Essra Mohawk
By All Music Guide
By All Music Guide
In 1969, Sandra Hurvitz became Essra Mohawk and recorded her second album, Primordial Lovers, hailed as one of the best 25 albums ever made by Rolling Stone magazine. The album missed out on wider publicity and never charted. During her tenure with David Geffen, Mohawk languished unjustly in the shadows of Laura Nyro and Joni Mitchell. In 1974, Mohawk moved to the Asylum label, where she released Essra Mohawk. Again, critical acclaim was abundant, but proper promotion and healthy sales were not. Two years later, the same fate greeted her fourth album, Essra, which appeared on Private Stock. Further albums, Burnin Shinin and E-Turn fared no better, but in 1986 Mohawk enjoyed a huge hit as the songwriter of Cyndi Laupers Billboard number three hit, Change of Heart, and later in that decade Tina Turner recorded Stronger Than the Wind, again penned by Mohawk. Since then, she has recorded further albums Raindance and Essie Mae Hawk Meets the Killer Groove Band, to the rapturous applause of her ever-loyal following.
