Rosalie Sorrels - 1933
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Advanced English 3
Emmett High School, Emmett, Idaho.
I. Personal and Professional Biography
Rosalie Sorrels has suffered much throughout her lifetime. She has suffered the pain that comes along with divorce, death, a brain aneurysm, and breast cancer, not to mention rape, and many more tragedies. Her tragedies, however, have not done what they do to most. Rosalie Sorrels is a strong woman. Tragedies usually break people, but not her. "People create folk songs," she says, "because they need them in order to get along with life and the stuff it throws at you"(Statesman). As she might also say, "Love conquers all." In her case, her love is music. It has enabled her to establish everything in her life. Although Rosalie Sorrels has gone through many setbacks in her lifetime, she seems as young and vibrant as she was forty years ago.
Born in Idaho in 1933, Sorrels grew up in and around Boise. Her father, Walter Stringfellow, was a materials engineer for the state highway department. Her mother, Nancy Stringfellow, managed The Book Shop in Boise for eighteen years. She imparted her love of reading to her daughter (Statesman ). While growing up, Sorrels developed a natural interest in artists and writers. Along with that she, of course, grew to love words.
After giving up two children in her teen years, one to abortion and one to adoption, Sorrels finally found her true love. She married Jim Sorrels and moved with him to his home in Salt Lake City. Ten years later the two ended up with five children. The two had married young, and over the course of time, as with most people, their feelings changed. Love had vanished from their once-happy marriage. Soon abuse took hold, and Rosalie Sorrels became afraid. Tired and starving for change, she got out.
To support her children, she began performing her true love, folk music. Through her music she expressed her emotions. She started in the 1960's in coffee shops and bars then worked her way up to concerts. Poverty struck many times, especially while she was on the road. She did her best, though, to keep food on the table for herself and her children. In a way, her folk music was an escape, an escape from the tragedy we call life, life where rape, murder, and physical abuse are everyday occurrences.
Sorrels mentions in an interview that she sings songs that other people would not even think of singing ("Borderline"). Her songs do not only portray her thoughts, but sometimes they are actually personal letters to others. In some of her songs she sings of David, her eldest son who committed suicide in 1976 (Statesman). For example, her song entitled "Hitchhiker in the Rain" is dedicated to David. Before he died, David had an unusual interest in hitchhikers. He would make his mother pull over and pick up any hitchhikers he saw on the side of the road (Folklore ). She also shares her love through her songs. Love for both her family and friends. Most songs she sings are, in some way, messages to those she loves.
"Rosalie Sorrels is over sixty, but has the hipness and youth of a woman for whom age is inconsequential" (Folklore). She, of course, is older now but continues her work. An Imaginary Christmas in Idaho is a recording that includes many of her Idaho friends. She has gathered and edited a book called Way Out in Idaho: The Idaho Songbook. It is a collection of folk songs from past times. In order to preserve some of the traditional songs sung by Idaho residents, Sorrels dedicated her time and effort towards building this collection.
While busy singing and writing, Sorrels has managed to win many awards. She received the National Storytelling Circle of Excellence Award, the Kate Wolf Memorial Award, the President's Award for Western Life and Letters at Boise State University, and last, but not least, the Idaho Governor's Award for Excellence in Arts (Statesman). Sorrels certainly deserves all of these awards and more. Music is her life and always will be.
Although Rosalie Sorrels seems to be in good health now, in the past she was not so lucky. In 1988 she endured a cerebral aneurysm. In May of 1998 she had a mastectomy. Currently she suffers from the ailment that affects much of the elder generation, arthritis, a condition that seriously hurts her guitar playing (Statesman). At this moment, she is in recovery from breast cancer. She had chemotherapy in the year 2000.
Sorrels has many favorite celebrities, as she mentions in an article in the Idaho Statesman. Her favorite comedian would be Lenny Bruce; Jazz age writer Gertrude Stein also plays a tune in her heart. Folkmasters Bruce "Utah" Phillips and Pete Seeger share a common respect in Sorrels. Her favorite singers would have to be Malvina Reynolds, Violeta Parra, and Mercedes Sosa. All of these talents plus many more are sure to be seen on Sorrels' "hero ceiling," as she calls it (Idaho Statesman). Her "hero ceiling" above her bed on a slanted wall is a collection of photos and posters of her favorite artists. She also mentions other friends who are connected to the arts, for example, writers Hunter S. Thompson, Ken Kesey, and William Kennedy. She also mentions her fellow musicians Ario Guthrie, Bonnie Raitt, and Nanci Griffith. One of those friends, Nanci Griffith, wrote a song about Sorrels entitled "Ford Econoline," a song about a single mother hitting the touring circuit "with a voice like wine" (Statesman).
Sorrels sings different styles of music. But seems to stick with the more quiet type. She sings both a cappella songs and songs with accompaniment. Examples of her music are "Sweet Loving Friendship," the setting of Lawrence Ferlinghetti's "La Bruja," and "Flower of Revolution," backed with violin, guitar, bass, and percussion.
Now Sorrels is in semi-retirement. At this time she is living at Grimes Creek in the cabin her father built. She is still touring, but not quite as much as she used to. For instance, she gave a star-spangled performance at the Kennedy Center. Even though many would quit while they were ahead, Sorrels refuses to. She keeps striving for something that only she knows.
Rosalie Sorrels has conquered all her setbacks and heartbreaks with the help of her friends, family, and, most importantly, her music. Sorrels continues to astound the music industry. One thing is for sure; she will never give up her talent. She is a role model for many. She remains true to beliefs without regard to the "fickle wind of trends" (Statesman). Although the years are catching up with Rosalie Sorrels' physical way of life, they will never catch her inner diva.
II. Works Cited
"Performance Archive for Rosalie Sorrels." Millennium Stage Performance Archive. The John F.
Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. 9 Nov. 2000. 15 May 2001.
"Rosalie Sorrels." Folklore Productions. 12 April 2001.
http://www.folkloreproductions.com
The Idaho Statesman. 10 September 2000: E2-E3. The Kate Wolf Memorial Award. 12 April 2001.
"'Tough Paradise.' Programs Scheduled in Moscow." Idaho Humanities. 4.2. (Spring 2000): 6.
This essay was submitted by a student of Joanne Davis, an English teacher at Emmett High School in Idaho.