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The Life of Rocksteady Legend Alton Ellis
1938-2008

Alton Ellis was 70 years old when he passed away on October 11 in a London hospital. His death made headlines in a manner few from Jamaica have ever garnered. In reading the numerous articles on his passing, one noticed the various monikers attached to him. The "King of Rocksteady" or "Godfather of Rocksteady" - clearly Alton's most popular material was recorded during Jamaica's rocksteady era. This period of Jamaican recordings revealed the power of the soul singers. Men like Slim Smith and Pat Kelly rose to become stars during that mid-to-late ‘60s golden era, but Ellis was clearly the king of the Jamaican soul sound. Had he been born in the U.S., the musical hall of fames would’ve inducted him one after the other in the ensuing years. Yet despite his humbler Jamaican roots, Ellis became well known throughout the world. 

Last year I had the opportunity to see Ellis performing at a reggae festival in Maryland, and he came out singing all of his classics. He was the classiest act of the evening, all dressed up in a brown suit with a pompadour look, and exuding a level of charisma and charm from an era long ago passed but still very much in effect. Though the festival had numerous eras and styles of reggae represented, everyone seemed to just stop when Ellis hit the stage. Charisma is hard to bottle, but he had it - the whole crowd was singing along and dancing from the first moment he took the microphone in his hand. 

Born in 1940, Ellis grew up in Trench Town, the same area that spawned numerous Jamaican musical stars like Bob Marley. Ellis taught himself to play piano and he excelled in music and sports at Boys' Town School. He formed his first group in 1959 with Eddie Perkins. Their first recording was "Muriel," recorded by Clement "Sir Coxsone" Dodd at Federal Studios.  The song its way into the Jamaican charts fairly quickly, but the duo's existence wasn't a lengthy one (a handful of recordings overall), and Ellis soon thereafter was left toiling in various non-musical occupations.

While working jobs he continued recording, forming a duo with a young John Holt and also recording with his younger sister, Hortense. The ska recordings with Holt were done for Randy's, and they included the wonderful "Mouth A Massy." Ellis would eventually find big success when he joined Duke Reid’s ranks at his Treasure Isle studios. After assembling a harmony group called the Flames, Ellis scored a big hit with "Dance Crasher" in 1966. The song spoke out against the "rude boys" who were causing numerous disturbances at soundsystem dances. His next big hit was "Girl I've Got A Date," a tune that would be one of his most memorable outings and one that many regarded as the first full-fledged rock steady recording. The Reid/Ellis combination would lead to numerous hits including "Cry Tough", "Ain’t That Loving You," "Willow Tree," and the genre defining "Rock Steady." Also during this time Ellis sang numerous duets with Phyllis Dillon, who would go on herself to record several hits for Reid.

During the late sixties Alton spent most of his time at Studio One, perfecting his sound just as the Studio One engine itself was purring out endless hits. After reconciling with Dodd (the perennial money issues), Ellis went to the UK to tour with fellow Stuido One singer Ken Boothe and the Soul Vendors band. His big hits during this era came mostly from Studio One, including "I'm Just A Guy" and "I'm Still In Love With You" with Hortense. Those two songs became classics with hugely recognizable rhythms that would be re-used and sampled for decades to come. In 1970, Studio One released "Sunday Coming," another smooth yet evocative bit of Ellis crooning. Ellis eventually had a more major falling out with Dodd over the rights and continual re-use of his recordings, a topic that continued to vex him even in his later years. Naturally he thus sought out other producers, and who would turn him down? Certainly not major producers like Clancy Eccles, Keith Hudson, Lloyd "the Matador" Daley and Herman Chin Loy.

The hits spread out amongst different producers were not enough to keep Ellis satisfied in Jamaica, and he departed for the UK again in 1973. He continued recording and performing throughout the decades ahead, but the heady days of hits after hits never returned. Touring in recent years, he appeared strong and vital again, and many like myself were introduced to his power as a performer. As a body of work, Ellis will go down in history as one of the giants of Jamaican music, and the big funeral the Jamaican government appears to be planning is testament to the esteem in which his fellow countrymen hold him. His passing is a really sad moment for all fans of Jamaican music, because his music touched on so many of the classic eras of Jamaican music.

– Bobby Babylon

Alton Ellis
“Too Late”
Impact/Randy’s (1973)