Holly Near life and biography

Holly Near is an American singer-songwriter, actress, teacher, and activist for social change.

Holly Near has built a distinctive career by using music to champion deeply felt political causes, often before anyone else had dared to do so. Although her musical career took flight in the early 1970s, her commitment to the topical song recalled the political folk music made popular by artists like Phil Ochs and Tom Paxton during the 1960s. Over the course of her thirty-year career, Near has recorded more than twenty albums, performed thousands of concerts, and taught master classes on songwriting. "Her life exemplifies the rewards that come from using your gifts in the service of your beliefs," wrote Lee Russell in Mountain Pride Media, "of forcing the world to meet you on your own terms."

Near was born on June 6, 1949, to leftist parents and grew up in a rural community in Ukiah, California. At eight, she performed at a local Veterans of Foreign Wars talent show and began taking voice lessons. In high school, she joined with two friends to form the Freedom Singers, a Kingston Trio-like group. Her musical taste was also shaped by her parents' extensive record collection that included everything from singer Paul Robeson to Judy Garland. "When I was a child I made songs up," she told the Arts and Healing Network (AHN), "and I sang all through childhood for community organizations, service groups and school events."

Near signed up for classes at the University of California Los Angeles in 1967, but only remained at the college for a year. She relocated to New York City to study singing and dancing in 1968, but soon returned to Los Angeles to pursue a career in acting. She appeared in her first film, Angel, Angel, Down We Go in 1969. In 1969-70 she received a part in a Broadway version of Hair, and 1971 received roles in two films, Todd Killings and Minnie and Moskowitz. Near also worked frequently in television, making appearances on The Partridge Family and All in the Family.

Near also dived head first into the political ferment of the late 1960s and early 1970s, joining with actors Donald Southerland and Jane Fonda for a controversial tour of Southeast Asia in protest against the Vietnam War. She returned in 1972 as a member of the Indochina Peace Campaign and was inspired her to start writing topical songs.

In the early 1970s, long before it became the norm to do so, Near founded Redwood Records and released her first album, Hang in There in 1973. "[Hang In There] is also notable for introducing Near, probably the first protest singer equally interested in folk music and show music," wrote All Music Guide's William Ruhlmann. Her liberal political views were evident from her first album, and she became known as an early practitioner of "women's music." (Women's music issues include feminism and lesbianism.) "Holly Near," wrote Pamela Murray Winters in MusicHound Folk, "practically gave birth to the genre known as 'women's music.'" Over the decade, Near released a steady stream of albums including A Live Album, You Can Know All I Am, and Imagine My Surprise.

As the 1980s dawned, Near became even more prolific while simultaneously committing to new causes. She teamed up with Ronnie Gilbert, one of the founding members of the Weavers, to release Lifeline in 1983 and Singing With You in 1986. The pairing of the two politically-minded artists seemed a natural, especially in relation to the fact that Near had dedicated her second album to Gilbert. "The singers were forceful and complementary," wrote All Music Guide's Ruhlmann, "no surprise since Gilbert is a major vocal influence on Near." Near continued to cover contemporary issues including gay and lesbian rights, apartheid in South Africa, and the AIDS epidemic. She joined the HARP concert with Gilbert, Pete Seeger, and Arlo Guthrie in 1984 (the concert's name was constructed from the first letter of each artist's first name), and the music would be issued as Harp: A Time to Sing! "These albums stand as testament of the people--past and present, activists and songsters alike--who worked tirelessly," wrote Beth Isaacson in Sojourners, "to call attention to, care for, and mend this broken world."

Near published Fire in the Rain ... Singer in the Storm: An Autobiography with Derk Richardson in 1991. In 1993, Near worked with her sister, Timothy Near, to turn the book into a play, Holly Near: Fire in the Rain. "Her autobiographical show "is a warm, stirring, but never overly sentimental, portrait of Near, her music, and her personal growth," wrote Martin Schaeffer in Backstage.

Near has faced a number of challenges related to her radical views and the difficulty of managing one's own record company. "Throughout her twenty-year singing and songwriting career," wrote Susan C. Cook in American Music, "Near has been judged too political a musician for pop music, too feminist for politically committed music, too straight for lesbian-identified music, even too studio-produced for those used to her live album format." In 1982 she broke with a number of so-called "pure" feminists within women's music when she employed a male--guitarist Robben Ford--and co-wrote a song with Jeff Langley for Speed of Light. While Near weathered many storms, Redwood Records experienced financial problems during the mid-1990s, eventually going out of business.

Near also faced her most personal crisis in 2000 when she began recording Edge. "I was having vocal troubles during most of the recording," she told Alex Teitz in Femmusic. "I kept having to put off doing the vocals." Near, however, finished the album, her first of original material in nearly 15 years. "Near has produced an album to rank among her early recordings," wrote All Music Guide's Ruhlmann, "and with an unsatisfactory election result (from the viewpoint of her and her supporters) coming in the same season as the record's release, it couldn't have appeared at a better time." Near remains an active performer with a busy concert schedule, touring broadly and working to support artists from Third World countries. "It is a testament to Near's drive and political vision," wrote American Music's Cook, "that years later she is the one still before the public with her message intact."

Selected discography:
-Hang in There Redwood, 1973.
-A Live Album Redwood, 1974.
-You Can Know All I Am Redwood, 1976.
-Imagine My Surprise! Redwood, 1978.
- Fire in the Rain Redwood, 1981.
-Speed of Light Redwood, 1982.
-(With Ronnie Gilbert) Lifeline Redwood, 1983.
-Sing to Me the Dream Redwood, 1984.
-Watch Out! Redwood, 1984.
-(With Ronnie Gilbert) Singing With You Redwood, 1986.
-Don't Hold Back Redwood, 1987.
-Sky Dances Redwood, 1989.
-Singer in the Storm Chameleon, 1990.
-(With Ronnie Gilbert) This Train Still Runs Abbe Alice, 1996.
-With a Song in My Heart Calico Tracks, 1997.
-Edge Calico Tracks, 2000.
-And Still We Sing: The Outspoken Collection Calico Tracks, 2002.
-(With Ronnie Gilbert) Lifeline Extended Appleseed, 2002.

Filmography:
-Angel, Angel, Down We Go (1969), Tara Nicole Steele
-The Magic Garden of Stanley Sweetheart (1970), Fran
-The Todd Killings (1971), Norma
-Minnie and Moskowitz (1971), Irish
-F.T.A. (1972), Herself
-Slaughterhouse-Five (1972), Barbara Pilgrim
-The Weavers: Wasn't That a Time! (1982), Herself (documentary interview)
-Dogfight (1991), Rose Sr.
-Heartwood (1998), Lucille Burris

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