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Essra Mohawk (; born Sandra Elayne Hurvitz; April 23, 1948 – December 11, 2023) was an American singer-songwriter who recorded a dozen albums. Her best-known songs include "Sufferin' Til Suffrage" and "Interjections!" (both from '' Schoolhouse Rock!''), " Change of Heart", recorded by
Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper ( ; born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Known for her distinctive image, featuring a variety of hair colors and eccentric clothing, and for her powerful four-octave vocal range;Jerome, ...
and "Stronger Than the Wind", recorded by
Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939 – May 24, 2023) was a singer, songwriter, actress, and author. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", her vocal prowess, raspy voice, and electrifyin ...
. Her second album '' Primordial Lovers'' was critically acclaimed.


Biography

Sandra Elayne Hurvitz was born in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
, on April 23, 1948. Her first record, credited as Jamie Carter, was the single "The Boy with the Way", backed with "The Memory of Your Voice", issued on Liberty Records in 1964. As Sandy Hurvitz, she was then discovered by Shadow Morton, who placed her songs with both the Shangri-Las ("I'll Never Learn") and the Vanilla Fudge ("The Spell That Comes After"). While living in New York City in 1967 she met
Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American guitarist, composer, and bandleader. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, orchestra ...
, who persuaded her to perform for a short time with
the Mothers of Invention The Mothers of Invention (also known as the Mothers) were an American rock music, rock band from California. Formed in 1964, their work is marked by the use of sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Originally an ...
and then signed her to his Bizarre Records production company. While he initially helped to produce her first album, he left the project and assigned it to woodwind player and keyboardist Ian Underwood. Hurvitz opened for
Procol Harum Procol Harum () were an English rock music, rock band formed in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, in 1967. Their best-known recording is the 1967 hit single "A Whiter Shade of Pale", one of the few singles to have sold more than List of best-selling si ...
when they performed at the Cafe Au Go Go in 1967, and Keith Reid wrote "Quite Rightly So", which appeared on their second album '' Shine On Brightly'', for her. Her first album ''Sandy's Album Is Here At Last'' was released on Bizarre/ Verve in December 1968. In 1969 she was signed by
Reprise Records Reprise Records is an American record label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operates through Warner Records, one of its flagship labels. Artists currently signed to Reprise Records include Green Day, En ...
after executive Mo Ostin discovered her singing at a club in New York. The resulting album, '' Primordial Lovers'', was later said to be "one of the best 25 albums ever made" in ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'' magazine. The album featured contributions from CSN&Y drummer Dallas Taylor and former
Rhinoceros A rhinoceros ( ; ; ; : rhinoceros or rhinoceroses), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant taxon, extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates (perissodactyls) in the family (biology), famil ...
members Doug Hastings and Jerry Penrod. Essra nearly joined Rhinoceros in its original line-up. While recording the album, she married her producer Frazier Mohawk (born Barry Friedman, 1941) and from then on was known as Essra Mohawk. "Essra" (S-ra) is an abbreviated form of "Sandra." She was scheduled to perform at the original
Woodstock Festival The Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held from August 15 to 18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. Billed as "a ...
, but her driver took a wrong turn on the way. “We got there in time to see the last verse of the last song of the last act of the first night, and then the stage went dark before we got to it from the parking lot,” she recalled in a 2009 video interview. Members of
Generation X Generation X (often shortened to Gen X) is the Demography, demographic Cohort (statistics), cohort following the Baby Boomers and preceding Millennials. Researchers and popular media often use the mid-1960s as its starting birth years and the ...
, as well as some people younger than them, may recognize her distinctive voice from the Saturday morning TV series '' Schoolhouse Rock!'', as she lent her voice to "Interjections!", "Mother Necessity" and "Sufferin' Till Suffrage" in the mid-1970s. In addition, Mohawk sang the theme song to " Teeny Little Super Guy", a regular segment on ''
Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Worksh ...
'' during the 1980s. Her third album, ''Essra Mohawk'', came out on Asylum Records in 1974. It was panned by '' Village Voice'' critic
Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...
, who wrote in '' Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies'' (1981): "Here is a vocalist who should throw away all her Leon Russell records. When she calls herself a 'full-fledged woman,' it sounds like 'pool player's' woman, which given her persona makes more sense." The next album, ''Essra'', was released on yet another label, Private Stock, in 1976. During that period, she also worked as a session and background singer, for
John Mellencamp John J. Mellencamp (born October 7, 1951), previously known as Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp, is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for his brand of heartland rock, which emphasizes traditional instrumentation ...
and
Carole King Carole King Klein (born Carol Joan Klein; February 9, 1942) is an American singer-songwriter and musician renowned for her extensive contributions to popular music. She wrote or co-wrote 118 songs that charted on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billbo ...
, and later she performed with the Jerry Garcia Band, and recorded and arranged background vocals for Kool & the Gang. In 1982 after recording another album in L.A., she worked with
McFadden and Whitehead McFadden and Whitehead were an American Rhythm and blues, R&B duo, best known for their signature tune "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now". They wrote and produced some of the most popular R&B hit record, hits of the 1970s, and were primarily associated ...
in Philadelphia, penning "Not With Me" for their Capitol album, ''Movin' On''. She released another solo album, ''E-Turn'', before
Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper ( ; born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Known for her distinctive image, featuring a variety of hair colors and eccentric clothing, and for her powerful four-octave vocal range;Jerome, ...
had a hit with her song " Change of Heart" in 1986. In 2011 she provided the lead vocal for an animated short film produced by TDA Animation, about the struggle for gay rights, called "Sufferin' Till You're Straight". The spot featured former Supremes Scherrie Payne and Susaye Greene on background vocals. Mohawk wrote songs for other artists including co-writing a song entitled "Infinite Eyes" with blues artist Keb Mo as well as recording and performing in concert. She released six more albums after moving to Nashville in 1993. Her songs have been aired on the TV series ''
Joan of Arcadia ''Joan of Arcadia'' is an American fantasy family drama television series telling the story of teenager Joan Girardi ( Amber Tamblyn), who sees and speaks with God and performs tasks she is given. The series originally aired on Fridays on CBS f ...
'' and the soap opera ''
All My Children ''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 2 ...
''. Rhino released a special limited edition of her second and third albums, ''Primordial Lovers MM'', in 2000. Mohawk was a longtime advocate of peace and environmental protection. She was a member of the board of Musicians and Artists for Peace and was their Nashville coordinator. She died of cancer at her home in Nashville.Essra Mohawk, eclectic singer and prolific songwriter, has died at 75
Retrieved December 27, 2023


