Since first hitting the national scene with his Alligator Records debut, GEORGIA BLUE, in 1988, Ellis has toured non-stop and continued to release one critically acclaimed album after another. His stellar guitar work, always a staple of his live shows and CDs, is matched by his strong songwriting and powerful, soulful vocals. Tinsley's hometown paper, The Atlanta Journal Constitution, calls his music, "a potent, amazing trip through electric blues-rock."
Ellis made five critically acclaimed albums for Alligator between 1988 and 1997 before recording for the Capricorn and Telarc labels. His high-energy LIVE-HIGHWAYMAN, the long-awaited live album his fans have been demanding for years, marked his return to Alligator records. "Tinsley is one of the finest younger generation blues rockers. He's made great albums for us in the past, and we're excited to have him back in the Alligator family. He's great in the studio, but even better live, so I'm really excited about this recording," said Iglauer.
Ellis' latest release on Alligator, MOMENT OF TRUTH, captures all the power and energy of his legendary live performances. His vocals reach new heights of soulfulness and expressiveness; his guitar playing is ferocious and relentless, but, when the mood calls for it, gentle and moving. What really sets the album apart, though, is the depth of Ellis’ songwriting. The material deals in matters both personal and universal and runs the gamut of human emotions. MOMENT OF TRUTH is Ellis’ most wide-ranging and inspired recording.
Born in Atlanta in 1957, Ellis grew up in southern Florida and first played guitar at age eight. He found the blues through the backdoor of the British Invasion bands like The Yardbirds, The Animals, Cream, and The Rolling Stones. He especially loved the Kings--Freddie, B.B. and Albert--and spent hours immersing himself in their music. His love for the blues solidified when he was 14. At a B.B. King performance, Tinsley sat mesmerized in the front row. When B.B. broke a string on Lucille, he changed it without missing a beat, and handed the broken string to Ellis. After the show, B.B. came out and talked with fans, further impressing Tinsley with his warmth and down-to-earth attitude. By now Tinsley's fate was sealed; he had to become a blues guitarist. And yes, he still has that string.
Already an accomplished teenaged musician, Ellis left Florida and returned to Atlanta in 1975. He soon joined the Alley Cats, a gritty blues band that included Preston Hubbard (of Fabulous Thunderbirds fame). In 1981, along with veteran blues singer and harpist Chicago Bob Nelson, Tinsley formed The Heartfixers, a group that would become Atlanta's top-drawing blues band. Upon hearing LIVE AT THE MOONSHADOW (Landslide), the band's second release, The Washington Post declared, "Tinsley Ellis is a legitimate guitar hero." After cutting two more Heartfixers albums for Landslide, COOL ON IT (featuring Tinsley's vocal debut) and TORE UP (with vocals by blues shouter Nappy Brown), Ellis was ready to head out on his own. Ellis sent a copy of the master tape for his solo debut to Bruce Iglauer at Alligator Records. "I had heard COOL ON IT," recalls Iglauer, "and I was amazed. I hadn't heard Tinsley before, but he played like the guys with huge international reputations. It wasn't just his raw power; it was his taste and maturity that got to me. It had the power of rock but felt like the blues. I knew I wanted to hear more of this guy."
GEORGIA BLUE, Tinsley's first Alligator release, hit an unprepared public by surprise in 1988. Critics and fans quickly agreed that a new and original guitar hero had emerged. "Dazzling musicianship pitched somewhere between the exhilarating volatility of rock and roll and the passion of urban blues," raved the Los Angeles Times. Before long, Alligator arranged to reissue COOL ON IT and TORE UP, thus exposing Tinsley's blistering earlier music to a growing fan base." The Chicago Tribune celebrated the release by saying, "Ellis takes classic, Southern blues-rock workouts and jolts them to new life with a torrid axe barrage."
Tinsley's next release, 1989's FANNING THE FLAMES, further expanded the guitarist's hero status. By now his talents as a songwriter equaled his guitar prowess. Guitar World shouted, "Ellis stands alongside Stevie Ray Vaughan and Johnny Winter, and that ain't just hype." 1992's TROUBLE TIME added guests Peter Buck (R.E.M.) and keyboardist Chuck Leavell (Rolling Stones), and brought even more critical acclaim Ellis' way. The song >Highwayman received airplay on commercial rock radio stations across the country. "Alive, kicking and drenched in sweat," declared The Washington Post.
1994's STORM WARNING was Ellis' true breakthrough. Recorded live in the studio with his road-savvy band and produced by Eddy Offord (John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Yes), the album was a tour-de-force of smoking guitar workouts and radio-friendly blues rockers. Features and reviews ran in Rolling Stone, The Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, and in many other national and regional publications. His largest audience by far came when NBC Sports ran a feature on Atlanta's best blues guitarist during their 1996 Summer Olympic Coverage viewed by millions of people all over the world.
FIRE IT UP followed in 1997. Produced by the legendary Tom Dowd (Allman Brothers, Ray Charles), the album featured Ellis' blazing guitar playing and expressive, soulful vocals in better form than ever. With Dowd's deft production touch--along with Tinsley's fiery road band and a host of talented musicians, including famed bassist Donald "Duck" Dunn on seven songs--Ellis reached new heights, coming up with some of the best performances of his career. The Associated Press called the CD, "A solid heaping of blues...a mixture of well-written originals and covers all held together with scorching guitar and a big voice to carry his sharply written lyrics."
