Ellen James Society was a rock

Rock music

Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

 band, based in Atlanta, that was fronted by Cooper Seay

Cooper Seay

Cooper Seay was a member of the rock bands Ellen James Society and Viva la Diva. She recently released a solo album, Fin de Siecle, on Moksha Records, as "E. Cooper Seay". She also works as a Bikram and Sivananda yoga instructor in Austin, Texas. E...

 and Chris McGuire. Gary Held, Jan Dykes, Scott Bland, and Bryan Lilje were also members at various times. They formed in 1987 and disbanded in the early 1990s after releasing two albums on Daemon Records

Daemon Records

Daemon Records is an Atlanta, Georgia based, not-for-profit independent record label started by musician Amy Ray of the Indigo Girls. The label is run mostly by the musicians who record on it....

.

They took their name from a fictitious group of women who cut off their tongues to protest the rape

Rape

Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...

 of an (also fictitious) eleven-year-old girl, Ellen James, whose tongue was cut off by her attackers in order to prevent her from identifying them. The group was the creation of John Irving

John Irving

John Winslow Irving is an American novelist and Academy Award-winning screenwriter.Irving achieved critical and popular acclaim after the international success of The World According to Garp in 1978...

 in his novel The World According to Garp

The World According to Garp

The World According to Garp is John Irving's fourth novel. Published in 1978, the book was a bestseller for several years.A movie adaptation of the novel starring Robin Williams was released in 1982, with a screenplay written by Steve Tesich....

, from which, in 1982, was made a movie adaptation

The World According to Garp (film)

The World According to Garp is 1982 American comedy drama film directed by George Roy Hill, based on the novel of the same title by John Irving, who also wrote the script together with Steve Tesich...

 starring Robin Williams

Robin Williams

Robin McLaurin Williams is an American actor and comedian. Rising to fame with his role as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork and Mindy, and later stand-up comedy work, Williams has performed in many feature films since 1980. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance...

 and Glenn Close

Glenn Close

Glenn Close is an American actress and singer of theatre and film, known for her roles as a femme fatale Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress and singer of theatre and film, known for her roles as a femme fatale Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress and...

at her first feature, with a screenplay written by Steve Tesich.