Alton Nehemiah Ellis OD (1 September 1938 – 10 October 2008) was a Jamaican… Read Full Bio ↴Alton Nehemiah Ellis OD (1 September 1938 – 10 October 2008) was a Jamaican singer and songwriter. One of the innovators of rocksteady who was given the informal title "Godfather of Rocksteady". In 2004, Alton Ellis was awarded the Order of Distinction by the Jamaican government in recognition of his achievements. In 2006, he was inducted into the International Reggae And World Music Awards Hall Of Fame.

Born in Trenchtown, Kingston, Jamaica, Alton Ellis was raised within a musical family and learned to play the piano at a young age. He attended Ebeneezer and Boys' Town schools, where he excelled in both music and sport. While at Boys' Town Ellis performed as a dancer (in a duo) in the first show that a school director called Mr Bailey had organized for Vere Johns who had been invited down to talent scout. He would later compete on Vere Johns' Opportunity Hour. After winning some competitions, he switched to singing, starting his career in 1959 as part of the duo Alton & Eddy with Eddy Parkins.

Ellis and Parkins recorded for Coxsone Dodd at Studio One, initially in the R&B style, having a hit in 1960 with "Muriel" (from Dodd's first commercially-oriented recording session at Federal studios), a song Ellis had written while working as a labourer on a building site. This initial success was followed by the release of "My Heaven", which like "Muriel" was a slow R&B ballad with the instrumental triplets and vocal harmonizing common to the ballads of that period. Further releases in the R&B style followed: "Lullabye Angel", "I Know It All", "I'm Never Gonna Cry" and "Yours". The duo also recorded R&B tracks for Vincent Chin's Randy's label including "Let Me Dream". The duo split after Parkins won a major talent contest and moved to the United States. 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. 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. At the start of his career Ellis recorded with his younger sister Hortense; early tracks with Hortense like "Don't Gamble With Love" (1965) were still in the R&B style.

By the mid-1960s, ska was moving on and the beat was slowing down to rocksteady and becoming associated with the violent rude boy subculture 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". Releasing records under the name Alton Ellis and The Flames (the varying line-up of which included his brother Leslie Ellis, David "Baby G" Gordon and Winston Jarrett); the group had hits with "Girl I've Got a Date" and "Cry Tough". The release of "Rock Steady" (1967) backed by Tommy McCook and the Supersonics, the first song to refer to the name of the new genre, heralded the new direction Jamaican popular music was taking. Ellis continued to have hits for Treasure Isle; working with artists such as Lloyd Charmers, Phyllis Dillon and The Heptones. His Mr Soul of Jamaica album (with Tommy McCook and the Supersonics) is regarded as one of the definitive rocksteady albums.

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. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, Ellis recorded for some of Jamaica's top producers including Bunny Lee, Keith Hudson, and Herman Chin Loy. He also began to produce his own records, including "My Time Is The Right Time" (1968) and "The Message". He had two hits with Lloyd Daley in "Deliver Us" (1970) and "Back to Africa" (1971), both released in the UK on the Gas record label, a subsidiary of Pama Records.

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. Ellis continued to record and perform regularly, recording in the early 1980s for emerging producers including Henry "Junjo" Lawes, Sugar Minott, and King Jammy. He also opened up the All-Tone record shop in South London, and started a record label of the same name.

Ellis continued to be active on the reggae scene until his health began to deteriorate. 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.

In December 2007, he was admitted to hospital in London for treatment of cancer of the lymph glands (Hodgkins disease), but he returned to live performance after receiving chemotherapy.

Ellis died of cancer on 10 October 2008 at Hammersmith Hospital, London. 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". A funeral service and celebration of his life was held on 3 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.

In 2012 it was announced that the main hall of the new Trench Town Multi-Purpose Building would be named the Alton Ellis Auditorium in his honour.

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. He was also the uncle of the Jamaican comedians Owen "Blakka" Ellis and Ian "Ity" Ellis.

Legacy
The "Mad Mad" riddim (the track "Mad Mad" by Alton Ellis and the Sound Dimension band was released in 1968 on the Coxsone label) has been reused or sampled by many hip-hop, dancehall and reggae producers and artists. The recognizable three-note descending horn line was reinterpreted by Henry "Junjo" Lawes, and eventually became known 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, Sublime, 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.

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Alton Ellis (1938-2008) was a musician best known as the innovator of rocksteady music. He began recording in the late 1950s and continued until his death in 2008, but he reached his period of greatest popularity in the late 1960s.

Ellis was born in Trenchtown, a poor area of Kingston, Jamaica, and learned to play the piano at a young age. In his teens, Alton and Eddie Perkins formed Alton & Eddie, and began recording for Coxsone Dodd at Studio One, scoring a hit in 1958 with "Muriel".