A move to Capricorn Records in 2000 saw Ellis revisiting his Southern roots with KINGPIN. Unfortunately, the label folded soon after the CD's release. In 2002, he joined the Telarc label, producing two well-received albums of soul-drenched blues-rock, HELL OR HIGH WATER and THE HARD WAY. All the while, Ellis never stopped touring. "A musician never got famous staying home," he's quick to note.
Ellis has played in all 50 states, as well as Canada, Europe, Australia and South America. Whether he's out with his own band or sharing stages with The Allman Brothers, Robert Cray, Koko Taylor or Widespread Panic, he averages over 150 performances a year, bringing his fast-moving, high-energy, guitar-drenched performances to fans all over the world. Live, there's simply no one better at igniting a crowd, jamming with focus and purpose...
Leavin' Here
Tinsley Ellis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Yeah, the women in this town have been misused,
Yeah, I seen it all in my dreams last night,
Girls leaving this town 'cause you don't treat 'em right.
Oh, take a train (take a train), fly by plane (fly by plane),
Yeah, gettin' tired (gettin' tired), sick and tired (sick and tired).
All you fellas better change your ways,
Girls are good, you better treat 'em true,
I seen fellas running around with someone new.
Gettin' tired (gettin' tired), sick and tired (sick and tired),
Yeah, leavin' here (leavin' here), leavin' here (leavin' here),
I said leavin' here, yeah yeah yeah, don't want to leave all here,
Be a while, oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah.
The love of a women is a wonderful thing (oh yeah),
Yeah, the way you treat 'em is a crying shame (oh yeah),
I tell you, fella, yeah, it won't be long (oh yeah),
Yeah, before these women they all have gone (oh yeah).
Yeah, gettin' tired (gettin' tired), sick and tired (sick and tired),
Yeah, take a train (take a train), fly by plane (fly by plane),
Yeah, gonna leavin' here, yeah leavin' here,
Yeah, leavin' here, ya gonna leave all here now,
Baby baby baby, please don't leave here.
The Tinsley Ellis song "Leavin' Here" is a bluesy lament about the mistreatment of women in a small town, and the consequences of that mistreatment. The opening lyrics express the frustration and disappointment of the singer, who has seen women being mistreated by men in town. He has even had dreams about these women leaving town because they are tired of being treated poorly. The chorus emphasizes this point by declaring that the women are "getting tired, sick and tired" and are leaving the town to get away from the men who mistreat them.
The second verse is a call to action for the men in town to change their ways before it's too late. The singer warns that women will start to leave the town soon if men don't start treating them better. He emphasizes that the women in town are good and deserve to be treated well, but that some men are running around with other women instead. The chorus repeats the message that the women are "leavin' here" and that everyone needs to wise up before it's too late.
The final verse emphasizes the value of women and the importance of treating them well. The singer warns that it won't be long before the women in town have had enough and leave for good. The song ends with a plea for the women to stay, but it seems clear that unless things change, they will ultimately leave town and find somewhere where they are treated with the respect they deserve.
Line by Line Meaning
Hey, fellas, have you heard the news,
Attention all men, have you been informed of the recent happenings in this town?
Yeah, the women in this town have been misused,
It has come to my attention that the women of this town have been mistreated and disrespected.
Yeah, I seen it all in my dreams last night,
Last night, I had a dream where I witnessed everything that has been happening to these women.
Girls leaving this town 'cause you don't treat 'em right.
Unhappy with how they have been treated, some of these women are leaving this town and seeking better treatment elsewhere.
Oh, take a train (take a train), fly by plane (fly by plane),
These women are leaving by any means necessary, whether it be by train or plane.
Yeah, gettin' tired (gettin' tired), sick and tired (sick and tired).
These women are fed up and exhausted from being treated poorly.
All you fellas better change your ways,
Attention all men, it's time to start treating women with the respect they deserve.
Yeah, leaving this town in a matter of days,
If changes aren't made soon, more women will be leaving this town.
Girls are good, you better treat 'em true,
These women are of good character and deserve to be treated with honesty and respect.
I seen fellas running around with someone new.
I have personally witnessed men cheating and being unfaithful to their partners.
The love of a women is a wonderful thing (oh yeah),
The love from a woman is something to be cherished and admired.
Yeah, the way you treat 'em is a crying shame (oh yeah),
It's shameful to see how some men treat women they claim to love.
I tell you, fella, yeah, it won't be long (oh yeah),
I'm warning you, men, that changes need to be made quickly or these women will be gone soon.
Yeah, before these women they all have gone (oh yeah).
If you don't start treating these women with the respect they deserve, they will all leave.
Yeah, gonna leavin' here, yeah leavin' here,
These women are leaving this town without looking back.
Yeah, leavin' here, ya gonna leave all here now,
They are leaving everything behind and starting fresh somewhere new.
Baby baby baby, please don't leave here.
The singer pleads with these women to stay and not give up on this town just yet.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Janie Bradford, Berry Gordy Jr.
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind