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
If I Could Rule This World
Alton Ellis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Then all men would be free,
Free to know love, and it knows love is free,
If i could rule this universe,
Then all men heart would be clean,
For some feel like happiness,
Can be bought for a fee,
Let me say,
If i could rule this globe,
Then love would fall like rain,
Fall on those with fortune and those without a name,
Let me say,
Never on a counter happiness is sold,
Never in this world happiness is sold,
Let me say,
I've got to stay in slavery in this world...
The song If I Could Rule This World by Alton Ellis is a reflection on the current state of the world and the desire to make it better. The lyrics express a yearning to have the power to create a world where every man is free, where love is abundant and happiness is not something to be bought or sold. The first verse of the song talks about the desire to create a world where everyone is free to know love and experience it without any conditions, and where the hearts of all men are pure and clean.
The chorus of the song describes the desire to create a world where love and happiness are not commodities that can be traded, and where those with fortune and those without a name can experience the same amount of love and happiness. The singer states emphatically that happiness cannot be bought on a counter and that in his world, everyone would experience love freely and without any restrictions. The last line of the chorus, "I've got to stay in slavery in this world," is a poignant statement that highlights the current state of the world and how the singer feels trapped in it.
The song is a powerful call for change and a reflection of the struggles of Black people during the time it was written. The desire for freedom, love, and happiness was not just a feeling but a necessity for survival in a world that was oppressive to Black people. The song speaks not just to the problems of the past, but also to the present, and the hope for a better future.
Line by Line Meaning
If i could rule this whole world,
The singer wishes to have the power to rule over the entire world.
Then all men would be free,
The singer envisions a world where all people are free from oppression.
Free to know love, and it knows love is free,
Freedom allows people to experience and understand love as a natural, innate feeling.
If i could rule this universe,
The artist dreams of having control over the entire universe.
Then all men heart would be clean,
The artist desires for people to have pure, uncorrupted hearts.
For some feel like happiness,
Some believe that happiness is
Can be bought for a fee,
attainable through purchasing something.
Let me say,
The artist is emphasizing their point.
Never on a counter happiness is sold...
Happiness cannot be bought or sold like a commodity.
If i could rule this globe,
The artist covets the power to rule over the entire Earth.
Then love would fall like rain,
If the singer had the power, love would be plentiful and widespread.
Fall on those with fortune and those without a name,
Love would be available to everyone, regardless of their status or wealth.
Let me say,
The singer is emphasizing their point once again.
Never on a counter happiness is sold,
Happiness is an intangible feeling that cannot be purchased.
Never in this world happiness is sold,
Happiness cannot be found or sold in this world.
Let me say,
The artist is emphasizing their final point.
I've got to stay in slavery in this world...
The artist feels trapped and unable to achieve their vision for a better world.
Writer(s): Alton Neamiah Ellis
Contributed by Adalyn P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Music, part of the fight
lyrics :
if i could rule this whole world,
then all men heart would be clean,
for some feel like happiness,
can be bought for a fee,
if i could rule this universe,
then love would fall like rain,
fall on those with fortune and those without a name,
let me say,
never on a counter happiness is sold,
never in this world happiness is sold,
if i could rule this globe,
then love would fall like rain,
fall on those with fortune and those without a name,
let me say,
never on a counter happiness is sold,
never in this world happiness is sold
H Brasse
Sweet reggae music ! Very good tune 🔥
Music, part of the fight
lyrics :
if i could rule this whole world,
then all men heart would be clean,
for some feel like happiness,
can be bought for a fee,
if i could rule this universe,
then love would fall like rain,
fall on those with fortune and those without a name,
let me say,
never on a counter happiness is sold,
never in this world happiness is sold,
if i could rule this globe,
then love would fall like rain,
fall on those with fortune and those without a name,
let me say,
never on a counter happiness is sold,
never in this world happiness is sold
zmoek
Beautiful
DJHeavyweightSound
Thanks Yuribass! I always considered this my personal anthem for my Sound & it's been a favorite of mine for decades. But I need to thank you bc all along I thought the chorus lyrics were: never on ACCOUNT can happiness be sold. Lol! Btw, this record has been repressed since I 1st posted this.
viniciusdubwise
BIG TUNE
Count Robbie
HEAVY WEIGHT SOUND! TUNE!
Paula Jordan
lovely upload, :) thankyou ♥♡
Matt Fisherman
fire tune
Especial Reggae São Vicente
SHOW !!
Luke Branson
BIG TUNE