Representative Songs: "Girl I've Got a Date," "Baby I Love You," "Rock Steady"
Biography
One of the first vocalists to enter the Jamaican music business, Alton Ellis was generally revered as the greatest and most soulful singer the country ever produced -- that is, until Bob Marley came along. Ellis had his first hit during the ska craze, but made his true lasting mark as the definitive solo singer of the rocksteady era. Sweet, smooth, and deeply emotive, Ellis was equally at home on Jamaican originals or reggae-fied covers of American R&B hits. He cut a series of ska singles for Clement "Coxsone" Dodd's Studio One label, but reached his prime during the mid- to late '60s, when he recorded some of rocksteady's signature tunes for Duke Reid's Treasure Isle imprint.
Ellis was born in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1944, and grew up in the Trenchtown area as part of a musically inclined family. As a youngster, he learned to sing and play piano, the latter often by breaking into a local youth center to practice by night. In his early teens, he teamed up with another singer, Eddie Perkins, to form the duo Alton & Eddie. In 1959, after winning a prominent talent show, they recorded the single "Muriel," which became a substantial hit in Jamaica. Not long after cutting the follow-up "My Heaven," Perkins left to try a solo career in the United States, leaving Ellis a solo act.
Ellis recorded for Dodd's Studio One label during the early '60s, but made little money. Dissatisfied, he moved over to Reid's Treasure Isle in 1965, and formed a backup vocal trio called the Flames (the first incarnation featured his brother Leslie, and membership would fluctuate). Ellis quickly scored a major hit with the antiviolence plea "Dance Crasher," and the following year, he released what was arguably the first rocksteady single, "Get Ready - Rock Steady." Its innovative beat grew out of a session where the scheduled bassist didn't show up, forcing keyboardist Jackie Mittoo to play the bass part himself; Mittoo's left hand couldn't keep up with the frantic ska beat, so he elected to slow down the tempo. The result was a choppier rhythm that wound up allowing the vocalist to stretch out more, and soon the rocksteady sound had taken over Jamaican music, with Ellis leading the charge. He had several other major successes in 1966, including "Cry Tough" and the smash "Girl I've Got a Date," the latter of which became his biggest hit and signature song. He also cut several duets with Phyllis Dillon (making them Jamaica's answer to Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell), as well as his sister Hortense Ellis (including a hit cover of Neil Sedaka's "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do"). The classic LP Mr. Soul of Jamaica (later reissued on CD as Cry Tough) gathered many of his best Treasure Isle tracks.
By 1968, Ellis had resumed working for Studio One in addition to his output for Treasure Isle, making him one of the few singers to bridge the gap between the two archrivals. Most of his biggest hits of the late '60s came on Studio One, including the American soul cover "Willow Tree," "I'm Just a Guy," and "Sitting in the Park." In 1970, he released the album Sunday Coming, one of his strongest Studio One sets. Ellis later teamed with producer Lloyd Daley for a brief period, which resulted in the more Rastafarian-tinged hits "Lord Deliver Us" and "Back to Africa"; he also worked with Keith Hudson. However, he was still not receiving proper financial compensation for all his success. Disillusioned, he spent some time in the U.S. and Canada, then relocated to England on a mostly permanent basis in 1973.
In England, Ellis established his own Alltone label, which he devoted to both new recordings and compilations of his early classics. The international popularity of Bob Marley and the rise of roots reggae meant that Ellis' considerable legacy was soon overshadowed, but over time, he remained a fondly remembered pioneer of Jamaican music. He made triumphant returns to Jamaica with well-received sets at the Reggae Sunsplash Festival in both 1983 and 1985, and recorded a new single, "Man From Studio One," for Dodd in 1991. Numerous compilations of his work appeared during the CD era, illustrating his stunning consistency. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide
Alton Nehemiah Ellis, OD, (September 1, 1938 – October 10, 2008)[1][2] was a Jamaicanmusician best known as one of the innovators of rocksteady music and was often referred to as the "Godfather of Rocksteady".[3][4][5] In 2006, he was inducted into the International Reggae And World Music Awards Hall Of Fame.
