You know that feeling when you're scrolling through YouTube at 2:00 AM and you stumble across something so bizarrely charming it feels like a fever dream? That’s basically the legacy of Henrietta and Myrna Neudorf. If you haven’t seen the video, it’s a classic piece of "cringe" history from the early days of the internet. Two women, standing in front of some blurry paper flowers on a low-budget public access set, singing "Go Tell It On The Mountain."
It’s awkward. It’s stiff. Myrna looks like she’d rather be literally anywhere else. But for decades, people have been asking the same thing: what happened to Henrietta and Myrna Neudorf after that cameras stopped rolling?
The video itself feels like a time capsule. It’s got that grainy, late-80s aesthetic that you just can't fake. For a long time, the duo was shrouded in mystery. Some people thought they were from a cult. Others joked they were being held hostage off-camera because of Myrna’s thousand-yard stare. Honestly, the internet loves a good conspiracy, but the truth is a lot more grounded—and a little bit bittersweet.
Who Were the Neudorfs, Anyway?
Before we get into the "where are they now" stuff, we have to look at where they came from. For years, nobody even knew their names. They were just "the two ladies who can't sing."
Research eventually traced them back to Steinbach, Manitoba, a small city in Canada known for its deep Mennonite roots. This explains a lot about the vibe of the performance. This wasn't a professional audition. It was community access television in Winnipeg. Back in the 80s and 90s, these stations were the wild west. If you had a song and a Sunday best outfit, they’d basically let you on the air.
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Henrietta and Myrna were mother and daughter. Henrietta, the older woman with the microphone, seemed to be the driving force. She’s the one trying to keep the tempo, even if the tempo was a bit... optimistic. Myrna, the daughter, stands behind the mic stand with her arms folded, looking like she was told five minutes before the recording that she wasn't allowed to go to the mall.
The Mystery of the "Missing" Singers
For a long time, there was a rumor that the pair had "vanished." On forums like Reddit and old-school blogs, people would post threads titled "What happened to Henrietta and Myrna Neudorf?" fearing the worst. In the age of true crime obsession, people assume if someone isn't on Instagram, something terrible happened.
But here’s the reality: They weren't famous. They were just regular people who did one awkward thing on TV thirty-five years ago.
Life After the Viral Video
While the internet was busy making remixes and "try not to laugh" challenges out of their performance, Henrietta and Myrna were just living their lives in Manitoba.
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- Myrna Neudorf: Documentation from the Steinbach Carillon (a local newspaper) shows an engagement announcement for Myrna back in September 1997. She grew up. She moved on. By the time the video became a YouTube sensation in 2008, she was likely a completely different person than the disgruntled teen in the video.
- Henrietta Neudorf: Sadly, reports from the local community and online memorials indicate that Henrietta passed away some years ago. She lived a quiet life, likely unaware that she had become a cult icon for millions of strangers online.
It’s weirdly humanizing when you think about it. We see these "characters" on our screens and forget they have grocery lists and dental appointments.
Why Do We Still Care About Them?
You’d think a thirty-second clip of bad singing would be forgotten by now. But it hasn't been. Why?
Part of it is the sheer sincerity. In a world of polished TikTok influencers and auto-tuned pop stars, there is something deeply vulnerable about Henrietta and Myrna. They weren't trying to be "viral." They were just singing a hymn for their community.
The internet has a weird way of reclaiming "cringe" as something beloved. We see it with The Shaggs or Rebecca Black. We mock it first, then we find it funny, and then—eventually—we find it kind of beautiful. The Neudorfs represent a pre-internet era where you could fail publicly and it didn't mean your life was over. It just meant you were on local TV for ten minutes.
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The Legacy of "Go Tell It On The Mountain"
If you search for them today, you won't find a comeback tour. You won't find an "Update" video on Myrna’s TikTok. What you will find are dozens of parodies, tributes, and remixes.
Comedians have recreated the set down to the blurry flowers. Musicians have sampled Henrietta’s "thin, eggshell-fragile" voice into electronic tracks. The Isolation Creations even did a high-effort spoof of the video recently, proving that the imagery of those two women is burned into the collective consciousness of the web.
What You Can Learn From the Neudorf Story
If there’s any takeaway from the saga of what happened to Henrietta and Myrna Neudorf, it’s about the permanence of the digital age versus the privacy of the past.
- Privacy is a luxury. Myrna likely had no idea her awkward teenage phase would be archived forever. Today, we record everything, but back then, a TV appearance felt fleeting.
- Context matters. When you see a "weird" video, remember there’s a local context. These were likely members of a tight-knit religious community doing what they thought was a good deed.
- Humanity over memes. Behind every "cringe" legend is a real person who probably has no interest in being a meme.
If you want to dive deeper into this kind of internet archaeology, you can look into the archives of The Bootleg Files or the Classical Gas Emissions website. They specialize in preserving these "warped ephemera" of pop culture.
The story of the Neudorfs isn't a tragedy or a thriller. It's just a story about two people who shared a moment, however awkward, and then went back to their lives. Sometimes, that’s the most interesting ending of all.
Next Steps for the Curious:
Check out the original clip on YouTube if you haven't seen it recently—pay attention to the paper flowers at the beginning. Then, look up the "Isolation Creations" parody to see just how much detail they put into capturing that specific 80s Manitoba vibe.