Judy Mayhan

Judy was born and raised in the Midwest, where she studied classical piano and voice, ultimately majoring in Voice/Theatre at the University of Kansas. In 1960 she hitch-hiked to New York City with a beat-up $50 guitar and $100 in her pocket, determined to explore the possibilities of a career in music and/or theatre. She found a job in a sandal-making shop and fell into the beginning of the folk music scene in Greenwich Village.

The legendary Dave Van Ronk befriended Judy and introduced her to the Appalachian mountain dulcimer, saying it would go well with her lyric soprano voice. Dave helped her find gigs, the very first as opening act for him. Between the Sunday afternoon happenings at Sheridan Square Park and hootenannies in places like The Gaslight Coffeehouse and Gerde’s Folk City, Judy honed her talents along with contemporaries like Bob Dylan, Hoyt Axton, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Bob Gibson, Ramblin’ Jack Elliot, Peter, Paul and Mary and countless others.

By 1962 Judy had made her way cross-country with Hoyt Axton, performing in the folk scenes of San Francisco and Los Angeles, including the Troubadour, where she was offered this first album opportunity. After the album release, she appeared on the Steve Allen TV variety show. Her clear soprano voice and sensitivity to the deeper meaning of a song became well known in folk music circles.

Not one to be pigeonholed in a single genre, and influenced by all kinds of music, Judy went on to record two popular albums for Atco/Atlantic (Moments in 1970) and Decca (Judy Mayhan in 1971), both now digitally remastered and available on CD from Shayomi. They include her first original songs as well as covers penned by peers such as Lowell George and Fred Neil. During the ’70s and ’80s Judy continued to mature and grow, turning to jazz vocals and building a following of devoted fans.