Jude Johnstone...

Singer-songwriter Jude Johnstone has written some beautiful songs for a wide variety of songs for singers like Bonnie Raitt, Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris and Trisha Yearwood.  I happen to own a couple of her albums.  I like her music because it's deeply personal and and poignant.  One song she wrote that a lot of country music fans might be familiar with is "The Woman Before Me", which was a hit for Trisha Yearwood.

The Woman Before Me

Another song she wrote was the beautiful "Wounded Heart", which was covered by Bonnie Raitt and featured on Army Wives during its first season.  

Jude Johnstone sings "Wounded Heart".

One of my favorite songs written by Jude Johnstone is "The Nightingale", which Trisha Yearwood covered.  I also sang it and blogged about it last year.  

   

Jude Johnstone sings "The Nightingale"

Emmylou Harris covers Johnstone's "Hold On"…

It's been awhile since I last sat down and listened to Jude Johnstone's music.  She's an amazing talent who likely doesn't get the notoriety she deserves.  But maybe she prefers it that way.  Her music is reflective and makes me think that maybe she's an introvert.

Bonnie Raitt covers "Wounded Heart"

The Nightingale...

Sometimes around 2004 or so, I discovered singer-songwriter Jude Johnstone, who has written a lot of songs that have been performed by other people.  In particular, Trisha Yearwood and Bonnie Raitt, two singers I highly admire, have both sung songs by Jude.  I own a couple of Jude Johnstone's albums.  She has an edgy voice that couples well with her moody, expressive lyrics.  One song Jude Johnstone wrote, sung, and passed on to Trisha Yearwood, is a song called "The Nightingale".

Here's Trisha Yearwood's version of the song.  I tried to find one with Jude singing, but no one has uploaded it to YouTube.  I recommend both versions.  I often really enjoy songs performed by the people who have written them, though in general, I like Trisha's voice better than Jude's.

I, myself, also took a stab at this lovely song.  It turned out nicely, though I really need to go out and take some more photos so I can change the photos in my videos.  I was excited when I found this track available.

I'm making recordings for my husband, since he said he would like to have an "album" by me.  It's nice to have a fan.