No Longer a Rumor, Alton Ellis R.I.P.

by **Grover** » Fri Oct 10, 2008 10:09 pm

Sad news indeed.

by **Miss Upsetter** » Fri Oct 10, 2008 10:30 pm

Grover, do you have a source?

by **manu** » Sat Oct 11, 2008 12:56 am

According to the Chatty Mouth forum, Mr. Owen "Blakka" Ellis, one of Alton Ellis nephew, said that he passed away at 4:45.
http://djgreedyg.proboards77.com/index. ... read=13699

by **skoidat77** » Sat Oct 11, 2008 1:34 pm

Trojan Records article:

http://www.trojanrecords.com/?l1=1&arti ... ea3de4bd91

by **2ToneTed** » Sat Oct 11, 2008 4:49 pm

"Can't get used to losing you, no matter what I try to do. Gonna spend my whole life loving you."
Mr. Soul Groover, Alton Ellis (1940-2008)

In tribute to the passing of legend I have uploaded a few of my favorite songs by Alton Ellis on my MySpace page. I didn't have time to upload images... maybe later.

1. "Can't Get Used to Losing You" - The refrain of this song perfectly captures my feelings in light of his passing. The song was made famous to a new generation when The Beat covered it during the 2 Tone era.

2. "Dance Crasher" - A guaranteed floor filler whenever I'm DJ'ing. This ska cut from the earlier part of Alton's long career is a plea to the rudeboys to take the violence out of the dancehalls and into the boxing ring like his friend, boxing champ Bunny Grant.

3. "I'm Hoping" - This is a Mudie's production from the early days of reggae. I have long loved the instrumental version of this song ("Serious Business by the Rhythm Rulers) and have only recently discovered this vocal version.

4. "Willow Tree" - Alton recorded this for both Studio One and Treasure Isle. (The one I've shared here is from Treasure Isle). His sister, Hortense, also made a great recording of this tune. When I was working with the Dynamics, we did a cover of this that I think was our best rocksteady cover.

5. "Sh-boom" (aka "Life Could Be a Dream") - This is a cover of an American Doo Wop song that was covered by a number of Jamaican artists, but I like Alton's the best. This was one of the first blank label 7"s I got. My copy is kind of scratchy, but I still play it at a lot of dances.

6. "Cry Tough" - One of his more famous rocksteady tunes, Heartbeat used the name of this one as the title of a great anthology they released back in 1993. This has appeared in various versions - straight and dubbed. This one is dubbed near the end.

Stop by and give a listen.
www.myspace.com/dj2toneted

by **lawless** » Sun Oct 12, 2008 1:50 am

http://jirophoto.com/portfolio/music/ga ... ltonellis/

by **gabepressure** » Sun Oct 12, 2008 1:11 pm

man thsoe are some excellent photos!
Alton Ellis is one of the best JA singers of them all.
My all time favorite. Put on his music and the room will come to life.

by **theconqueror** » Sun Oct 12, 2008 5:06 pm

damn very sad news.

RIP Alton Ellis

by **MarshSwing** » Mon Oct 13, 2008 9:49 am

So blessed to have seen and met this kind soul.

by **TheACBubbaMaster** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 4:53 pm

Covered by NPR Radio Show, The World

http://www.theworld.org/taxonomy_by_date/2/20081014

by **Tisko** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 6:17 pm

R.I.P. Alton Ellis. I will never forget when I was a pimply teenage high school student buying "Soul Grover," only because I had seen his name on a couple of message boards. That cd, and the Skatalites "Foundation Ska" changed my life.

by **Ramzavail** » Sun Oct 19, 2008 12:43 am

Can I change my mind was easily one of my favorite songs of all time.

by **lawless** » Sun Oct 19, 2008 9:39 am

by **lordgrabandflee** » Mon Oct 20, 2008 2:09 pm

Over 20 children?

Not huge by Jamaican musician standards, but damn!

by **2ToneTed** » Mon Oct 20, 2008 9:57 pm

lordgrabandflee wrote:Over 20 children?

Not huge by Jamaican musician standards, but damn!

ha ha. That's exactly what I got out of that article, too.

No Longer a Rumor, Alton Ellis R.I.P.

No Longer a Rumor, Alton Ellis R.I.P.

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