Discography

Albums *''Sandy's Album Is Here At Last!'' – Bizarre – 1968 (as Sandy Hurvitz) *'' Primordial Lovers'' –
Reprise In music, a reprise ( , ; from the verb 'to resume') is the repetition or reiteration of the opening material later in a composition as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though—originally in the 18th century—was simply any re ...
– 1970 *''Essra Mohawk'' – Asylum – 1974 *''Essra'' – Private Stock – 1976 *''Burnin' Shinin – San Francisco Sound – 1982 *''E-Turn'' –
Eclipse An eclipse is an astronomical event which occurs when an astronomical object or spacecraft is temporarily obscured, by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer. This alignment of three ...
– 1985 *''Raindance'' – Schoolkids – 1995 *''Essie Mae Hawk Meets the Killer Groove Band'' – Mummypump – 1999 *''Essra Live at Genghis Cohen'' – Mummypump – 2001 *''You're Not Alone'' –
Evidence Evidence for a proposition is what supports the proposition. It is usually understood as an indication that the proposition is truth, true. The exact definition and role of evidence vary across different fields. In epistemology, evidence is what J ...
– 2003 *''Love Is Still the Answer'' – Mummypump – 2006 *''Revelations of the Secret Diva'' – Mummypump – 2007 *''1979: The Supersound Sessions and More'' – Mummypump – 2017 *''The One and Only'' – Mummypump – 2019 Singles *"The Boy with the Way" / "The Memory of Your Voice" –
Liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...
– 1964 (as Jamie Carter) *"Spiral" / "Image of Yu" – Reprise – 1970 *"Jabberwock Song" / "It's Up to Me" – Reprise – 1970 *"Full Fledged Woman" / "Magic Pen" – Asylum – 1974 *"Man of Mystery" / "Summertime" – Black Cat – 2009 (with Pacific Eardrum) Compilations *''Mama Kangaroos: Philly Women Sing Captain Beefheart'' – Genus – 2005 (Mohawk sings " Party of Special Things to Do") *'' Four-beat Rhythm: The Writings of Wilhelm Reich'' – Kreiselwelle – 2013 (Mohawk sings "Thoughts of Import")


References

*Donovan, Charles. " Essra Mohawk. ''
Allmusic Guide AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...
''.


External links

* * *
2003 interviewEssra Mohawk Interview
NAMM Oral History Library (2019) {{DEFAULTSORT:Mohawk, Essra 1948 births 2023 deaths Musicians from Philadelphia Singer-songwriters from Pennsylvania Jerry Garcia Band members The Mothers of Invention members