31-702: Alton Nehemiah Ellis OD (1 September 1938 – 10 October 2008) was a Jamaican singer-songwriter. One of the innovators of rocksteady , he was given the informal title "Godfather of Rocksteady". In 2006, he was inducted into the International Reggae And World Music Awards Hall Of Fame. Born Alton Nehemiah Ellis in Trenchtown , Kingston , Jamaica, Ellis was raised within a musical family which included his older brothers Leslie [who performed as one of his back up singers and co-wrote some of his songs], and Irving [known as 'Niney'] who
62-455: A duo with Roy Shirley (as Roy & Ken), which resulted in the release of the single "Paradise" in 1966. Boothe's first solo tracks were recorded in 1966 after Clement "Coxsone" Dodd had signed him to his Studio One Label. He also recorded material for Phil Pratt and Sonia Pottinger the same year. He had almost immediate success with songs including " The Train Is Coming " (on which he
93-453: 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. Order of Distinction The Order of Distinction ( OD ) is a national order in the Jamaican honours system . It
124-494: A series of crossover hits that appealed to both reggae fans and mainstream audiences. Ken Boothe was born in Denham Town , Kingston . He attended Denham Primary Elementary School and during this period developed an interest in music after receiving encouragement from his eldest sister, Hyacinth Clover , who was an established vocalist. Boothe cites singer Owen Gray as a major influence, particularly after hearing Gray perform
155-584: 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 Mr. Fix It Winston Francis , Tinga Stewart , George Nooks , Tony Gregory, Ken Boothe , Judy Mowatt and Carlene Davis . In 2012 it
186-612: Is the only live album Alton Ellis ever released (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
217-547: Is the sixth in order of precedence of the Orders of Societies of Honour, which were instituted by an Act of Parliament ( The National Honours and Awards Act ) in 1968. The motto of the Order is "Distinction Through Service". The Order of Distinction is conferred upon citizens of Jamaica who have rendered outstanding and important services to Jamaica, or to distinguished citizens of a country other than Jamaica. The former are made Members of
248-565: 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
279-621: The Leiber and Stoller rhythm and blues version of the 1920s blues standard , " Kansas City Blues ", written by E L Bowman and notably performed by Jim Jackson in 1927. Stranger Cole , who was an established artist and neighbor to Boothe, had already worked with Boothe on the Sir Percy sound system as well as recording two songs for independent producer Sir Mike though Boothe's major breakthrough came in 1963 after Cole arranged an audition at Duke Reid's studio. The audition with Cole and Boothe performing
310-549: The post-nominal letters CD in the case of Members, or CD (Hon.) in the case of Honorary Members. Officers of the Order of Distinction are entitled to use the post-nominal letters OD in the case of Members, or OD (Hon.) in the case of Honorary Members. Ken Boothe Kenneth George Boothe OD (born 22 March 1948) is a Jamaican vocalist known for his distinctive vibrato and timbre. Boothe achieved an international reputation as one of Jamaica's finest vocalists through
341-650: The B-side of the single "Moving Away" was the instrumental "Streets of Gold" by the Skatalites . Boothe continued to record for Dodd until 1970, when he switched to producer Leslie Kong's Beverley's Records and reggae, where his success continued with hits such as "Freedom Street" and "Why Baby Why". After Kong died, Boothe recorded for many of Jamaica's top producers during the early 1970s, including Keith Hudson , Herman Chin Loy , Vincent "Randy" Chin , and Phil Pratt. He then formed
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#1732859474695372-405: The Order, and the latter are made Honorary Members. The Order has two ranks: the higher class of Commander, and the lower class of Officer. Commanders take place and precedence immediately after Members and Honorary Members of the Order of Jamaica . A Member or Honorary Member may be promoted from the rank of Officer to that of Commander. Commanders of the Order of Distinction are entitled to use
403-457: 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
434-611: 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 used in Yellowman 's hit song "Zungguzungguguzungguzeng", which has in turn has been sampled and reinterpreted by
465-564: 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
