Some artists shine brightly in their time yet slip through the cracks of music history. Ellen McIlwaine was one of them, a fearless slide guitarist who shared the stage with Jimi Hendrix and left audiences spellbound with her raw voice and boundless energy. Despite her talent and trailblazing spirit, her story faded from the mainstream.
Now, a new documentary from director Alfonso Maiorana is setting the record straight. Goddess of Slide: The Forgotten Story of Ellen McIlwaine revisits the highs, struggles, and resilience of a musician who should have been a household name. From her Nashville beginnings to a multicultural upbringing in Japan, to her years in New York’s Greenwich Village and her adopted home of Canada, the film traces a journey as inspiring as it is heartbreaking.
Having already captured international acclaim, Maiorana’s film is not just a biography but a revival, one that reintroduces McIlwaine to the world and secures her place in music history where it has always belonged.
Ellen McIlwaine’s Early Life
Born in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1945, Ellen McIlwaine’s story began far from the spotlight. Adopted as a baby by missionary parents, she was whisked off to Japan at the age of two, an unusual start that gave her a truly global upbringing.
Growing up in Kobe during the 1950s and ’60s, Ellen soaked up music in every form: playing piano in her father’s Presbyterian church, tuning into international sounds on the family’s radio, and developing an ear that stretched far beyond American folk and blues.
When the McIlwaines returned to the United States in 1963, Ellen found herself in the confines of an ultra-religious college in Bristol, Tennessee. With strict rules that banned cars, dancing, and even public displays of affection, it was a world far too small for her restless creativity.
The turning point came when she picked up a guitar in a dorm attic, strummed a few chords, and felt a lightning-bolt certainty: this was the path she was meant to follow. Within months, she had left college behind, trading small-town restrictions for the possibility of a life in music.
Breaking into the 1960s Music Scene
By the mid-1960s, Ellen McIlwaine had found her way to New York City, where the coffee houses of Greenwich Village pulsed with new sounds and restless talent. In less than a year, she was a fixture in the scene, opening for legends like Odetta, Richie Havens, and Mississippi John Hurt. Her voice carried both grit and warmth, and her performances hinted at something distinct, a woman carving her own space in a landscape dominated by men.
Then came a moment that would forever mark her story: Jimi Hendrix, already an emerging force, approached her after a set at Café Au GoGo and asked to join her on stage. For six unforgettable nights, the two artists played together, blending their sounds in a way that stunned audiences and lit up the New York underground.
Other musicians quickly recognized her power. Taj Mahal recalled the first time he heard her play, describing it as a sound that radiated “from the center of the universe” (quote from cbc.ca). With her commanding stage presence and fearless originality, Ellen was no longer just another folk musician in Greenwich Village; she was becoming a trailblazer.
The Slide Guitar Pioneer
At a time when few women were even seen holding a guitar on stage, Ellen McIlwaine was rewriting the rules. She picked up the slide, a technique traditionally owned by male blues players, and made it her own.
Inspired by watching musicians like Randy California experiment with bottleneck guitar, Ellen developed a raw, inventive style that fused blues, folk, and psychedelic rock. Nobody taught her; she simply carved out a sound through instinct and boldness.
Her talent soon took her to Woodstock, where she fronted the psychedelic band Fear Itself. Their self-titled 1968 album, produced by industry heavyweight Tom Wilson (who had worked with Bob Dylan and The Velvet Underground), showcased Ellen’s powerful vocals and fiery guitar work. But record label frustrations and creative clashes pushed her to walk away and pursue a solo path.
That leap led to a deal with Polydor Records and two celebrated albums, Honky Tonk Angel (1972) and We The People (1973). She even earned a spot on The Guitar Album, a compilation alongside giants like Eric Clapton and Rory Gallagher, the only woman featured.
At Carnegie Hall in 1973, she delivered her breakthrough moment with the protest anthem “We The People,” a song dedicated to the Lakota Massacre at Wounded Knee. With her slide guitar blazing and scat singing in Japanese, she won over the crowd and cemented her reputation as a true original.
Struggles, Reinvention, and Canada
Even with critical praise and a growing reputation, Ellen’s relationship with the music industry was fraught. Polydor shelved her third album after disputes over creative control, a blow that stalled her momentum just as her career seemed ready to soar. For Ellen, the battle between artistry and industry would be a recurring theme.
By the mid-1970s she found herself drawn to Canada, a country that offered both creative freedom and a sense of belonging. In Montreal she recorded The Real Ellen McIlwaine with the Ville Émard Blues Band, and her performances at the Montreal International Jazz Festival gave her new audiences. She also began touring internationally, with a standout trip to Australia in the early 1980s that cemented her reputation abroad.
