Susan Werner (born 1965) is an American singer-songwriter. Much of Werner's work has been in the contemporary folk genre.

Career

Werner was raised on her family's farm near Manchester, Iowa, about an hour west of

Dubuque Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a r ...

. She became interested in music at a young age and went on to receive a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in voice at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 coll ...

. In 1987, she moved to

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, and earned a master's degree in voice at

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptists, Baptist minister Russell Conwell an ...

. Werner initially wanted a career in opera, but after seeing a

Nanci Griffith Nanci Caroline Griffith (July 6, 1953 – August 13, 2021) was an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. She appeared many times on the PBS music program '' Austin City Limits'' starting in 1985 (season 10). In 1994 she won a Grammy Award ...

performance became inspired and began composing songs of her own on acoustic guitar. Performing around Philadelphia,

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

, and New York City, Susan began making a name for herself in the folk scene of the early 1990s. She recorded five albums from 1993 to 2001, and in 2001 she moved to Chicago. Her first five albums were all in the folk genre, but Werner's sixth album, ''

I Can't Be New ''I Can't Be New'' is the sixth album by American singer-songwriter Susan Werner, released in 2004 (see 2004 in music). Track listing all songs written by Susan Werner, except where noted #"I Can't Be New" (Jane Paul, Werner) – 2:54 #"Late fo ...

'' (2004), was a substantial departure, with original material in the vein of

Tin Pan Alley Tin Pan Alley was a collection of music publishers and songwriters in New York City that dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It originally referred to a specific place: West 28th Street ...

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dinin ...

, and early

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

torch song A torch song is a sentimental love song, typically one in which the singer laments an unrequited or lost love, either where one party is oblivious to the existence of the other, where one party has moved on, or where a romantic affair has affect ...

s. Werner's seventh album, ''

The Gospel Truth ''The Gospel Truth'' is an album by pianist Les McCann recorded in 1963 and released on the Pacific Jazz label.Freed., RLes McCann Discographyaccessed January 12, 2016 Reception Allmusic gives the album 3 stars. Track listing ''All compos ...

'', was released in March 2007 and addresses themes of religion,

faith Faith, derived from Latin ''fides'' and Old French ''feid'', is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or In the context of religion, one can define faith as "belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". Religious people often ...

social responsibility Social responsibility is an ethical framework in which an individual is obligated to work and cooperate with other individuals and organizations for the benefit of the community that will inherit the world that individual leaves behind. Social ...

, as well as religion from an agnostic's point of view. In 2010,

Tom Jones Tom Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Tom Jones (singer) (born 1940), Welsh singer * Tom Jones (writer) (1928–2023), American librettist and lyricist *''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', a novel by Henry Fielding published in ...

recorded "Did Trouble Me", from Werner's ''The Gospel Truth'', for his album '' Praise & Blame''. Her eighth album, ''Live at Club Passim'' is collection of original songs (gospel, jazz & folk) recorded with her band: Colleen Sexton, Trina Hamlin & bassist Greg Holt. For her ninth album, '' Classics'', she performs pop music from the

1960s File:1960s montage.png, Clockwise from top left: U.S. soldiers during the Vietnam War; the Beatles led the British Invasion of the U.S. music market; a half-a-million people participate in the 1969 Woodstock Festival; Neil Armstrong and Bu ...

and

1970s File:1970s decade montage.jpg, Clockwise from top left: President of the United States, U.S. President Richard Nixon doing the V sign#The V for Victory campaign and the victory-freedom sign, V for Victory sign after his resignation from office fo ...

accompanied by chamber instruments. Her tenth album, entitled ''Kicking the Beehive'', was released in March 2011. Produced by

Rodney Crowell Rodney Crowell (born August 7, 1950) is an American musician, known primarily for his work as a singer and songwriter in country music. Crowell has had five number one singles on Hot Country Songs, all from his 1988 album ''Diamonds & Dirt''. ...

, it features guest appearances from

Vince Gill Vincent Grant Gill (born April 12, 1957) is an American country music singer, songwriter and musician. He has achieved commercial success and fame both as frontman of the country rock band Pure Prairie League in the 1970s and as a solo artist ...

, Keb' Mo and Paul Franklin. Her album '' Hayseed'', a

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. So ...

about "farms, farmers, and the people who love them", was released in the summer of 2013. Werner branched out to write the music and lyrics for a musical based on the film '' Bull Durham'', which premiered at Atlanta's

Alliance Theatre The Alliance Theatre is a theater company in Atlanta, Georgia, based at the Alliance Theatre, part of the Robert W. Woodruff Arts Center, and is the winner of the 2007 Regional Theatre Tony Award. The company, originally the Atlanta Municipal ...

on September 3, 2014. In 2017 Werner released ''An American In Havana'', an EP featuring six songs written during two trips to Cuba in 2015 and 2016.

Personal life

Werner was born into a musical family. Her mother was a singer, although her father's musical ability was limited to "whistling on pitch". All five of her siblings are musically talented. One brother is a professional stand-up comedian and another brother is a performing

drag queen A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have usually been gay men, and part o ...

Discography

* ''

Midwestern Saturday Night ''Midwestern Saturday Night'' is the self-published debut album by American singer-songwriter Susan Werner, released in 1993 (see 1993 in music). Track listing All songs written by Susan Werner, except where noted #"So Heavy" – 3:35 #"Born a L ...

'' (1993) * ''

Live at Tin Angel ''Live at Tin Angel'' is the second self-published album by American singer-songwriter Susan Werner, released in 1993 (see 1993 in music). Track listing All songs written by Susan Werner, except where noted #"So Heavy" – 3:41 #"The Great Out ...

'' (1993) * ''

Last of the Good Straight Girls ''Last of the Good Straight Girls'' is the third album by American singer-songwriter Susan Werner, released in 1995 (see 1995 in music). This was Werner's first major label album. Track listing All songs written by Susan Werner, except where n ...

'' (1995) * '' Time Between Trains'' (1998) * ''

New Non-Fiction ''New Non-Fiction'' is the fifth album by American singer-songwriter Susan Werner, released in 2001 (see 2001 in music). Track listing All songs written by Susan Werner, except where noted #"Stationary" – 3:16 #"Shade of Grey" – 3:50 #"Blu ...

'' (2001) * ''

'' (2004) * ''

'' (2007) * ''

Live at Passim Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film *'' ''Live'' (Apocalyptica DVD) Music * Live (band), American alternative rock band * List of album ...

'' (2008) * '' Classics'' (2009) * ''

Kicking The Beehive A kick is a physical Strike (attack), strike using the leg, in unison usually with an area of the knee or lower using the foot, heel, tibia (shin), ball of the foot, blade of the foot, toes or knee (the latter is also known as a knee (strike), ...

'' (2011) * ''

Live at The Center for Arts in Natick Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film *'' ''Live'' (Apocalyptica DVD) Music * Live (band), American alternative rock band * List of album ...

'' (2011) * '' Hayseed'' (2013) * '' An American in Havana'' (2017) * ''

NOLA Nola is a town and a municipality in the Metropolitan City of Naples, Campania, southern Italy. It lies on the plain between Mount Vesuvius and the Apennines. It is traditionally credited as the diocese that introduced bells to Christian worship ...

'' (2019)
''Flyover Country''
(2020)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Werner, Susan American folk singers American folk guitarists American women singer-songwriters American women guitarists University of Iowa alumni Temple University alumni American agnostics Living people People from Delaware County, Iowa Private Music artists Guitarists from Iowa 21st-century American women singers 1965 births 21st-century American singers Singer-songwriters from Iowa