Biography
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Born
3 August 1960 (age 63)
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Born In
Lakehurst, Ocean County, New Jersey, United States
Richard Shindell (born 3 August 1960, Lakehurst, New Jersey) is an American folk singer. While dividing his time between Buenos Aires, Argentina, and New York's Hudson Valley, Shindell is a writer whose songs paint pictures, tell stories, and juxtapose ideas and images.
Shindell's songwriting often involves storytelling from a first-person point of view: for example, from an INS officer and illegal immigrant in "Fishing", to a World War II soldier in "Sparrows Point", to a Confederate drummerboy in "Arrowhead", to an Argentine grandmother of Plaza de Mayo in "Abuelita", to a power broker in "Confession".
His first album was released in 1991. Shindell collaborated with Dar Williams, and Lucy Kaplansky to form the group Cry Cry Cry. On their eponymous 1998 album, Cry Cry Cry covered an eclectic mix of songwriters, from the famous R.E.M. to the lesser known folk singer James Keelaghan. The trio toured in support of their album, but later resumed their solo careers. They have not mentioned plans for future recordings, although Shindell and Kaplansky often appear on stage together. Shindell's "The Ballad of Mary Magdalen" (as performed by Cry Cry Cry) was used in the background during an ABC News Nightline report on The DaVinci Code.
Shindell's career received a boost in 1997 when Joan Baez recorded three of his songs ("Fishing", "Reunion Hill" and "Money for Floods") for her album Gone from Danger, and invited him to join her 1997-98 tour.
In 2000, Shindell released Somewhere Near Paterson (Signature Sounds), which quickly became his most successful release to date and established Shindell as one of the premier performing songwriters in popular music.
Somewhere Near Paterson was followed by Courier, the live reprise of many of Shindell’s best-loved songs, in support of which he continues to tour.
Also in 2000, Shindell and his family moved to Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he recorded his latest album, Vuelta, released in 2004. He joined up with an Argentine group, Puente Celeste, to create a unique sound for his newest work.
He released Somewhere South of Delia, a record of cover songs, March 2007.
Discography:
Sparrows Point (1992)
Blue Divide (1995)
Reunion Hill (1997)
Somewhere Near Paterson (2000)
Courier (2002)
Vuelta (2004)
Somewhere South of Delia (2007)
Not Far Now (2009)
13 Songs You May Or May Not Have Heard Before (2011)
Tomorrow You're Going (2015), with Lucy Kaplansky
Careless (2016)
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