Ellis Paul

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Ellis Paul : biography

January 14, 1965 –

Career: 2000–2003

Paul released his first live recording, simply titled Live, on March 14, 2000. The double-disk included recordings from several shows, as well as previously unreleased studio tracks. Highlights of the year 2000 included Paul singing the National Anthem at Fenway Park, and having his song "The World Ain’t Slowing Down" chosen for the theme song in the Farrelly brothers movie Me, Myself and Irene starring Jim Carrey and Renée Zellweger. Both events took place on the same June weekend.Wieder, Tamara. On the road again: one long day in the life of Ellis Paul, one of Boston’s biggest and most hard-working folksingers. Improper Bostonian, June 14–20, 2000, p.18. In November 2001, Paul was again successful in having a song in a movie when "Sweet Mistakes" was featured in Shallow Hal starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Jack Black. Paul released his 8th CD, Sweet Mistakes, a collection of audience-favorites not yet recorded, on November 15, 2001. In January 2002, Paul was named the FolkWax Artist of the Year for 2001.FolkWax Staff. FolkWax E-Zine. January 17, 2002. Retrieved February 16, 2007. (Free with registration.)

Paul often recites original poetry for his audiences. Some of those poems can be found in Notes from the Road, a collection of Paul’s original poems, lyrics, and journal entries published by Black Wolf Press in May 2002. In her review for Performing Songwriter, Abby White said, "The book has an intimate, conversational tone, and Paul’s childlike drawings, song lyrics and poetry provide commercial breaks to his personal journal entries and vivid recollections of significant events he encounters while touring".White, Abby. Notes From the Road by Ellis Paul. Performing Songwriter, Vol. 10, Issue #70, June 2003, p. 12–3. As the 21st century began Paul recited his "Millennium Poem", regularly at shows.

In 2002 Paul became friends with Nora Guthrie. Nora Guthrie is executive director of the Woody Guthrie Foundation and Archives in New York City where hundreds of Woody Guthrie’s handwritten lyrics — many without music — are housed. She invited Paul to visit the Archives and choose one set of lyrics to put to song. Referring to the huge undertaking of finding songwriters to write music for hundreds of her father’s lyrics, Nora Guthrie stated that there was a "job description" that her father left behind that "Ellis took on".Hubstuff Staff. . Hubstuff: What’s Going on in Lubbock (Lubbock, Texas.), June 27, 2003, p. 9. Retrieved February 10, 2007. Paul chose "God’s Promise", lyrics that Woody had adapted in 1955 from "What God Hath Promised", a hymn of the day and recorded it for his 2002 release Speed of Trees. Paul said that visiting the Woody Guthrie Archives was like going through a time capsule of his biggest hero and that the posthumous collaboration with Woody Guthrie was one of the "coolest things" he’d ever done.Behe, Rege. Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, November 1, 2002. Retrieved February 10, 2007.Conner, Thomas. Tulsa World, July 15, 2002. Retrieved February 10, 2007. The Nov. 5th episode of the TV series Ed featured Paul’s "If You Break Down". Paul performing at the 2002 [[Woody Guthrie Festival – July 11, 2002. Paul has performed at many events in Guthrie’s honor and often incorporates Guthrie’s songs into his sets.]]

Paul’s connection to Woody Guthrie continued into 2003 when he was invited to perform in the Ribbon of Highway, Endless Skyway tribute show to honor Woody Guthrie. The ensemble show, which was the brainchild of Texas singer-songwriter Jimmy LaFave, toured around the country and included a rotating cast of singer-songwriters individually performing Guthrie’s songs. Interspersed between songs were Guthrie’s philosophical writings read by a narrator. In addition to LaFave and Paul, members of the rotating cast included Slaid Cleaves, Eliza Gilkyson, Joel Rafael, husband-wife duo Sarah Lee Guthrie (Woody Guthrie’s granddaughter) and Johnny Irion, Michael Fracasso, and The Burns Sisters. Oklahoma songwriter Bob Childers, sometimes called "the Dylan of the Dust,"Propaganda Media Group, Inc. . Retrieved February 6, 2007. served as narrator. Retrieved January 25, 2007. When word spread about the tour, performers began contacting LaFave whose only prerequisite was to have an inspirational connection to Guthrie. Each artist chose the Guthrie songs that he or she would perform as part of the tribute. One of the songs Gilkyson chose was "Pastures of Plenty", while Cleaves chose "This Morning I Am Born Again" – a song he wrote using Guthrie’s lyrics. One of the songs Paul chose was a song he wrote using Guthrie’s lyrics – "God’s Promise".Sun-Times Staff. Chicago Sun-Times, January 29, 2003. Retrieved January 25, 2007. LaFave said, "It works because all the performers are Guthrie enthusiasts in some form".Martinez, Rebekah., The Courier, (Conroe, Texas.), February 7, 2003. Retrieved February 7, 2007. The Ribbon of Highway tour kicked-off on February 5, 2003 at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. The abbreviated show was a featured segment of "Nashville Sings Woody", yet another tribute concert to commemorate the music of Woody Guthrie held during the Folk Alliance Conference. The cast of "Nashville Sings Woody", a benefit for the Woody Guthrie Foundation and Archives, also included Arlo Guthrie, Marty Stuart, Nanci Griffith, Guy Clark, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Janis Ian, and others.. Retrieved February 6, 2007.