The Roots drummer seeks help from his followers on social media to track down his benefactor named Ellie who helped him start his record collection in the 1970s.
- October 28, 2020
AceShowbiz - The Roots star Questlove is hoping to track down the stranger who bought him a turntable and a handful of vinyl records when he was a child.
The 49-year-old musician and DJ, real name Ahmir Khalib Thompson, opened up about his encounter with the "kind woman" in a Facebook post over the weekend (23-24Oct20), revealing the woman, who he knew only as Ellie, helped him start what is now his massive record collection.
Alongside a note the mysterious benefactor had written in 1976 after asking him what type of music he liked, the star penned, "The start of my record collection starts with this note."
According to Questlove, he met the woman when he was five years old while waiting for his parents to finish their set at a nightclub in Portland, Maine.
"Being the irresistible cat that I was, I talked an older woman named Ellie into buying me a stereo and a record collection," he recalled. "I truly didn’t think she was coming back the next day with my request. She asked me what did I like and I said 'records' she asked 'what type of records?' "
"I knew talking to strangers was a no no but my instincts paid off. She started writing it down," The Roots drummer remembered, recalling he told her hits by Rufus and the Jackson Five.
Ellie returned to the nightclub the following night to present him with a turntable and three records and, while his parents were "heated," he added, "Whatever she pleaded saved my behind that night cause black parents don’t play w talking to strangers (wasn’t so lucky a year later when I asked a stranger to play 'Brick House' on the jukebox at the local corner store)."
Questlove went on to ask fans if they had any idea of whom the mysterious woman could be, insisting he'd "like to know" along with the hashtag "#WhereIsEllie."
