Holly Near (born June , in Ukiah, California) is an American
singer-songwriter, actress, teacher, and activist.Holly Near was born
in Ukiah, California, in and was raised on a ranch in Potter Valley,
California. She was eight years old when she first performed publicly,
and she auditioned for Columbia Records when she was ten. She sang in
all the high school musicals, talent shows and often was invited to
sing at gatherings of local service groups, such as the Soroptimist
Club, Lions Club, and Garden Club. Her senior year she played Eliza
Doolittle in the Ukiah High School production of My Fair Lady. In the
summer Near attended performing arts camps such as Perry-Mansfield in
Colorado and Ramblerny Performing Arts where she studied with jazz
musicians Phil Woods and his wife, Chan Parker (Parker was married to
Woods but retained the name Parker from her earlier marriage to
Charlie Parker), and modern dancer/choreographer Joyce Trisler.After
starting high school in , Near began singing with three boys who
called themselves the Freedom Singers, a folk group modeled after The
Kingston Trio. When Near joined, they began to sound more like The
Weavers, with three male voices and one female. Near learned later of
the original Freedom Singers who sang as part of the Civil Rights
Movement. Unbeknownst to her, Near would soon meet one of the founding
members of that group, Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon, an artist who would
be a great influence for the next -plus years. She would also meet and
work with the female singer in The Weavers, Ronnie Gilbert.
singer-songwriter, actress, teacher, and activist.Holly Near was born
in Ukiah, California, in and was raised on a ranch in Potter Valley,
California. She was eight years old when she first performed publicly,
and she auditioned for Columbia Records when she was ten. She sang in
all the high school musicals, talent shows and often was invited to
sing at gatherings of local service groups, such as the Soroptimist
Club, Lions Club, and Garden Club. Her senior year she played Eliza
Doolittle in the Ukiah High School production of My Fair Lady. In the
summer Near attended performing arts camps such as Perry-Mansfield in
Colorado and Ramblerny Performing Arts where she studied with jazz
musicians Phil Woods and his wife, Chan Parker (Parker was married to
Woods but retained the name Parker from her earlier marriage to
Charlie Parker), and modern dancer/choreographer Joyce Trisler.After
starting high school in , Near began singing with three boys who
called themselves the Freedom Singers, a folk group modeled after The
Kingston Trio. When Near joined, they began to sound more like The
Weavers, with three male voices and one female. Near learned later of
the original Freedom Singers who sang as part of the Civil Rights
Movement. Unbeknownst to her, Near would soon meet one of the founding
members of that group, Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon, an artist who would
be a great influence for the next -plus years. She would also meet and
work with the female singer in The Weavers, Ronnie Gilbert.
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