Last week, Ellen celebrated her 89th birthday in fine style—surrounded by friends at a party at her home.
Here’s a photo of her at the event, pleasantly surprised by a very sparkly cake. (We don’t know what those beer bottles are doing there. Just how wild was this party?)
Here’s to the next trip around the sun!
We’re making progress on expanding this website, which will eventually cover Ellen’s academic and musical work, with stories and photography from across the decades. I’ve just added an “About Ellen” page, with a general introduction to her life and career, as well as the start of a “Fieldwork” page covering her work as a folksong collector. Please check them out!
We are also preparing to show you some unheard songs from Ellen’s extensive musical archive. These are recordings made at various concerts and other performances from across her career, which have never been officially released before. We’ll keep you posted as things move forward!
If you’re curious about the image we’re using to illustrate the righthand side of this website, it comes from a 1962 promotional pamphlet for Ellen’s music produced by Peter Freedberger, her booking agent at the time. Clicking on the images below will make them larger. The original paper copy can be found in Ellen’s personal archives.
