Seeds and Orphans, Vol. 2

Wendy Waldman is an American recording artist, as well as a writer of multi-platinum songs in musical genres ranging from folk, country to pop, film, jazz, children's music and R&B. She is one of the first female record producers to have a major impact in the music industry. Born in Los Angeles, her father was Fred Steiner, composer of the Perry Mason theme, many episodes of Twilight Zone, Star Trek, Rocky and Bullwinkle, Gunsmoke, and others, as well as being a noted film music scholar.Her sister,Jillian Sandrock, working at Skaggs foundation and the Fund for Folk Culture for several decades, was an early pioneer of grant making to folk arts in America. Waldman's career in the music business started with her band, Bryndle, in the early 1970s. Bryndle was made up of Waldman, Karla Bonoff, Kenny Edwards, and Andrew Gold. Waldman was signed as a solo artist to prestigious Warner Brothers records in1973, along with an exclusive group of new, visionary artists including Bonnie Raitt, Maria Muldaur, Ry Cooder, Little Feat, Captain Beefheart, and Randy Newman The first solo Wendy Waldman album, "Love Has Got Me," was released by Warner Bros. Records in 1973 and proclaimed by Rolling Stone Magazine to be the "singer-songwriter debut of the year." Since then she has made nine critically acclaimed albums and numerous group projects and has toured widely as well. More than 70 artists have recorded her songs in fields as diverse as pop, R&B, jazz, country,gospel, film and Latin music. Among her biggest records are "Save The Best For Last" and "The Sweetest Days" by Vanessa Williams; "Fishin' In The Dark" by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Garth Brooks; "Baby What About You" by Crystal Gayle; "I Owe You One" by Aaron Neville; "Heartbeat" by Don Johnson, "I'm Gone" by Alison Krauss, “Can’t Stop Now,” by New Grass Revival, “You Plant your Fields,” by New Grass Revival and Kathy Mattea, “Corn Water and Wood,” the Wrangler award winning song for Michael Martin Murphy. The group Bryndle reunited in 1995, and released 3 albums before the untimely and much lamented deaths of both Kenny Edwards and Andrew Gold. Waldman became the first woman to produce country and acoustic music extensively and was responsible for several projects now considered classics in the acoustic music world, among them New Grass Revival (Bela Fleck, Sam Bush, John Cowan and Pat Flynn) Bryndle, Suzy Bogguss, the late Artie Traum, Ronny Cox, the Ozark Mountain Daredevils and others. As a member of the Refugees along with band mates Cindy Bullens and Deborah Holland, she co-produced both of their cds, the critically acclaimed “Unbound,” and the 2012 release “Three,” which has remained high on the folk roots charts in the US for 10 months. The group has toured extensively, appearing on syndicated folk radio, in concert, and at Folk Alliance, for the last 6 years. Waldman continues to explore new musical worlds, scoring film, producing records in various formats, new productions, ranging from the latest cd of the legendary zydeco artist Lisa Haley, new roots artist Dave Tucker, collaboration with dj/singer Shyboy for his new “folktronica” release, and upcoming projects with music legend HB Barnum and LIfe Choir, Karla Bonoff, and John Cowan. A meeting between Wendy Waldman and Polish superstar vocalist Mietek inspired a remarkable collaboration between the two: Mietek's first English language project, written, produced, and recorded by a team of superb Polish and American musicians, (including the late Kenny Edwards and other notable writers/musicians) working in both countries. The album was released in the winter of 2011 in Poland on the 4ever Music label with great success, and is scheduled to be released in additional territories in the next two years. Waldman now counts among her extended family members some very remarkable Polish and Eastern European folk and eclectic artists, whom she dreams of bringing to FAI. Wendy Waldman’s private studio in Los Angeles, California, is home to the legendary public radio show, "Folkscene," (now in its 41st year).