Ellis launched his solo career after Perkins left for the United States around 1965. He moved to Treasure Isle and began recording with the back-up trio The Flames. His first hit for Treasure Isle was "Dance Crasher", a plea for peace, and he followed it up with "Get Ready - Rock Steady", perhaps the first rocksteady recording. The song was apparently recorded with keyboardist Jackie Mittoo playing the bass guitar part because the bassist did not show up; Mittoo could not keep up with the ska beat, and the tempo was slowed down to accommodate him. This allowed for a choppier rhythm that led Ellis to expand his vocal range.

Ellis' most well-known song is probably "Girl, I've Got A Date", or "I'm Still In Love With You", a song that has been versioned many times by artists such as Sean Paul, Althea & Donna (As 'Uptown Top Ranking').

In 2006, Ellis was inducted into the International Reggae And World Music Awards (IRAWMA), Hall Of Fame.

http://www.myspace.com/altonellisod

Duke of Earl
Alton Ellis Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Duke, Duke, Duke, Duke of Earl
Duke, Duke, Duke of Earl
Duke, Duke, Duke of Earl
Duke, Duke, Duke of Earl

Duke, Duke, Duke of Earl
Duke, Duke, Duke of Earl
Duke, Duke, Duke of Earl

Duke, Duke, Duke of Earl

As I walk through this world
Nothing can stop the Duke of Earl
And-a you, you are my girl
And no one can hurt you, oh no

Yes-a, I, oh I'm gonna love you, oh oh
Come on let me hold you darlin'
'Cause I'm the Duke of Earl
So hey yea yea yeah

And when I hold you
You'll be my Duchess, Duchess of Earl
We'll walk through my dukedom
And a paradise we will share

Yes-a, I, oh I'm gonna love you, oh oh
Nothing can stop me now
'Cause I'm the Duke of Earl
So hey yeah yeah yeah

Well, I, oh I'm gonna love you, oh oh
Nothing can stop me now

'Cause I'm the Duke of Earl
So hey yeah yeah yeah

Overall Meaning

Alton Ellis's song "Duke of Earl" is all about a confident and regal figure known as the Duke of Earl. The song starts with the repetition of the Duke's name to establish his grandeur and significance. The lyrics continue to highlight the Duke's power, as he walks through the world, nothing can stop him. The Duke is also seen to have a special girl in his life who he protects from any harm. The lyrics suggest that the Duke's love can provide complete protection and safety for his girl, no one can hurt her.

The Duke's dominance is further established when he claims his love for his girl and asks to hold her tight. He proudly declares himself as the Duke of Earl who has the power to provide love and protection to his girl. Furthermore, the Duke sees himself as a ruler, and his girl as his duchess, with whom he will explore his dukedom and share paradise. The song culminates with the Duke's repeated assertion of love and his invincibility, as nothing can stop him from loving his girl.

Line by Line Meaning

Duke, Duke, Duke, Duke of Earl
The singer repeats the Duke of Earl's name four times to emphasize his importance and power.

Duke, Duke, Duke of Earl
The singer repeats the Duke of Earl's name three more times to reinforce his status.

Duke, Duke, Duke of Earl
The singer repeats the Duke of Earl's name three more times, further emphasizing his position.

Duke, Duke, Duke of Earl
The singer repeats the Duke of Earl's name a final time, leaving no doubt about who he is.

As I walk through this world
The Duke of Earl is so powerful that he can walk through the world with ease.

Nothing can stop the Duke of Earl
The Duke of Earl is invincible, and nothing can hinder him from achieving his goals.

And-a you, you are my girl
The singer declares that the listener is his, and he will protect her.

And no one can hurt you, oh no
The Duke of Earl will ensure that the listener is not harmed in any way.

Yes-a, I, oh I'm gonna love you, oh oh
The singer promises to love and cherish the listener.

Come on let me hold you darlin'
The Duke of Earl asks the listener to let him hold her, which brings her under his protection.

'Cause I'm the Duke of Earl
The Duke of Earl reminds the listener of his position and power.

So hey yea yea yeah
The Duke of Earl expresses his excitement and pride.

And when I hold you
The Duke of Earl promises to hold and protect the listener.

You'll be my Duchess, Duchess of Earl
The Duke of Earl declares the listener his Duchess, indicating her privileged position.

We'll walk through my dukedom
The Duke of Earl promises to share his domain with the listener.

And a paradise we will share
The Duke of Earl envisions a perfect world he will share with the listener.

Well, I, oh I'm gonna love you, oh oh
The Duke of Earl reaffirms his love for the listener.

Nothing can stop me now
The Duke of Earl is unstoppable in his pursuit of the listener's love.

'Cause I'm the Duke of Earl
The Duke of Earl emphasizes his power and authority over the listener's heart.

So hey yeah yeah yeah
The Duke of Earl triumphantly declares his sovereignty over love itself.

Lyrics © Kanjian Music, BMG Rights Management, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: EUGENE DIXON, EARL EDWARDS, BERNICE WILLIAMS

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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