Janice Pendarvis

Janice Gadsden Pendarvis is a singer, songwriter, and voiceover artist. She has worked with artists such as David Bowie, Steely Dan, Peter Tosh, Brandy, The O'Jays, Philip Glass, Jimmy Cliff, Laurie Anderson, the Naked Brothers Band, and the Rolling Stones. Janice provided background vocals for Sting on the album The Dream of the Blue Turtles, which was nominated for a Grammy forAlbum of the Year in 1986, and she took part in his first solo tour, sharing choruses with Dolette McDonald. Pendarvis was born and raised in Queens, New York. She started her career as a songwriter and was married to Leon Pendarvis, who is a longtime SNL band-member and keyboardist as well as a music industry composer-arranger. Pendarvis sang on a Roberta Flack background session for the Feel Like Makin' Love album, which included fellow background singers Deniece Williams and Patti Austin. David Spinozza, a good friend of Pendarvis, convinced her to become serious about learning the craft of singing. Her most well-known commercial success has been being featured in the documentary Bring On The Night, profiling the music of Sting at the beginning of his solo career. She was featured in the music video "If You Love Somebody (Set Them Free)". She also sang lead on the song "Lightning" from the Philip Glass album Songs from Liquid Days. Pendarvis has served on the National Boards of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA). She has also served on the NY Chapter Board of Governors of The Recording Academy (NARAS). Currently, Pendarvis is an associate professor of voice at Berklee College of Music in Boston. She appears in the documentary film 20 Feet from Stardom (2013), directed by Morgan Neville.