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Ellen McIlwaine | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1945-10-01)October 1, 1945 Nashville, Tennessee, United States |
| Died | June 23, 2021(2021-06-23) (aged 75) Calgary, Alberta, Canada |
| Genres | |
| Occupations | Singer-songwriter,slide guitarist |
| Instruments | Guitar, piano, harmonica |
| Years active | 1960s–2021 |
Ellen McIlwaine (October 1, 1945 – June 23, 2021) was an American-born singer-songwriter and musician best known for her career as a solo singer, songwriter andslide guitarist.
Born inNashville, Tennessee, United States, McIlwaine was adopted by missionaries and raised inKobe, Japan, giving her exposure to multiple languages and cultures.[1][2] She attended theCanadian Academy school in Kobe, graduating in 1963.[3] Her first experience in music was playingRay Charles,Fats Domino andProfessor Longhair songs on piano that she heard on Japanese radio. On moving back to the United States she bought a guitar, beginning a stage career inAtlanta, Georgia in the mid-1960s.[citation needed]
In 1966, McIlwaine had a stint in New York City'sGreenwich Village where she opened every night at theCafe Au Go Go, playing withJimi Hendrix, and opening forMuddy Waters,Sonny Terry andBrownie McGhee, andBig Joe Williams.[citation needed] She returned to Atlanta to form the bandFear Itself, apsychedelicblues rock band.
After recording one album with Fear Itself, McIlwaine went solo, recording two albums forPolydor,Honky Tonk Angel (1972) andWe the People (1973), the latter featuring ahit single, "I Don't Want to Play". Those albums, and most of her work since, have featured McIlwaine's approach to acoustic slide guitar.[citation needed] This was followed byThe Real Ellen McIlwaine, recorded for the independent Canadian label Kot'ai, which featured two of her 'signature' songs, her slide guitar version of Stevie Wonder's "Higher Ground" and "The Secret In This Lady's Heart".
As a female vocalist who is known for her acoustic and electric slide guitar, her music tends to be classified in the folk sections of record stores, despite her strong roots in blues, gospel soul and rock music, and hercover versions of songs byIsaac Hayes,Stevie Wonder,Jack Bruce,Jimi Hendrix,Steve Winwood andBrowning Bryant. McIlwaine met Hendrix in New York in 1966, briefly played with him and wrote "Underground River" about him.[citation needed] She was an ardent fan of Jack Bruce and recorded a version of a song by Bruce and his lyricistPete Brown on each of her first four solo albums - notably songs from Bruce's first solo albumSongs for a Tailor, as well as songs associated with Bruce (such as "Born Under A Bad Sign"). This culminated in her collaboration with Bruce himself on her fourth solo album,Everybody Needs It (1982), which won the NAIRD Indie Award.
By the mid-1970s, McIlwaine's songs "Sliding", "We the People" and "Losing You" were included on thecompilation album,The Guitar Album.
McIlwaine's albumThe Real Ellen McIlwaine, was recorded inMontreal in 1975 for the Kotai label, and included the Stevie Wonder song "Higher Ground". Her intro later appeared onDavid Holmes'Essential Mix (1997).[4]
McIlwaine gained a cult following in Australia thanks to exposure of her music on the Sydney-based AM public rock radio station2JJ (now Triple-J). In 1980 she made her first tour of Australia, after being spotted by the Australian singer-guitaristMargret RoadKnight, who was one of the co-promoters of the tour. She returned to Australia in 1984, and during this tour was the last performer to appear at Sydney's historicRegent Theatre prior to its closure and subsequent demolition.[citation needed]
After moving to Canada in 1987, (firstToronto, laterAlberta), McIlwaine recordedLooking for Trouble forStony Plain Records, which also re-released her early vinyl material on CD. Her next CDWomen in (e)motion Festival/Ellen McIlwaine, was recorded live in Germany in 1999; and thenSpontaneous Combustion featuringTaj Mahal on the German Tradition und Moderne label.[citation needed]
In spite of debilitatingarthritis in her hips, she undertook a third tour of Australia and New Zealand in 2003, which reunited her with RoadKnight and the other Honky Tonk Angels, who had first brought her to Australia in 1980.[citation needed]
In 2006 she started her own label, Ellen McIlwaine Music, and releasedMystic Bridge featuring the Indiantabla drummerCassius Khan. They were joined by the soprano saxophone of Linsey Wellman on three tracks, including their version of "Take Me to the River", and harmonium playing by Amika Kushwaha on the last track, "The Question". This was a poem by Christine Steele, recited over Cassius Khan's vocal rendition of the ancient Urdu poem set to music, "Darbari Raag".[citation needed] The album was widely successful with critical acclaim.
In 2008, 2009, and 2010 she toured withPatty Larkin'sLa Guitara ensemble in the US, and in Canada withSue Foley'sGuitar Women, and appeared at various US and Canadian venues and festivals as a solo artist. In 2013 she traveled to Los Angeles to be part of theJimi Hendrix documentaryHear My Train A Comin'. In 2019, Ellen was awarded Toronto Blues Society's "Blues with a Feeling" Lifetime Achievement Award.[5]
McIlwaine died on June 23, 2021, in her long-time residence ofCalgary, Alberta, Canada.[6] She had been diagnosed withesophageal cancer just six weeks prior.[7]
She was the subject ofGoddess of Slide, a 2024 documentary film byAlfonso Maiorana.[8]
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