Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Questlove's quest: To find woman who bought him a turntable

The founder of the hip-hop group The Roots wants to find the woman who bought a turntable and records for him when he was 5

Via AP news wire
Monday 26 October 2020 21:12 GMT
People-Questlove
People-Questlove (2019 Invision)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Ahmir Thompson, founder of The Roots and drummer for the “Tonight Show” band, wants to find the kind stranger who bought him a turntable and several records at the tender age of 5.

Thompson — better known as Questlove — posted on social media that he was traveling with his parents, who made their living playing gigs, when he made friends with “Ellie” in 1976 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,” Questlove posted on Facebook and Instagram.

Ellie wrote the youngster's order on a napkin: “Bad Blood” by Neil Sedaka, “Dance With Me” by Rufus, and the Jackson 5.

“I knew talking to strangers was a no-no, but my instincts paid off,” he wrote.

His parents were upset that he'd been chatting up a stranger when Ellie returned the next day bearing gifts. But he says his new friend told his parents “please don’t have him get in trouble on my behalf!! He’s so cute of course I wanted to start his record collection!!!”

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in