1960s Singer Who Suddenly Vanished Mysteriously Returns With A Haunting Tale
With the finger-plucking of an acoustic guitar and a sad folky sound, the songs of Connie Converse stick with you. That haunting quality makes the dark fate of the singer all the more curious. In 1974, the mega-talented musician who'd never quite made it to the mainstream suddenly vanished without a trace. Decades later, Converse's mystery was resurrected when her voice finally reached the right ears.
Genius Potential
Aside from her musical talents, Elizabeth Eaton Converse was a genius. The daughter of a Baptist minister who became the valedictorian of her high school class, Converse went to Mount Holyoke College on a full scholarship in the late 1950s. Everyone expected that she'd fulfill her enormous potential, and while she was brilliant, Elizabeth had an entirely different dream.
New York Dreams
Within two years, Elizabeth had to escape from the life her family wanted her to pursue. Instead, she headed for New York City, settling in the Greenwich Village neighborhood, which in the 1950s was an artistic hotbed. Before jumping into her new chapter, she needed a new name to match, and she decided on one that had a perfect ring to it.
Connie Converse
From then on, she was known as Connie Converse. Her new sense of self was wrapped in the pursuit of her greatest dream — to make it as a singer-songwriter. She penned raw and honest folk songs like those of greats Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell, but she did it before anyone had ever heard of them.
Early Singer-Songwriter
In fact, it's believed Connie's one of the earliest known artists to fit into the modern "singer-songwriter" description. During her heyday, few people ever noticed her one-of-a-kind talent, though Gene Deitch, an animator known for comics like Tom and Jerry, did. One fateful night, Deitch attended a party where an unassuming woman picked up a guitar and transfixed the room.
.v1-768w.jpg?w=1024&q=75)
