Ellen McIlwaine was an American-born singer-songwriter and musician best known for her career as a solo singer, songwriter and slide guitarist.
12 Facts About Ellen McIlwaine
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Ellen McIlwaine attended the Canadian Academy school in Kobe, graduating in 1963.
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In 1966, Ellen McIlwaine had a stint in New York City's Greenwich Village where she opened every night at the Cafe Au Go Go, playing with Jimi Hendrix, and opening for Muddy Waters, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, and Big Joe Williams.
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Ellen McIlwaine returned to Atlanta to form the band Fear Itself, a psychedelic blues rock band.
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Ellen McIlwaine met Hendrix in New York in 1966, briefly played with him and wrote "Underground River" about him.
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Ellen McIlwaine was an ardent fan of Jack Bruce and recorded a version of a song by Bruce and his lyricist Pete Brown on each of her first four solo albums - notably songs from Bruce's first solo album Songs for a Tailor, as well as songs associated with Bruce.
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McIlwaine's album The Real Ellen McIlwaine, was recorded in Montreal in 1975 for the Kotai label, and included the Stevie Wonder song 'Higher Ground'.
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Ellen McIlwaine gained a cult following in Australia thanks to exposure of her music on the Sydney-based AM public rock radio station 2JJ.
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Ellen McIlwaine returned to Australia in 1984, and during this tour was the last performer to appear at Sydney's historic Regent Theatre prior to its closure and subsequent demolition.
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In 2019, Ellen McIlwaine was awarded Toronto Blues Society's "Blues with a Feeling" Lifetime Achievement Award.
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Ellen McIlwaine died on June 23,2021, in her long-time residence of Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
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Ellen McIlwaine had been diagnosed with esophageal cancer just six weeks prior.