Artist Lucy Kaplansky

The music world’s full of underdog success stories, but “the girl who became a folksinger then a psychologist then a folksinger again” isn’t a common variant. Lucy Kaplansky’s career holds out hope for anyone who’s ever been torn between musical longings and the ol’ Ph.D.: She went back to doing music full-time after spending 15 years as a shrink, and has since enjoyed a long run of bright contemporary folk releases on Minnesota’s venerable Red House label. If there was any lingering question regarding Kaplansky’s music business savvy, it was recently put to rest when she released a promotional song in conjunction with a high-end fragrance line.

Updated 03/17/2010