Anyone who saw the final episode of NBC's Ed already knows Ellis Paul His poignant song "If You Break Down" graces the last scene. It wasn't the first time Hollywood featured his music. Jack Black's Shallow Hal contains "Sweet Mistakes." "The World Ain't Slow'n Down" is the title track in Jim Carrey's Me, Myself and Irene." Paul's music is urban and sophisticated. He stresses, however, that he is a "folk" singer-songwriter.
Ellis Paul: Blending Folk Music with Pop
Ellis Paul (45) is one of the most popular headliners on the folk circuit. Touring for over twenty years, he has a fiercely loyal fan base. His latest release, The Day After Everything Changed, is his 15th album. Entirely fan funded, it's his first project without record label support in ten years.
Paul grew up in a northern Maine potato farming community. When a knee injury ended his track competition days, he began writing songs on a borrowed guitar. As a Boston social worker, he broke up his share of fights and learned about a different side of life. In the 1990s, Paul's folk-pop blend helped revitalize the folk music scene.
His commitment to justice and honesty colors his writing and performing. He tackles a wide range of subjects with uncommon wisdom and sensitivity. During intermissions, he is as present and engaging as he is when the house lights go down. Much of this comes from being grounded in the noncommercial world of folk music with its emphasis on social responsibility.
Sing Out! Magazine, Woody Guthrie's Folk Songs and Ellis Paul
Ellis has helped bring Woody Guthrie (1914-1967) to modern audiences. Woody, who wrote classics like "This Land is Your Land" and "So Long, It's Been Good to Know You," suffered from Huntington's Chorea. "God's Promise" is one of his unpublished lyrics, written in 1955 during his hospitalization. Ellis wrote a modern melody for it. It's on his CD The Speed of Trees. In 1998, Paul was made an honorary citizen of Woody's birthplace, Okemah, Oklahoma.
So, how does a small town boy navigate the treacherous waters of the music business with his head on straight? How does he connect with the legendary Guthrie who died when Paul was only two? Part of his grounding comes from the quarterly music journal Sing Out! The publication celebrates its 60th anniversary in May.
Started in 1950 by iconic folk singer-songwriter Pete Seeger, Sing Out! exists to encourage ordinary people to make music. Each issue has fifteen lead sheets and a CD. Now a nonprofit, Sing Out! publishes song collections like Rise Up Singing and has a publicly available multimedia resource center. Sing Out! has provided essential information and inspiration for musicians like Paul, who recalls trying to track down issues from the '60s.
"Sing Out!" Ellis says, "has been on my radar screen from the beginning. I wanted to read about the vagabonds who came before me. Pete Seeger's stories and rants were essential to my understanding of what my role is as a musician."
Folk Music, Sing Out! and the Recession
"The folk scene is thriving with great musicians and writers," states Ellis, who is a past president and board member of Club Passim (Cambridge, Massachusetts), "but the economy is creating havoc amongst our patrons and artists."
Ellis explains that soaring costs for gas and airline tickets are impacting today's folk artists. Folk performers have always run the ragged edge. The stories of musicians touring the circuit and sleeping in their cars when a friendly couch wasn't available are still true. Many new artists can't find paying gigs, and established clubs like Binghamton, New York's Night Eagle Café have folded.
Financial problems are also plaguing Sing Out! Pete Seeger (90), who retired as regular Sing Out! columnist several years ago, wrote an appeal letter and posted a video on You Tube around Thanksgiving. According to Editor Mark Moss, The staff planned to give up Sing Out!'s Bethlehem, Pennsylvania office for smaller quarters. Folk music professionals and fans are rallying to keep the magazine afloat.
"The magazine is a cornerstone for our little cottage industry," Ellis says, "A place to catch up with the musings and the travelers on the American folk circuit. To me, there's nothing like sitting in a big chair and catching up with my contemporaries. I hope Sing Out! thrives in its next sixty years!"
Sing Out! – Preserving Folk Music's Refuge in the 21st Century
For now, Sing Out! Can keep its building. Plans are underway for a 60th anniversary fund-raiser. A project to digitize all of Sing Out!'s back issues will ensure that young folk song enthusiasts will have an easier time finding them than Ellis Paul did. The organization is cataloging its vast collection of photos, recordings, letters and other irreplaceable artifacts of the people's music.
*The author interviewed and corresponded with Mark Moss and Ellis Paul in January, 2010. She owns several Ellis Paul CDs and has seen him in concert several times. No products/tickets were accepted in exchange for this article.
Donna W. Hill - Donna W. Hill is an author, singer/songwriter, recording artist, speaker and avid knitter in Pennsylvania's rural Endless Mountains. Her ...
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