: Collins found herself unable to sing, even in private. She largely withdrew from the music world for nearly 40 years, taking low-level jobs and focusing on raising her children. The "Phoenix-Like" Return
: She later founded this band with her second husband, Ashley Hutchings, further pushing the boundaries of traditional music. The Loss of Her Voice The Ballad of Shirley Collins
: 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. : Collins found herself unable to sing, even in private
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 Loss of Her Voice : At age
In 1978, Collins's life and career took a tragic turn. Following a traumatic marriage breakdown—where her husband abruptly left her for another woman—Collins developed , a condition that caused her throat to physically lock up.
