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
Too Late
Alton Ellis Lyrics
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There's this thing called love, and it's ah ev'rywhere"
And she told me it can break your heart
And put you in misery
Since I met this little woman I feel it's happened to me
And I'm tellin' you
It's too late to turn back now
It's too late to turn back now
I believe, I believe, I believe I'm falling in love
I find myself phonin' her at least ten times a day
It's so unusual for me to carry on this way
I tell you, I can't sleep at night, a wanting to hold her tight
I tried so hard to convince myself that this feelin' just can't be right
And I'm tellin' you
It's too late to turn back now
I believe, I believe, I believe I'm falling in love
It's too late to turn back now
I believe, I believe, I believe I'm falling in love
I wouldn't mind it if I knew she really loved me too
But I'd hate to think that I'm in love alone
And nothing that I can do, oh
It's too late to turn back now
I believe, I believe, I believe I'm falling in love
It's too late to turn back now
I believe, I believe, I believe I'm falling in love
It's too late to turn back now
I believe, I believe, I believe I'm falling in love
It's too late to turn back now
I believe, I believe, I believe I'm falling in love
The lyrics of Alton Ellis's song Too Late To Turn Back Now intimately portrays the story of the singer's personal experience with the powerful emotion of love. The song begins with the singer recounting his mother's advice to always be careful when it comes to love, warning that it can break one's heart and put them in misery. However, despite the cautionary advice, the singer finds himself falling deeply in love with a woman. He becomes obsessive, calling her ten times a day and finding himself unable to sleep at night without her. He acknowledges that he’s falling in love and believes it's too late to turn back now, as there is no stopping his feelings.
The singer expresses some uncertainty and vulnerability concerning his love for this woman, observing he’d hate to think that he’s in love alone, and nothing he does can change her feelings for him. The repeated chorus reinforces the inevitability of his situation: it's too late to turn back now, and he believes he's falling in love. The song's message is about the challenge of managing powerful emotions that can overcome and overwhelm us, no matter how much we try to stay in control. This ever-evolving sensation of falling in love can lead to incredible heights, immense joy, and deep fulfillment. Still, it can also cause an unimaginable unbalance between ourselves and our emotions.
Line by Line Meaning
My mama told me, she said, "Son, please beware"
My mother warned me to be cautious and careful.
There's this thing called love, and it's ah ev'rywhere"
Love is present and pervasive in many places.
And she told me it can break your heart
Love can cause heartache and emotional pain.
And put you in misery
Love can bring about feelings of misery and sadness.
Since I met this little woman I feel it's happened to me
Ever since meeting this woman, I sense that I am experiencing these emotions.
It's too late to turn back now
I have gone too far to turn back now.
I believe, I believe, I believe I'm falling in love
I truly feel that I am falling in love.
I find myself phonin' her at least ten times a day
I am so smitten that I call her at least ten times daily.
It's so unusual for me to carry on this way
This level of obsession is not normal for me.
I tell you, I can't sleep at night, a wanting to hold her tight
I am restless at night, longing to embrace her.
I tried so hard to convince myself that this feelin' just can't be right
I have attempted to persuade myself that this is not a rational emotion.
I wouldn't mind it if I knew she really loved me too
If I were certain that she reciprocated my feelings, I wouldn't mind this situation as much.
But I'd hate to think that I'm in love alone
I fear that my love may not be returned and that I am alone in my emotions.
And nothing that I can do, oh
There is nothing I can do to change how I feel.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Eddie Cornileus
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Babys
on You've Made Me So Very Happy
I am glad you did come into my life!!
Babys
on What Does it Take
Dedicated J wetta
Ebellz08
on Play It Cool
Hit bomb!
Ahh ah ah (4x)
I've got love
Within my heart for you, you
I've got lips
With kisses from the start
Look 'ere now...
It really makes no difference
Without money I know
It really makes no difference
I've got love I know
Easy squeeze it makes no riot
If you know it gonna hurt to play it cool
Easy squeeze it makes no riot
If you know it gonna hurt to play it cool
(Instrumental)
Mmmmhmmm
Ow!
Rock you rock you rock
Rock on time! (3x)
(Whoa, whooah, whooah, oh yeah!)
I've got love for each and every one
Everybody know this
I love you, I love you
Easy squeeze it makes no riot if you...
Just play it cool
It really makes no difference
Without money I know
It really makes no difference
I've got love I know
I'm gon' play it cool
I've got love
Within my heart for you, and-a you, and-a you, yeeeahh! Ohh..
Rock you rock you rock
Rock on time!
(You've got to keep on rocking and rocking)
Rock you rock you rock
Rock on time!
(Remember play it cool)
Rock you rock you rock
Rock on time!
(You've got to play it cool)
Rock you rock you rock
Rock on time!