An ultra-rare, miraculous track quietly released by Nora, the biological daughter of Woody Guthrie. (Saito)

Nora Guthrie—daughter of American folk musician Woody Guthrie, sister of singer-songwriter Arlo Guthrie, and granddaughter of the renowned Yiddish poet Aliza Greenblatt—released this one-and-only, treasured single in 1967 at the age of 17. “Emily’s Illness” is a beautiful, eccentric song that weaves 19th-century Art Nouveau-style aestheticism into a soundscape reminiscent of the Beach Boys’ *Pet Sounds*; it remains a masterpiece passed down through the generations as a miraculous track that also blends elements of psychedelia and acid folk. “Emily’s Illness” is believed to be an homage to the 19th-century poet Emily Dickinson, and the photograph of Nora from that time used on the cover also evokes the world of Dickinson’s era. Eric Eisner, who wrote this song at the age of 18, was her boyfriend and was playing alongside Peter Galway in a band called The Strangers, which would later become the Fifth Avenue Band. Eric and Nora were obsessed with bossa nova and its singer, Astrud Gilberto, at the time, and you can hear that influence in both tracks on this album; but above all, having Nora—a complete amateur singer—perform created a miracle of its own. On the recording side, professional musician Artie Schrock created a melancholic atmosphere by adding striking harpsichord and string arrangements. (Incidentally, the song “Nora Lee” that Eric Eisner later provided to Howdy Moon refers to Nora Gasley.)