Ellis was born in 1938 and grew up in Kingston's Trench Town district. Born into a musical family, he learned to play piano at a young age.[6] He attended Ebeneezer and Boys' Town schools, where he excelled in both music and sport.[7] He initially sought fame as a dancer, competing on Vere Johns' Opportunity Hour.[8] After winning a couple of competitions, he switched to singing, starting his career in 1959 as part of the duo Alton & Eddy with Eddy Perkins.[9] Ellis and Perkins recorded for Coxsone Dodd at Studio One, initially in the R&B style, having a massive hit with "Muriel" (from Dodd's first commercially-oriented recording session at Federal studios),[10], a song Ellis had written whilst working as a labourer on a building site[7] and recording follow-ups with "My Heaven", "Lullabye Angel", "I Know It All", "I'm Never Gonna Cry" and "Yours".[7] The duo also recorded a few tracks for Vincent Chin's Randy's label, but came to an end when after winning a major talent contest, Perkins moved to the United States.[9] Ellis remained in Kingston, working as a printer and after losing his job, he restarted his music career, initially forming a new duo with John Holt.[7] When Holt joined The Paragons, Ellis formed a new group, The Flames. Ellis continued to work for Dodd and also recorded for his arch-rival, Duke Reid on his Treasure Isle label.[9] By the mid 1960s, ska was moving on and the beat was slowing down to rocksteady and becoming associated with the violent rude boysubculture in Jamaican dancehalls. Many artists made records referring to the rude boys, including Ellis, although his records were consistently anti-rudie, including "Don't Trouble People", "Dance Crasher", and "Cry Tough", in contrast to artists such as Bob Marley, whom Ellis blamed for glorifiying the rudies.[10] Recording with The Flames (the varying line-up of which included his brother Leslie Ellis, David "Baby G" Gordon and Winston Jarrett), Ellis scored big with the hits "Girl I've Got a Date", "Cry Tough" and "Rock Steady", which was the first song to refer to the name of the newer genre. As rocksteady dominated the Jamaican airwaves for the next two years, Ellis continued to score hits for Treasure Isle, working with artists such as Lloyd Charmers, Phyllis Dillon and The Heptones. His Mr. Soul of Jamaica album is regarded as one of the definitive rocksteady albums.[9]
During the late 1960s and early 1970s, Ellis recorded for some of Jamaica's top producers, having two huge hits with Lloyd Daley in "Deliver Us" and "Back to Africa" and recording for Bunny Lee, Keith Hudson, and Herman Chin Loy.[9] Ellis toured the United Kingdom in the 1967 with Ken Boothe and Studio One session band the Soul Vendors and on his return to Jamaica he worked with Dodd, recording the tracks that would be released as his debut album Alton Ellis Sings Rock & Soul.[7] He also began to produce his own records, including "My Time Is The Right Time" and "The Message".[7]
Ellis regularly returned to England, working with several London-based producers and after spending a few years in Canada, from 1972 he based himself permanently in the UK.[9] Ellis continued to record and perform regularly, recording in the early 1980s for emerging producers including Henry "Junjo" Lawes, Sugar Minott, and King Jammy.[10] He also opened up the All-Tone record shop in South London, and started a record label of the same name.[3][11]
The "Mad Mad" riddim, first recorded by Ellis in 1967 would later be recycled in more than one hundred other songs. The instantly recognizable three-note descending horn line was reinterpreted by Henry "Junjo" Lawes and eventually became known widely as the "Diseases" reggae riddim. "Diseases" is notably utilized in Yellowman's hit song ""Zungguzungguguzungguzeng", which has in turn has been sampled and reinterpreted by a long list of popular hip hop artists including KRS-One, The Notorious B.I.G., Tupac Shakur and Blackstar. This constant reinterpretation and referencing has made Ellis a major but little-known influence in the trajectory of dancehall, reggae and hip hop.[12]
Ellis continued to be active on the reggae scene until his health began to deteriorate.[13] His latest works include performing all over Europe with a French backing-band called ASPO (About Some Precioux Oldies) at the beginning of the 21st century. Recorded in Bordeaux, France, Live with Aspo: Workin' on a Groovy Thing is the only live album Alton Ellis ever published (2001).
In 2004, Ellis was awarded the Order of Distinction by the Jamaican government in recognition of his achievements.[7]
In December 2007, he was admitted to hospital in London for treatment of cancer of the lymph glands, but he returned to live performance after receiving chemotherapy.[2][14]
Ellis died on 10 October 2008 at Hammersmith Hospital, West London, of cancer.[15] His death prompted a statement from Jamaica's Minister of Information, Culture, Youth and Sports, Olivia 'Babsy' Grange, who said "even as we mourn the great Alton Ellis, we must give thanks for his monumental contribution to the development of Jamaica's popular music".[16] A funeral service and celebration of his life was held on the 3rd of November, attended by family, fans, music industry personnel and government ministers, with tribute performances from stars including Winston 'Fix It' Francis, Tinga Stewart, George Nooks, Tony Gregory, Ken Boothe, Judy Mowatt and Carlene Davis.[17]
He was the older brother of the late Hortense Ellis, and the father of more than twenty children including Noel Ellis and Christopher Ellis, who are both reggae singers. And grandfather to upcoming superstar reggae sensation Kevin Ellis aka MYS3, son of Noel Ellis.[2]
Albums
Mr Soul of Jamaica (1967) Treasure Isle
Sings Rock and Soul (1967) Studio One
The Best Of (1969) Coxsone
Sunday Coming (1970) Coxsone
Greatest Hits (1973) Count Shelly also released as Cry Tough
