't neccessarily think either one of us is "wrong," but if we lay off the one upmanship around eachother, I think we can learn from eachother. I've been pondering FPP's on Buchanan & Goodman, and The Dictators, and I guess you'd probably disapprove of those as well, even though they both meant a lot to me, and rock and roll history.
posted by jonmc at 7:58 PM on January 19, 2005

And I can can-can easily too! Hee. ;)
posted by miss lynnster at 7:59 PM on January 19, 2005

Music posts without any mp3s are so futile...sigh.
posted by rushmc at 8:01 PM on January 19, 2005

jonmc is right: it's impossible to be "right" or "wrong" about music. It's ALL subjective opinion.
posted by rushmc at 8:02 PM on January 19, 2005

I would definitely agree with rushmc as far as talking about whether music is good or bad. But I still don't consider her really a "torch singer"... just singing a song about unrequited love doesn't make you one, much more of it is defined by an individual's particular vocal style, lyric voicings and delivery.
posted by miss lynnster at 8:10 PM on January 19, 2005

jonmc is right: it's impossible to be "right" or "wrong" about music. It's ALL subjective opinion.

Yeah, but it's still good to post about stuff you find interesting. It can lead people to music they might like or illuminate their understanding of the history behind whatever they subjectively like.
posted by jonmc at 8:16 PM on January 19, 2005

Here, there are samples on Amazon.
posted by miss lynnster at 8:18 PM on January 19, 2005

And FWIW, I didn't hear Judy Henske until after I'd heard the original blues singers like Bessie Smith, Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson etc. Same with Mike Bloomfield and Paul Butterfield.

Like most music geeks of my generation, I worked backwards from Led Zeppelin, The Stones & Cream, who I'd found from working backwards from Metallica and Raven.Since we came at it from different directons, it's natural that we'd have different perspectives and preferences. I don't think we neccessarily have to agree, but we can learn a lot from different perspectives.
posted by jonmc at 8:26 PM on January 19, 2005

Totally agreed! No matter what, it's always great to learn more about music and to open your ears up to new artists, whether they float your boat or not. ;)
posted by miss lynnster at 8:33 PM on January 19, 2005

I first looked up Henske because I'm fan of Vachss, but I found her singing to be overwrought and immature. For me, you don't achieve a high level of emotion by belting out loud notes -- quite the opposite. My guess is Vachss encountered her at a young and impressionable age, and never grew out of his enthusiasm.
posted by QuietDesperation at 8:34 PM on January 19, 2005

But, as revivalists go, she was pretty damned good, on a par with Al Wilson of Canned Heat, and Maria Muldaur, meaning she got it, more than most and did a lot for spreading the music to people who needed to hear it.

First, torch singer and now this. I disagree. You overhype. She compares with Jackie DeShannon and Carolyn Hester, say, yes, but has little or nothing in common with Maria Muldaur or D'Amato, as the case may be, and even less with Al Wilson--not for me. My tastes differ.

And I know people who think Jackie DeShannon belongs up on the higher pantheon of all things folky, mind you. People hear things in songs other people do not.
posted by y2karl at 8:46 PM on January 19, 2005

Never heard of her, but am glad I have now. Thanks, jonmc.

Great mp3s, Lynn...Insufferably vain, elitist tone, karl...
posted by jenleigh at 8:50 PM on January 19, 2005

First, torch singer and now this. I disagree. You overhype. She compares with Jackie DeShannon and Carolyn Hester, say, yes, but has little or nothing in common with Maria Muldaur or D'Amato, as the case may be, and even less with Al Wilson--not for me. My tastes differ.

The last sentence is a fair enough argument. And I'm surprised you're granting Al Wilson credit, since I remember a previous conversation here when you disagreed with my assessment of him as something special among the overcrowded (if enjoyable in certain ways) crop of mid-60's whiteboy blues players.

And FWIW, I never saw Jackie DeShannon as a folkie, she always seemed more like a really good R&B inflected pop singer as exemplified by the fact that Springsteen is fond of covering "When You walk in The Room," live. But again that may be a consequence of differences in historical perspective. I remember stunning a fellow mefite with the Jeff Beck Groups version of "Ain't Superstitous." He had heard the original version, which is of course superior, but had to admit that it was a great performance on it's own terms.

