Folklore: Ella Jenkins

Subject: Folklore: Ella Jenkins
From: GayleW
Date: 30 Nov 22 - 10:03 AM

Hi, all! I'm writing a biography of the children's musician Ella Jenkins and wonder if there's anyone out there who remembers learning Ella's songs or seeing her perform. I'm especially interested in hearing from people who heard her in the late 1950s and 1960s--any Chicago folks out there?

For those who are unfamiliar... Ella began recording on Folkways in 1957 and is the label's most prolific--and one of its bestselling--artists. She got her start working as a "rhythm specialist" and teaching call-and-response songs accompanied by hand percussion (usually a conga drum). In the early 1960s, she began performing and composing with the baritone ukulele. She was a major popularizer of African American vernacular music, from chain-gang songs to play-party songs, for children during the folk revival, and was the first person to establish a career as a "children's musician" (as opposed to Lead Belly, Woody Guthrie, or Pete Seeger, who performed and recorded for children but weren't known principally for their children's work).

Ella is now 98--a living legend! Thanks in advance.