Lucy Kaplansky April 13, 2012

Lucy Kaplansky
She started out singing in Chicago bars. Then, barely out of high school, Lucy Kaplansky took off for New York City. There she found a fertile community of songwriters and performers—Shawn Colvin, Suzanne Vega, John Gorka, Bill Morrissey, Cliff Eberhardt, and others—where she fit right in. Then, convinced that her calling was in another direction, Lucy left the musical fast track to pursue a doctorate in psychology, which she practiced professionally for many years. Luckily for us, her former singing partner Colvin convinced her that the two of them should make a record together. The Tide was released to rave reviews in 1994, and suddenly Lucy was back in the music business, and no going back this time. Five more solo albums and several collaborations later (Cry Cry Cry, with Dar Williams and Richard Shindell, and the current Red Horse, with Gorka and Eliza Gilkyson), she remains one of our most formidable writers and interpreters of song.