Holly Near Interview

	January 2010

Tenth Anniversary Show

Welcome to Queer Music Heritage. I can hardly believe it, but this is my tenth anniversary show. I wanted to make it special and I don't think I could have done any better than to bring you an interview with Holly Near. If you know anything at all about the Women's Music Movement, then you know that Holly was one of the leading and earliest pioneers. And this show will just scratch the surface regarding her long career, a career that encompasses her work as a singer, producer, actor, author, activist and teacher. With such a long career covering so many aspects I decided I would just try to cover a number of her songs, and to let them take us through the years and tell the story. I'm delighted to share this with you.

Holly Near Interview, Part 1 - 58:00
Holly Near - I Ain't Afraid (2000)
Holly Near - On the Moon (1970)
Holly Near - You Can Know All I Am (1976)
Holly Near - Imagine My Surprise (1976)
Holly Near - Nina (1976)
Holly Near - Something About the Women (1976)
Holly Near & Ronnie Gilbert - Perfect Night (1983)
Holly Near & Cris Williamson - Valentine Song (2003)
Holly Near - Simply Love (1984)
Holly Near - When We Meet In The Middle (2009)
Holly Near & Ronnie Gilbert - Singing For Our Lives (1983)

Holly Near Interview, Part 2 - 77:46
Holly Near - Kids Are Gonna Love (2000)
Holly Near - Love Don't Need a Reason (2000)
Holly Near - If It Were Up To Me (2000)
Holly Near & Cris Williamson - Mountain Song (2003)
Holly Near - Fire in the Rain (1982)
Holly Near - Singer in the Storm (1990)
Holly Near - Sky dances (1989)
Holly Near & Ronnie Gilbert - Singing With You (1987)
Holly Near - Crushed (1987)
Mary Travers & Holly Near - Home Is Where the Heart Is (1995)
Holly Near - With a Song In My Heart (1997)
Holly Near - Hattie & Mattie (2006)
Holly Near & Emma's Revolution - Swimming to the Other Side (2009)
Holly Near & Emma's Revolution - 1000 grandmothers (2009)
Holly Near & Seattle Men's Chorus - Great Peace March (1996)

Below & Right, Pictorial Album Discography

[ pass your cursor over album for more info ]

1976 - You Can Know All I Am, with Jeff Langley

1981 - Fire in the Rain 1982 - Speed of Light 1983 - Journeys 1983 - Lifelines, with Ronnie Gilbert

1984 - Watch Out! 1985 - H.A.R.P. - Holly Near, Arlo Guthrie, Ronnie Gilbert & Pete Seeger 1987 - Singing With You, with Ronnie Gilbert

1987 - Don't Hold Back 1989 - Sky Dances 1990 - Singer in the Storm 1993 - Musical Highlights from 'Fire in the Rain'

1996 - This Train Still Runs, with Ronnie Gilbert 1997 - With a Song in My Heart, with John Bucchino 2000 - Simply Love: The Women's Music Collection 2000 - Edge

2001 - HARP: A Time to Sing, expanded to 2 CDs 2001 - Early Warning! 2001 - Lifeline Extended, with Ronnie Gilbert 2002 - And Still We Sing: the Outspoken Collection

2002 - Crushed: The Love Song Collection 2003 - Cris & Holly 2006 - Show Up 2009 - We Came to Sing, with Emma's Revolution

Usually when I feature an artist I try to provide a collection of information about their recordings and career, but in this case Holly's website already does a terrific job, so I'm just going to showcase some things that might be obscure, or just interest me, such as the album shown below (her first appearance on vinyl), or a 1976 article on her from Lesbian Tide, etc, etc.

Click for more

First National Nothing, 1970 Lesbian Tide

My favorite album of Holly's, as it features many of my
favorite songs of hers from the Women's Music Movement.
Below, her 1990 autobiography, and 1976 Songbook.

Above, a pic I took at the GLAMA Awards, April 1999, in NYC,
Of Holly and Sue Palmer (who used to tour with Candye Kane)