Rosalie Sorrels

Rosalie Sorrels has been brought up in every class and seems to be a very important person so I decided to spend a little time doing a some research on her. I also thought this would be helpful for thinking of good exact questions to be able to ask her. First, I think it would be really interesting to hear about why she decided to record the album "Strangers In Another Country" which is a compilation of songs by Bruce "Utah" Phillips, and happened to be nominated for a Grammy Award. In my opinion, deciding to record a compilation of someone's work shows a lot of honor and respect for that individual, and shows she must have quite the admiration for Utah and his work. Rosalie was born June 24, 1933 (so she is almost 78) in Boise, ID. I think it would be great to hear about what it was like to be a female artist during that era since it seems to me most of the artists were men, and since it was definitely a time when women were still expected to be ordinary housewives. I also found that the University of California at Santa Cruz dedicated an archive to house her papers, including news clippings about war protests and civil rights marches. I would love to hear about her involvement in such protests and her perspective on if these helped solve anything, and what we can do today to change things that we do not agree with. My research of Rosalie Sorrels also made me really admire her. I found out that she has suffered through many tragic life events, including breast cancer and a brain aneurysm. Sorrels also said in an interview with the Idaho Statesmen "People create folk songs,because they need them in order to get along with life and the stuff it throws at you." I think it would be great to hear about how she used her life to write music, what inspired her songs, and I would like to ask what it was like to work on songs with Utah Phillips. I also would like to know what life on the road was like for a woman with 5 children. Obviously jumping on a freight train wasn't a viable option for her if her children were with her, making me curious how she traveled, and if her children tended to travel with her. Overall, I think she is a very strong woman who definitely makes a good role model and that I have a lot of respect for. For more information on Sorrels visit:

http://www.ncteamericancollection.org/litmap/sorrels_rosalie_id.htm

http://www.rosaliesorrels.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.welcome

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNs3U52eXrs