About Jude

Born in Bar Harbor, Maine, Jude Johnstone began writing songs at about age 8. At 18, she was "discovered" by Bruce Springsteen's saxophonist, Clarence Clemons. After spending some time in New York and New Jersey under his wing, In 1979, she moved to Los Angeles, where her songs quickly became sought after by other artists.

She has been covered by Bonnie Raitt, Emmylou Harris, Bette Midler, Johnny Cash, Stevie Nicks, Mary Black, Jennifer Warnes, Trisha Yearwood and more, including a #1 song for Yearwood's debut album called "The Woman Before Me" which earned her a BMI award. Her songs then appeared on 8 other Yearwood cds. She also penned the title track to Johnny Cash's 1997 Grammy winning album "Unchained."

Jude has released 8 cds of her own that run the gamut from Celtic, Gospel, Americana, to Jazz, Blues, and even Big Band. She has been featured on the CBS Early Show, and NPR Radio's "Morning Edition." Her songs have also been on several television shows including "Nurse Jackie", "Army Wives" and "Lie To Me." Jude has opened shows for Jackson Browne, Emmylou Harris, Bonnie Raitt, Richard Thompson, Shawn Colvin, Chris Hillman, 10,000 Maniacs, David Crosby and many others as well as having toured Europe under her own name numerous times, most recently in March 2025.

Song Credits

  • Rebecca Newton – "Quiet Girl" – Blue Shirt (2019)

  • Neilson Hubbard – "My Heart Belongs to You" – Cumberland Island, 2018 (co-written with Neilson Hubbard and Ben Glover)

  • Mary Black – "Wounded Heart" – By The Time It Gets Dark (30th Anniversary edition), 2017

  • Bavarian Brass – "Hearts in Armor" – Jubiläum 20 Jahre, 2015

  • Trisha Yearwood – "The Woman Before Me" – ICON 2, 2014

  • Trisha Yearwood – "The Nightingale" and "When We Were Still in Love" – Ballads, 2013

  • Stephen Bishop – "My Little Waterloo" – Romance in Rio, 2009, (iTunes bonus track)

  • Emmylou Harris – "Hold On" – All I Intended To Be, 2008

  • Bonnie Raitt – "Wounded Heart" – Silver Lining, 2006

  • Johnny Cash – "Unchained" – The Legend of Johnny Cash, Vol. II, 2006

  • Trisha Yearwood – "When We Were Still in Love" – Inside Out, 2001

  • Jennifer Warnes – "The Nightingale" – The Well, 2001

  • Bette Midler – "The Girl is on to You" – 3 For One, 2000

  • Trisha Yearwood - "Good Guy" - AT&T Presents...Stormy Weather, 1998

  • Johnny Cash/Willie Nelson – "Unchained"–VH1 Storytellers, 1998

  • Johnny Cash – "Unchained" – Unchained – 1997 Grammy Country Album of the Year

  • Trisha Yearwood – "The Woman Before Me" – Songbook, 1997

  • Trisha Yearwood – "The Nightingale" – The Song Remembers When, 1993

  • Trisha Yearwood – "Hearts in Armor" – Hearts in Armor, 1992

  • Trisha Yearwood – "The Woman Before Me" – Trisha Yearwood, 1990

  • Bette Midler – "The Girl Is On To You" – Some People's Lives, 1990

  • Stevie Nicks – "Cry Wolf" – The Other Side of the Mirror, 1989

  • Laura Branigan – "Cry Wolf" – Touch, 1987

  • Clarence Clemons – "I Cross the Line" – Hero, 1985

  • Lifetime/ABC Television's Army Wives – "Wounded Heart”

  • Lifetime/ABC Television's Army Wives – "The Nightingale”

  • Lifetime/ABC Television's Army Wives – "In This House”

  • Lifetime/ABC Television's Army Wives – "The Hereafter”

  • Showtime Television's Nurse Jackie – "Mr. Sun”

  • Fox Television's Lie To Me – "Unchained"

Awards

  • 1992 Radio & Records No. 1 Song "The Woman Before Me”

  • 1993 BMI Songwriters Award "The Woman Before Me”

  • 1997 Grammy Country Album of The Year – Johnny Cash – Unchained

  • 2008 winner of the 8th annual Independent Music Awards Vox Pop vote for best Film/TV song in a dramatic series "In This House.”

  • 2012 1st prize winner of the 10th annual IAMA for best Americana/Roots song "Quiet Girl."