Judith Anne Henske was an American singer and songwriter, dubbed "the Queen of the Beatniks" by producer Jack Nitzsche.
14 Facts About Judy Henske
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Judy Henske's 1963 recording of "High Flying Bird" was influential on folk-rock, and her 1969 album Farewell Aldebaran, with husband Jerry Yester, was an eclectic "fusion of folk music, psychedelia, and arty pop".
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Judy Henske then worked in Ohio, before moving to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she worked as a cook in a Quaker co-operative.
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Judy Henske then moved on to Oklahoma City, before joining ex-Kingston Trio member Dave Guard and the Whiskeyhill Singers in 1961 in Menlo Park, California, recording an album.
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Judy Henske appeared as a performer in the 1963 exploitation movie Hootenanny Hoot at the height of the folk-music craze and performed memorable versions of "The Ballad of Little Romy" and "Wade in the Water".
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Judy Henske performed "God Bless the Child" on an early episode of The Judy Garland Show, and was offered a regular role on the show but turned it down.
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Judy Henske married musician Jerry Yester in 1963, and continued to work, appearing in Anita Loos' musical "Gogo Loves You" in Greenwich Village in 1964 at the Theatre de Lys, in which her performance was praised as "utterly delightful," as well as singing at many New York and East Coast clubs.
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In February 1964, Judy Henske was interviewed about her life and music on Folk Music Worldwide, an international short-wave radio station in New York City.
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Judy Henske returned to the East Coast when Yester joined The Lovin' Spoonful.
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Judy Henske recorded another live album, The Death Defying Judy Henske, and several singles arranged and produced by Jack Nitzsche, including a version of Fred Neil's "The Dolphins".
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Crime writer Andrew Vachss was a fan of Judy Henske and promoted her music in some of his novels.
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Judy Henske released two further albums, Loose In the World and Judy Henske Sang California.
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Judy Henske appeared in the 2011 documentary film Phil Ochs: There but for Fortune, which chronicles the life and career of folksinger Phil Ochs, with whom she was part of the early sixties' Greenwich Village folk music scene.
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Judy Henske died on April 27,2022, at the age of 85, after a long illness.