We are happy to announce that Ellen is releasing recordings from her large archive of music in 2025, many of which have never been officially made public before.
August 29, 2025: Ellen’s latest single, “Shugo,” is a playful, rarely-heard piece of Americana with roots in vaudeville, circus songsters, and the lumbercamps of upstate New York. Ellen learned the song in 1956 from retired lumberjack Ezra “Fuzzy” Barhight, who she worked with very closely during her days as a folksong collector. He was one of the two singers she wrote about for her Ph.D. thesis, and her 1958 Smithsonian Folkways album Songs of a New York Lumberjack was made up entirely of songs she learned from him. This version of the song wasn’t done for the Smithsonian sessions but was recorded about 10 years later.
“Shugo” is available now on all major streaming platforms and Bandcamp. Listen below, and read more about the song here.
July 28, 2025: Newly remastered from Ellen’s personal archives: “On the Rim of the World,” written by Ellen’s close friend, legendary songwriter Malvina Reynolds. This version was originally performed by Ellen at her home in 1980. “On the Rim of the World” is a striking commentary on homelessness, loss, and the vulnerability of life on the margins. “On The Rim of the World” is now available on major streaming platforms and Bandcamp. Listen below, and read more about the song here.
July 18, 2025: A newly unearthed rare treasure in the world of American roots music: While sifting through Ellen’s personal archive of field recordings and photographs, we uncovered a lost 1951 tape of legendary blues and gospel guitarist Reverend Gary Davis, believed to be the earliest known home recording of the artist. Listen below, and read more about the recording here.
June 26, 2025: In celebration of Pride Month, we decided to release this haunting version of the Ian Tyson classic “Four Strong Winds“. This song was recorded in the mid-1960s. Accompanying Ellen is Marge Doherty, a fellow educator and friend of Ellen’s, who also happened to be a talented singer. This recording is an artifact of LGBTQ+ history. Listen below, and read more about the song here.
May 10, 2025: Ellen’s latest single is one of great historical interest: “High Floods & Low Waters”, a long-lost Woody Guthrie song that has remained unheard and undocumented for more than six decades. Originally recorded in 1959 on the CBS television program Camera Three, this release marks the first time the song has ever been made publicly available. Listen below, and read more about the song on this page.
The full session of that recording, Ballads Are News: Live On Camera Three, features Ellen with Jean Ritchie, Oscar Brand, Dave Sear, and The New Lost City Ramblers. It’s available now on Bandcamp.
March 25, 2025: Ellen’s first album since 1958, Go Around Songs, Vol. 1, is out now. It is available on all major streaming platforms including YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, and iHeart Radio. To purchase a download of Go Around Songs or any of the other singles we’ve released over the last couple of months, visit Ellen’s BandCamp page at ellenstekert.bandcamp.com.
Go Around Songs joins Ellen’s previous 2025 releases, including the two-song Live at Walker Art Center (1975) EP, and the singles “Tomorrow Is A Long Time“, “Went To the Sea” and “Free Goodwill.” There will be more! There are many tapes in Ellen’s archives, and Ellen and her team have been busy getting them ready to have new life in the digital world.
For updates about further new releases, please follow Ellen’s Spotify or Apple Music profiles, or check back on the Music & Performing page here at her website. Have a listen at the BandCamp link below. , and read more about the songs on our blog posts about each release, linked above.
Watch this space for more information on future releases. or follow her on Instagram at @EllenStekert. For inquiries on Ellen’s upcoming musical recordings, contact her producer Ross Wylde at rosswyldemusic@gmail.com.
A short history of Ellen’s musical career
Ellen first made a name for herself as a guitarist and vocalist folk-music scene of 1950s Greenwich Village. where she recorded her first album, 1955’s Ozark Mountain Folk Songs, for Stinson Records. As a Cornell undergraduate in 1956, she made Ballads Of Careless Love in 1956, followed by her collaboration with Milton Okun, Traditional American Love Songs, in 1957. In 1958, the Smithsonian Institution’s Folkways Records released her fourth album, Songs Of A New York Lumberjack, which consisted of songs she learned during her experience as a researcher and folk-song collector in upstate New York. She continued to perform concerts occasionally during her subsequent career as a college professor. Read more on her About page.
Selected discography
• Ellen Stekert, Ozark Mountain Folk Songs Volume One (Stinson Records, c. 1955)
• Ellen Stekert, Ballads Of Careless Love (Cornell Recording Society, 1956)
• Milton Okun And Ellen Stekert, Traditional American Love Songs (Riverside Records, 1957)
• Ellen Stekert, Songs Of A New York Lumberjack (Folkways Records, 1958)
Listen to Ellen’s music
Here are a few songs by Professor Stekert recorded over the years.
“The Jealous Lover”
From Songs Of A New York Lumberjack (Folkways Records, 1958). To read more about it, see our recent blog post on the song.
“Dink’s Song”
From Ballads of Careless Love (Cornell Recording Society, 1957). Ellen recorded this as an undergraduate at Cornell University.
“The Associate Professor’s Lament”
Ellen singing at a concert at Madonna College in Livonia, Michigan on April 2, 1967. Thanks to the Michigan Traditional Arts Program.
“The Cumberland and the Merrimac”
From Songs Of A New York Lumberjack (Folkways Records, 1958).
“The Fox”
From Songs Of A New York Lumberjack (Folkways Records, 1958).
“The Two Sisters“
From Songs Of A New York Lumberjack (Folkways Records, 1958).
Pete Seeger at Cornell University, May 16, 1957
Ellen joins Mr. Seeger for part of this concert that took place in Cornell’s Willard Straight Hall in Ithaca, New York. She can be head with Pete on “It Takes a Worried Man” and “Banks of the Ohio.”