Her 1982 album Everybody Needs It, recorded in Chicago with Cream bassist Jack Bruce, earned acclaim and hinted at what might have been had the industry championed her more fully. But behind the spotlight, Ellen struggled with alcoholism and self-doubt. It took the encouragement of a close friend to attend an AA meeting and turn her life around. She never drank again.
In 1987 Ellen became a Canadian citizen. From Toronto’s music scene to Calgary, where she eventually settled, she built a quieter but fulfilling chapter of her career. Canada gave her a home where she could live and play on her own terms, even if mainstream recognition continued to elude her.
Later Years and International Recognition
By the 1990s, Ellen McIlwaine’s influence was being rediscovered in surprising places. A new generation of DJs and producers unearthed her recordings and began weaving her sound into their own work. Fatboy Slim sampled her searing version of Stevie Wonder’s “Higher Ground” in his track “Song for Lindy,” while Japan’s Mondo Grosso invited her to write and sing on their single Don’t Let Go. Soon after, Japanese DJs Kenichi Yanai and Kei Kobayashi brought her overseas to perform, where audiences embraced her as a cult legend.
Yet, while international DJs celebrated her artistry, Ellen’s life in Canada was becoming increasingly modest. By the mid-2000s, invitations to major festivals had slowed, royalties had dried up, and new recordings were no longer on the horizon. In 2009 she took a job as a school bus driver in Calgary, quietly working to make ends meet while still performing occasionally for loyal fans.
In 2021, just as plans for a documentary about her life were taking shape and the possibility of returning to the stage was within reach, Ellen was diagnosed with cancer. She passed away that June, leaving behind a legacy both immense and underappreciated.
The Film: Goddess of Slide
After Ellen’s passing in 2021, the urgency to tell her story only deepened. Director Alfonso Maiorana, known for his ability to blend music and cultural history, took on the project with a clear mission: to honor McIlwaine’s artistry and finally give her the recognition she deserved.
The result is Goddess of Slide: The Forgotten Story of Ellen McIlwaine, an intimate portrait that traces her journey from Nashville beginnings to a multicultural childhood in Japan, her explosive years in New York’s music scene, and her eventual embrace of Canada as home.
Through archival performances, interviews with peers, and reflections, the film paints Ellen not just as a musician but as a resilient spirit who pushed boundaries and inspired those lucky enough to hear her play.
Supported by the Canada Media Fund, the Rogers Documentary Fund, the Hot Docs-Slaight Family Fund, and Documentary Channel, the film is as much a Canadian production success story as it is a tribute to a forgotten icon. For audiences, it’s a chance to step into the world of a musician whose music once set hearts racing and whose spirit still echoes through every note.
Festival Success and Global Acclaim
Since its premiere at the Calgary International Film Festival (CIFF) in 2024, Goddess of Slide has been embraced by audiences around the world. Winning the coveted Audience Award at CIFF set the tone for a remarkable festival run, with honours following at Italy’s Festival Mente Locale, London’s Doc’n Roll Film Festival, and the Long Island International Film Expo, where it took home Best Feature Documentary.
Canadian audiences were able to stream the film on CBC Gem in March 2025, while Sky New Zealand brought Ellen’s story to the Southern Hemisphere later that summer. With more than 15 international festival selections and growing demand for encore screenings, the documentary has quickly established itself as one of Canada’s most celebrated recent music films.
For director Alfonso Maiorana, the recognition has always been secondary to the mission. “Anytime you win any award, it’s always good for the subject matter,” he explained at one ceremony. “In this case, for Ellen, for her music, and for her legacy. Maybe this will get a new generation of people into her music and into her career” (quote from gtaweekly.ca).
About Alfonso Maiorana
Alfonso Maiorana, born September 11, 1965, in Montreal, Quebec, is a director and cinematographer with a talent for blending music, culture, and history on screen. He is best known for Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked The World (2017), Blood & Treasure (2019), and X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019), demonstrating a versatility that spans both documentary and feature filmmaking.
Wrapping Up
Through Alfonso Maiorana’s lens, audiences are invited not only to witness McIlwaine’s extraordinary career but also to feel the passion, creativity, and perseverance that defined her life. The documentary stands as both a tribute and a revival, giving Ellen the recognition she always deserved and inspiring a new generation to discover the power of her music.
For fans old and new, Ellen McIlwaine will forever remain the goddess of slide, and thanks to Maiorana’s film, her legacy is now secured in the history of music.