Judee Sill

174,702 plays (10,857 listeners)

folk, singer-songwriter, female vocalists, 70s, folk-rock… see all

Judee Sill (October 7, 1944 - November 23, 1979) was an American singer and songwriter. The first artist signed to David Geffen’s Asylum label, she released two albums before disappearing into obscurity and eventually dying of drug abuse in 1979 [1].

Her eponymous debut album was released to major acclaim in 1971 and was followed two years later by Heart Food. She recorded demos for a third album in 1974 and they were released in 2005 under the title Dreams Come True.

Sill was heavily influenced by Bach’s metric forms and suites, while lyrically her work drew substantially on Christian themes of rapture and redemption.

Judee’s father and brother both died in separate incidents when Judee was quite young. Her mother’s subsequent marriage to Tom and Jerry animator Kenneth Muse was marked by heavy drinking, and this, combined with her rebellious nature, drove her away from home and into a life of crime and drug use in her teens.

Having learned her signature gospel-inflected keyboard style during her incarceration for writing bad checks, Sill kicked her heroin addiction and decided to pursue songwriting. Now a talented pianist, organist and guitarist, Sill returned to the West Coast where she encountered Graham Nash and David Crosby (touring with them for a time as their opening act) and David Geffen who offered her a contract with his nascent label. Her albums were received well by critics but found little commercial success. Judee struggled with drug addiction during phases again following a car accident and its resulting physical pain and dropped out of the music scene and died of a drug overdose in November of 1979.

Judee Sill
Judee Sill
Buy
- Amazon
- eBay
Download
Heart Food
Judee Sill
Buy
- Amazon
- eBay
Download
Dreams Come True - Hi - I Love You Right Heartily…
Judee Sill
Buy
- Amazon
- eBay
Download
Dreams Come True
Judee Sill
Buy
- Amazon
- eBay
Download

Top Tracks

1	Jesus Was a Cross Maker full track	66
2	The Kiss full track	64
3	The Phoenix full track	52
4	Lady-O full track	50
4	There's a Rugged Road full track	50
4	The Lamb Ran Away With the Crown full track	50
7	Enchanted Sky Machines full track	45
8	Crayon Angels	43
9	The Donor full track	37
10	Down Where the Valleys are Low full track	35
10	Soldier of the Heart full track	35
12	The Phantom Cowboy	27
12	That's the Spirit full track	27
12	My Man on Love	27
15	The Pearl	25

Shoutbox

Leave a comment. Log in to Last.fm or sign up (it’s free).

frankschmiechen wrote:
last month

so beautiful. tears in my eyes

View Profile | Leave frankschmiechen a shout
acedrums wrote:
last month

I have to say that though full credit goes to Judee for writing Crayon Angels, I do prefer the Fleet Foxes version as I like Robin Pecknolds voice far more.

View Profile | Leave acedrums a shout
stevo215 wrote:
June 2008

I'm surprised she's only been scrobbled less than 150K times and not more. I thought Elizabeth town would have exposed her to a wider audience.

View Profile | Leave stevo215 a shout
NoNickNameYet wrote:
May 2008

lets keep her alive...... she deserves it (sigh)

View Profile | Leave NoNickNameYet a shout
woodenflute wrote:
April 2008

I was a Judee Sill fan from 1971 when I heard her first album for the first time. One of my most cherished memories was hearing her perform in a small club in Marin County in 1972.I am so happy that her music lives on and that new generations find her.

View Profile | Leave woodenflute a shout
mjf2001 wrote:
March 2008

Judee was an angel, too beautiful for this world and her life of pain. Her music is a sacrament.

View Profile | Leave mjf2001 a shout
zentokio wrote:
February 2008

Just amazing.

View Profile | Leave zentokio a shout
ColmDawson wrote:
February 2008

So so so beautiful.

View Profile | Leave ColmDawson a shout
arrdis wrote:
January 2008

Her last name means herring in swedish.

View Profile | Leave arrdis a shout
sigignore wrote:
September 2007

It is really healed by her singing voice.

View Profile | Leave sigignore a shout
caleb-meyer wrote:
August 2007

First listen to the BBC sessions album, although it's the beginning of the end her voice is extraordinary. Incredible songs.

View Profile | Leave caleb-meyer a shout
LarkCGN wrote:
August 2007

Linda Ronstadt recorded Jesus Was a Crossmaker as A Bandit & A Heartbreaker... Judee Sills story is very sad... her music stays strong

View Profile | Leave LarkCGN a shout
italanon wrote:
August 2007

a unique voice

View Profile | Leave italanon a shout
WentzMusic wrote:
June 2007

Beautiful voice !

View Profile | Leave WentzMusic a shout
salmonjanet wrote:
June 2007

gorgeous! all of it!

View Profile | Leave salmonjanet a shout
azfad wrote:
April 2007

heart food. yes.

View Profile | Leave azfad a shout
Phibrizoq wrote:
April 2007

Doesn't she look like John Lennon meets Janis Joplin? Lol

View Profile | Leave Phibrizoq a shout
beatlesfreak wrote:
March 2007

read about see & hear Judee Sill @ http://www.musicbyday.com/2007/03/judee-sill-is-drug.html

View Profile | Leave beatlesfreak a shout
MagicDave wrote:
June 2006

Life so sad, music so beautiful...

View Profile | Leave MagicDave a shout

Listeners

alidaart
Top Listener
Taccarino
Top Listener
naoooon
Top Listener
achisie
Top Listener
kohei_
Top Listener
hsnmcy
Top Listener

Recent Activity

elskhugi, dabldablju, andrezero and 28 other people added Judee Sill to their libraries. 6 hours ago
vargas_girl connected Judee Sill to the group Her Life was Saved by Rock n' Roll!. last month
Kirtle, noah2037, pat1boone and 7 other people added Judee Sill to their libraries. last month
musinum connected Judee Sill to the group SlowerSound. August 2008
musinum, stephan1972, CavieVoltaire and 7 other people added Judee Sill to their libraries. August 2008
thomzas tagged Judee Sill with ‘female vocalists’, ‘singer-songwriter’ and ‘folk’. August 2008
djv56 tagged Judee Sill with ‘singer-songwriter’ and ‘folk’. August 2008
melectrolux, cocteautriplet, Long_Legs and 3 other people added Judee Sill to their libraries. August 2008
spiralski tagged Judee Sill with ‘singer-songwriter’. July 2008
ola5000 tagged Judee Sill with ‘folk’. July 2008