Friedman, Ruthann

***In 1967, the folk-pop group The Association had a massive hit with a song called “Windy” penned by an unknown young woman named Ruthann Friedman. Two years later, she released her own album Constant Companion on Warner/Reprise Records that sounded nothing like “Windy”—it had more in common with her labelmate Joni Mitchell or cult-hero Linda Perhacs. Decades later, Ruthann would be declared an “astral folk goddess” and championed by the likes of Devendra Banhart. Around that time, reissue producer Pat Thomas compiled a collection of previously unreleased demos, home recordings, and lost songs circa 1965-1970 from Ruthann's personal archive including the original version of "Windy." Titled Hurried Life, Ruthann recently declared, “That’s the one that I really like—that was the first time going back into the archives to find songs that might be reissued. I think those were representative of me.” First released on CD in 2006 (and long out of print), it’s now available for the first time ever on vinyl LP! With delicious artwork by Nat Russell.