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Rosalie Sorrels, a former Utahn who was twice nominated for Grammys and influenced a generation of folk singers, died Sunday in Reno, Nev., at age 83.

"She was surrounded with love and music and is free from all the pain," her children Holly, Shelley and Kevin posted on Facebook, along with a link to their mother's song "Ashes on the Sea" on YouTube. "Our mother has sung this song at the wakes of many of her friends and family, now we share her song in her honor."

Born and raised in Idaho, Sorrels moved to Salt Lake City with her husband, Jim, in 1952. She took acting and guitar classes at the University of Utah's extension (where she later taught). She also took classes from folklorist Wayland Hand at the U., gathered folks songs at quilting bees sponsored by the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers ("a couple of hundred old Mormon songs," she said in a 2004 interview in "Sing Out!" magazine) and began performing.

In 1979, New York Times critic John Rockwell described Sorrels' voice as "full and rich, with a plaintive vibrato that thins out delicately on top, unless she's pushing for volume, in which case it becomes — if such a thing is possible — an evocative, stirring bray."

Her first album, featuring Utah and Idaho songs, was released in 1959. In 1961, the Smithsonian released "Folk Songs of Idaho and Utah," featuring Sorrels singing and her husband accompanying her on guitar. That was followed by "Rosalie Sorrels Sings Songs of the Mormon Pioneers."

She also managed and promoted other folk artists. Among those she brought to Salt Lake City to perform were Joan Baez and Jean Ritchie, and Ritchie later invited Sorrels to sing at the 1966 Newport Folk Festival, which brought her increased attention and the opportunity to return to the recording studio.

Two of her two dozen albums were nominated for Grammys — "My Last Go-Round: Rosalie Sorrels and Friends" (2004) and "Strangers in Another Country: The Songs of Bruce 'Utah' Phillips" (2008).

She also performed at Woodstock in 1969, but never became a big star. She once said she'd never made more than $20,000 from her music in a single year. But she influenced other artists, including Nanci Griffith, whose song "Ford Econoline" was inspired by Sorrels.

That song begins, "She drove west from Salt Lake City to the California coastline," and includes the lines, "And she's the salt of the Earth, straight from the bosom of the Mormon church."

Sorrels was known for telling personal stories in her songs: "Rosalie's songs are so close to the bone that I get nervous listening to them," Hunter S. Thompson wrote.

The title song of her 1972 album, "Travelin' Lady," told the story of leaving her husband and going out on the road to perform. (The marriage ended in 1966 after 13 years and five children.)

"I had no marketable skills, and no credentials other than having graduated from high school," she said in that 2004 "Sing Out!" interview. "But I knew how to sing, and I had a huge collection of traditional songs and many friends from the community of folklorists and musicians who had introduced me to the people's wealth of music, lore, stories and mythologies. I wrapped it all up in my invisible backpack and became a folk singer because I didn't know what else to do."

Sorrels' songs were about her family (parents, ex-husband, children), and she also wrote about social issues — everything from women's rights to prison reform.

Funeral plans are pending. The family announced on Facebook that they are planning a memorial service in Boise, with details to be announced.