Ella Hanshaw S Black Book

Description

When Ella Hanshaw (1934-2020) started playing guitar at the age of 12 in Procious, West Virginia, she dreamed of being a country star. But over the next 74 years, as she wrote hundreds of songs, her artistic goals slowly elevated to a higher realm. The Black Book of Ella Hanshaw, lovingly compiled by her granddaughter from home and church recordings, features a selection of Ella's original gospel songs (Side A: Big Black Book), performed solo and with her Hallelujah Hill Quartet, as well as her heartbroken country songs (Side B: Little Black Book) recorded in a back room during quiet moments at home. Despite the differences in style and intention, the common themes remain the same in the sacred and secular sides of the album: love and nostalgia for what we cannot quite touch – not yet, at least – and the physical pages of possibilities we can hold in the meantime.