She is a singer-songwriter and producer who started
her career in Orange County, California, in the 1960s.In 1964 she joined John, Bill and
Alice McEuens bluegrass band followed by becoming half of the duo the
Greasy Mountain Butterballs with Kathy Smith who went on a tour of Vietnam
in 1966.In 1967 she moved to
the San Franciscos bay area and was a regular performer at many clubs and
concerts as well as an opener for acts that included Jefferson Airplane, Janis
Joplin, Steve Miller and Quicksilver Messenger Service among others.She would record her first album, Penny's
Arcade, in 1968 and do a promotional tour that took her to Europe and
had her recording at the Apple Studios and staying with George Harrison and
his wife, Patty.Once back in
the United States she decided to spend her time songwriting and taking
voice lessons and then after forming the jazz band Black Imp she performed
in Los Angeles from 1975, opening for Little Feat.At the same time her compositions
were heard in the advertising world for companies such as Carnation Dairies
and Toyota and she also ventured into production with the Navajo Nation's "Black
Mesa". In 1977 she became a
member of Jimmy Buffetts Coral Reefer Band, which saw her appearing in the
movie FM and also receiving a platinum record with them for Son
of a Son of a Sailor.She
decided to take further education in the late 1970s and after studying music
and psychology at Antioch University and Harvard University for several
years she received a doctorate in Education.Never ceasing to perform during these years she could
still be seen performing and recording and was nominated for a Grammy for
her work with Arlo Guthrie on his The Power of Love.Artists she has worked with during
the course of her career include Jackson Browne, Albert Brooks, Art
Garfunkel, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Danny OKeefe, Suzi Quatro, Mae
Robertson, Linda Ronstadt and Jennifer Warnes. She released her second album, All Life is One, in
1990 and Songs of theJakarta Tales in 1993.Other albums she can be heard on
include her own I'll Never Be That Old Again and Singing for "Tin
Ears", Fate for Breakfast by Art Garfunkel, Someday by
Arlo Guthrie, Catskill Collection: compiled by Jay Ungar and Molly
Mason, and Shot Through the
Heart by Jennifer Warnes.Nowadays she can be seen teaching in New York and at the Swannanoa
Summer Camp as well as working on another CD and producing the Summersongs
conference for songwriters, for which she is also a director.
