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Take Ruthann Friedman, for instance. She had a brief flirtation with the music biz back in the day, largely because she wrote the tune “Windy,” which became a huge hit for soft rock pioneers the Association. She came up with it while staying at David Crosby’s guest house, and, indeed, according to the liner notes for the reissue of 1969’s Constant Companion (Water), her sole official release, she associated with folks like Van Dyke Parks, Joni Mitchell, and Dr. John—for a moment she was in the thick of a very potent Los Angeles music community. The record features only her pretty voice and simple acoustic guitar accompaniment—although Peter Kaukonen, who also made the album cover, plays electric guitar on one track. (“Carry On,” a single included here as a bonus track, features a full band.) The music slithers between straight-up American folk, the post-Brill Building pop of Laura Nyro, and the quirkiness of Mitchell, although Friedman wasn’t as distinctive as any of them on their own.
She plays at the AV-erie on Saturday as part of the Four Million Tongues Festival.
