The 'genius' of singer who was ahead of her time - then disappeared

Connie Converse was a talented singer-songwriter who mysteriously vanished in 1974, just a week after celebrating her 50th birthday. As we approach the 100th anniversary of her birth and the 50th anniversary of her disappearance, many people are starting to remember her as a remarkable artist who never received the recognition she deserved. In January 1961, a young Bob Dylan arrived in Greenwich Village, New York, with dreams of changing the music world with his poetic and personal songs. It is possible that he crossed paths with Connie Converse, who was also trying to make a name for herself in the same neighborhood. However, while Dylan went on to achieve great fame, Connie struggled for a decade to gain significant attention for her intimate and sophisticated music. Some believe that in an alternate reality, Connie could have been the one to achieve stardom, becoming a household name and influencing countless artists, including Taylor Swift. A recent book titled How To Become Famous explores the reasons why some talented individuals become successful while others remain in the shadows. The book imagines a world where Connie Converse is celebrated as one of the most original and greatest folk singers of the 1950s and 1960s, with a legacy that could even warrant a Nobel Prize. Connie's music was not commercially released until 2009, long after her disappearance. Howard Fishman, who published a biography about her called To Anyone Who Ever Asks, believes that Connie could have achieved great success if her music had received the recognition it deserved during her lifetime. He reflects on how American cultural history might have been different if she had been acknowledged for her musical genius. However, Cass Sunstein, the author of How To Become Famous, acknowledges that while Connie was talented, she was not necessarily better than Dylan. She faced significant barriers as a woman in a male-dominated industry, and her clever, melodic, and often melancholic songs may not have had mass appeal at the time. Her music dealt with themes such as loneliness, love troubles, and the struggles of life, which were not the popular topics of the early 1950s, a time dominated by upbeat crooners and show tunes. Fishman notes that Connie's sound was unique and did not resemble that of any other artist from her era or even today. British singer Vashti Bunyan became a fan of Connie's music after hearing it from US DJ David Garland, who was the first to play her songs in 2004. Bunyan was astonished to learn that Connie's recordings were made in the 1950s, and she found it moving to hear Connie express herself in a way that resonated with her own feelings. Bunyan believes that Connie was truly ahead of her time and must have felt isolated due to her lack of recognition. She understands the struggle of having music rediscovered years later, as her own album from 1970 gained a cult following in recent years. Bunyan appreciates that Connie's recordings were made by friends, even if they were not intended for commercial release. It raises questions about how many other talented artists have gone unnoticed. Connie performed for small groups of supporters but never had a proper concert or released music during her lifetime. She made one television appearance in 1954, but it did not lead to the breakthrough she hoped for. Ellen Stekert, a folk historian who was also active in the 1950s, believes that Connie was simply too different to succeed in the music industry. She describes Connie as self-contained and isolated, which made it difficult for her to connect with the cultural trends of her time. During the 1950s, female singers often needed a male figure to help them gain recognition, and Connie struggled with social interactions and self-promotion. After leaving New York in 1961, she worked for a printing company and later became the editor of the Journal for Conflict Resolution in Michigan. Her work in peace and anti-racism activism was highly regarded, but eventually, her life seemed to lose direction. On August 10, 1974, just a week after her 50th birthday, Connie sent letters to friends and family, telling them she was returning to New York. She drove away from Ann Arbor, Michigan, and has not been heard from since. No one knows what happened to her, and some hope she started a new life elsewhere. On August 3, 2024, exactly 100 years after her birth, Howard Fishman will be in her hometown of Concord, New Hampshire, to honor her memory. Over the past two decades, Connie's music and story have gained attention, and many people are intrigued by the mystery of her disappearance. Fishman believes that the unfortunate and darkly poetic aspect of her story is that she needed to disappear for people to notice her. He encourages everyone to focus on how she lived and the lessons her life can teach us, rather than just on the mystery of her disappearance.