Peter Himmelman (born November 23, 1959) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, composer, children's entertainer, author, visual artist, and creative consultant. Born in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, he emerged from the Minneapolis music scene and built a career that has moved between rock, folk, blues, new wave, children's music, film and television scoring, live performance, and business education.
Himmelman began playing in bands as a teenager. In the late 1970s, he joined Shangoya, a Minneapolis group with Caribbean and rhythm and blues influences, before forming the new wave and power-pop band Sussman Lawrence. Led by Himmelman as singer, guitarist, and songwriter, Sussman Lawrence released the albums *Hail to the Modern Hero* and *Pop City*. The group developed a following in the Twin Cities and later relocated toward the New York area, but Himmelman ultimately pursued a solo career. The band's music was later collected on *The Complete Sussman Lawrence (1979-1985)*.
Himmelman's solo debut, *This Father's Day*, appeared in 1986 and led to a recording contract with Island Records. Its title track was written in response to the death of his father, while the album as a whole introduced the direct, restless songwriting and energetic guitar playing that would define Himmelman's early work. He followed with *Gematria* (1987), *Synesthesia* (1989), and *From Strength to Strength* (1991). These records combined literate folk-rock writing with pop hooks, blues guitar, spiritual themes, and unusual rhythmic ideas.
The Epic Records albums *Flown This Acid World* (1992) and *Skin* (1994) expanded his range. Himmelman's songs could be intimate and devotional, but his performances were also known for improvisation, physical comedy, and a willingness to break the expected boundaries of a singer-songwriter concert. The song "The Woman With the Strength of 10,000 Men" became one of his best-known tracks. Later albums including *Stage Diving* (1996), *Love Thinketh No Evil* (1998), *Unstoppable Forces* (2004), *Imperfect World* (2005), and *The Pigeons Couldn't Sleep* (2007) continued to explore romantic, religious, political, and personal subjects without settling into a single style.
A parallel career in children's music began with *My Best Friend Is a Salamander* in 1997. Himmelman treated young listeners with the same musical ambition he brought to his adult work, using playful stories, unusual characters, full arrangements, and sophisticated songwriting. Further releases included *My Fabulous Plum*, *My Lemonade Stand*, *My Green Kite*, and *My Trampoline*. *My Green Kite* earned a Grammy Award nomination for Best Musical Album for Children.
Himmelman has also worked extensively as a composer for film and television. His credits include the television series *Judging Amy*, *Bones*, *Men in Trees*, *The American Embassy*, *Going to California*, and *How to Rock*, as well as a range of feature films and made-for-television productions. He received a Primetime Emmy nomination for music and lyrics for the *Judging Amy* song "The Best Kind of Answer."
In the late 2000s, Himmelman hosted the Internet variety program *Peter Himmelman's Furious World*, combining live music, comedy, video, interviews, and guest appearances. He later founded Big Muse, a company focused on creativity, communication, leadership, and innovation. His book *Let Me Out: Unlock Your Creative Mind and Bring Your Ideas to Life* extended those interests into a practical guide to creative work.
Himmelman has remained an active recording artist, releasing *The Mystery and the Hum* (2010), *The Boat That Carries Us* (2014), *There Is No Calamity* (2017), *Breath & Pulse & Awe* (2018), *Press On* (2020), and *At the Emergence of Stars* (2024). His career is distinguished by its unusual breadth: he has sustained a serious body of rock songwriting while also working successfully in children's entertainment, screen composition, performance, visual art, and creative education.