Elyse Weinberg, recognized by a narrow circle of late-1960s psychedelic rock enthusiasts and later revivalists simply as Elyse, entered the world in Canada. After modest activity on Toronto’s folk circuit in the 1960s alongside such figures as Neil Young and Joni Mitchell, she relocated to Los Angeles. A connection to Mama Cass helped her obtain a contract with Tetragrammaton Records, the label established by Bill Cosby.
She cut her debut album, issued under the title Elyse, with the session group Touch. The resulting folk-pop set, colored by medieval and psychedelic touches typical of the period, registered as a modest commercial success inside the Top 40. Local appearances followed at Los Angeles venues including the Troubadour, and she also performed on NBC’s The Tonight Show.
Although reviewers likened her work to that of Joni Mitchell and Laura Nyro, and Cher recorded her song “Band of Thieves,” the shuttering of Tetragrammaton together with the fading vogue for folk-rock at decade’s end curtailed her recording prospects. A second album, Grease Paint Smile, which included Neil Young, remained unreleased; she then moved to Asylum Records, where Wildfire likewise stayed on the shelf.
Weinberg withdrew from performing, adopted the name Cori Bishop, and left Los Angeles for Santa Fe, New Mexico. By the 1990s she was living in Ashland, Oregon, and employed at an insurance agency.
In 2000 Andrew Rieger of Elf Power contacted her after purchasing the Elyse LP for its cover art and hoping to reissue it on his Orange Twin label. Rieger reached Bishop through her former collaborator Rich Goldman, and she agreed to the project. Because the original masters no longer existed, the 2001 CD edition was mastered from a clean copy of the vinyl; it received favorable critical notice.
The renewed availability of her recordings drew fresh listeners to her performances, leading her to form the casual ensemble Baby Cori & the Buds for occasional local shows. She also became a member of the Southern Oregon Songwriters Association.