People hear things in songs other people do not.

Well, that's kind of the point of chewing the fat about this stuff, right?
posted by jonmc at 9:04 PM on January 19, 2005

I am partial to a different Judy, Judy Roderick. I have a URL, but the link button isn't working for me, and the URL is long. You can find her Woman Blue album on Amazon, with samples.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 9:05 PM on January 19, 2005

Oh, and for what it's worth, the best female blue-eyed R&B/soul singers were Bonnie Bramlett, Timi Yuro, Linda Lyndell, Dusty Springfield, and the Shangri-La's.

That conclusion is based on what I hear in their recordings, not subjective concepts like "cred." And having good music to listen to is what it's all about ultimately.
posted by jonmc at 9:34 PM on January 19, 2005

I know record collectors who have collections so vast that they've figured it would take them several years of listening nonstop, eight hours a day, to go through their collections. No one can do that.

So, whenever they have listened to any said piece of music, they were in a certain mood or another and were listening or not listening intently as the case may have been and connected to the piece of music as well as they could at that point in time.

They then at some point form an opinion on what they heard to serve as a sort of marker in memory. And end up at some point repeating this or that opinion at far greater length in sum total than ever spent in listening to what the opinion was formed over. It's ironic but almost inevitable.

Insufferably vain, elitist tone, karl...

I just reacted to what I thought was jon's overhyping of Judy Henske in his initial post. Now, I wish I hadn't because I have no interest in trashing someone from whom he has gotten far more than I.

I am not an expert, nor do I pretend to be one. I used to be a real name dropper and walking encyclopedia of liner notes but that has less appeal to me these days. Formerly, I just forced my 'expertise' and tastes on people willy nilly. I used to be a person who insisted someone hear this or that record when they came over but I swore off that as much as I could long ago. I just know that people enjoy records I like a lot better if I do not force them to listen to them. I post on things that interest me as does jon. Facts are interesting to talk about but taste is not so much. As La Rochefoucauld once said, our pride is more offended by attacks on our tastes than
on our opinions.


Of course, what any of this has to do with music or anyone's hearing music on their own is a whole other story. All I know is talking about music is nothing compared to hearing music. As to what other people hear, I know not.
posted by y2karl at 9:39 PM on January 19, 2005

jonmc,
Timi Yuro; Yes indeed there was a voice.

I remember Judy Henske on stage stamping tempo with her foot so hard that the old style stand-up microphone would bounce.
posted by X4ster at 10:08 PM on January 19, 2005

I first came across Judy Henske about ten years ago while I was watching Hootenanny Hoot, a weird and wonderful quasi-concert film from 1963. Her performance of Wade in the Water finally convinced me that you don't necessarily have to be black to have soul. I couldn't care less about labels like "torch singer," and I'm as big a fan of Julie London and Dinah Washington as I am of Judy. I just know Henske's heartfelt singing moves me. Condolences to anyone who can't hear it.
posted by divrsional at 4:35 AM on January 20, 2005

I'll always have a soft spot for her unique take on the Salvation Army Song.
posted by delfin at 6:15 AM on January 20, 2005

"ohhh I was lying in the... guttooo
All covered up with...... beer
There were pretzels in my.... eyebrows
I feared the end was near...."

Judy Henske is the nail, she had a lot of heart and seemed like the kind of person you wouldn't mind going on a long car ride with, kinda in the Old Dirty Bastard vein of talent, lunacy and leftfielderness.
posted by Divine_Wino at 6:41 AM on January 20, 2005

I think maybe I just didn't hear the song that made me really fall in love with her from the few samples I heard.

As far as "labels," I never meant to imply that labeling someone's style has any bearing on whether or not I like or dislike their music. It doesn't, I have incredibly eclectic listening tastes. The only thing I was trying to say is that that I didn't think that one particular label fit her style from the few samples I heard.
posted by miss lynnster at 8:15 AM on January 20, 2005

Since Carolyn Hester was name-dropped above, I have a good excuse for calling attention to this recent Washington Post article on her.
posted by maurice at 9:37 AM on January 20, 2005