496-615: 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
527-462: 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"
558-473: The foundational songs of the rocksteady genre. The bass line of "Girl I've Got a Date" was allegedly duplicated in other international hits " The Liquidator " ( Harry J Allstars and " I'll Take You There " ( The Staple Singers ). 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
589-524: The group Conscious Minds with B. B. Seaton . Under a new direction from record producer Lloyd Charmers , Boothe released " Everything I Own " on Trojan Records , which reached Number One in the UK Singles Chart in 1974. The song, written by David Gates , was given a sympathetic light reggae feel and it received airplay and an appreciative audience in the West Indies and was regularly played on
620-409: 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". "Girl I've Got a Date" recorded with Gladstone Anderson on piano, Paul Douglas on drums, Hux Brown on rhythm guitar, Lynn Taitt on guitar, and Jackie Jackson on bass is considered one of
651-542: The radio stations of the UK due to its "crossover" appeal. David Gates ' own group, Bread , had had a minor UK hit with the song in the spring of 1972, but it had only reached No. 32. Boothe's reggae version of the song " Everything I Own " reached Number One in the UK Singles Chart on 26 October 1974, and stayed at the top of the charts for three weeks. It featured Lloyd Parks on bass guitar, Paul Douglas a.k.a. Paul Williams on drums, Willie Lindo on guitar, and Lloyd Charmers on organ, piano and percussion. The recording
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#1732859474695682-492: The song "Uno Dos Tres" was a success and Boothe and Cole formed the duo 'Stranger & Ken' with the first track released by them being "Hush Baby" on the B-side of Cole's Island Records single "Last Love". This was followed by the singles "Thick in Love" both released in 1963 on R&B Records. They released several more popular singles between 1963 and 1965, including "World's Fair", "Hush", and "Artibella". Boothe also recorded as
713-451: 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
744-626: Was referenced by lyricist Joe Strummer in the Clash 's song, " (White Man) In Hammersmith Palais ". Boothe reunited with Charmers in the late 1970s when a revived Trojan Records released the albums Blood Brothers (first issued on LTD in 1976) and Who Gets Your Love , but the reunion proved to be short-lived. He continued to record during the 1980s and had a few hits during 1986 and 1987. In more recent times, Boothe has recorded for Bunny Lee , Phil Pratt , King Jammy , Pete Weston, Jack Ruby , Hugh "Red Man" James, Castro Brown and Tappa Zukie. In 1995
775-546: Was a popular singer and steel pan player on Jamaica's North Coast. He 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
806-400: 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
837-530: 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. The "Mad Mad" riddim (the track "Mad Mad" by Alton Ellis and
868-593: Was backed by the Wailers ), the first, ska version, of later reggae song You're No Good with Soulettes (the group Bob Marley's future wife Rita Anderson was in) on B-side, and "Lonely Teardrops". The following year, Boothe and Alton Ellis had a successful UK tour with the Studio One session group, the Soul Vendors . Boothe was promoted as " Mr. Rock Steady " by Dodd during this period. The rocksteady classic "Moving Away"
899-514: Was produced by Lloyd Charmers. Boothe had one more hit in the UK Singles Chart during the 1970s, "Crying Over You", which made No. 11, with Trojan Records' collapse and a split with Charmers losing much of the momentum built up by his two hits. Boothe recorded a reggae version of the standard " When I Fall in Love " which was released in 1974 on the Studio One label. In 1978, along with Dillinger , Leroy Smart , and Delroy Wilson , Boothe
930-680: Was released in 1967 or 1968 on the Coxsone label. "Moving Away" is a song still popular today, and covered or sampled by many artists, among them Dennis Brown , Jackie Mittoo ("Macka Fat"), Jack Radics I-Roy , U-Roy ("African Message"), Janet Key , Jaime Hinckson , Romain des Bois , Bruno Mars , Al Campbell ("Dress Black" Garnett Silk ("It's Growing"), Half Pint ("Substitute Lover"), Wayne Wonder ("Time To Say Good Bye"), Leroy Smart ("Talk About Friends"), Sanchez ("Don't Worry"), Admiral Tibet ("Nuthin Nah Run" among many others. Many of Boothe's songs have been reused in one way or another. On
961-607: 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