Born in Hastings, East Sussex, in 1935, Shirley Collins grew up in a family deeply rooted in traditional English song. In 1954, she met famed American ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax in London and eventually became his lover and research assistant.
The life of Shirley Collins is often described as a tragic and triumphant ballad itself, marked by a legendary song-collecting journey, a devastating medical condition that silenced her for decades, and a late-life return to the stage . The Ballad of Shirley Collins
: The trauma was exacerbated when her husband's new partner began attending her shows, sometimes even wearing his clothes while standing in the front row. Born in Hastings, East Sussex, in 1935, Shirley
: The 2017 feature film The Ballad of Shirley Collins chronicles this remarkable comeback, juxtaposing her modern recording sessions with footage and stories from her 1959 trip with Lomax. : The trauma was exacerbated when her husband's
: At age 80, she released Lodestar , her first new material in 38 years. The recording took place at her home in Lewes to help manage her lingering nerves.