Latest Release
- MAY 10, 2024
- 2 Songs
- A Little Love (Classic Reggae Sounds From Randy's Records 1971 -73) · 2023
- Rock Steady Beat · 1988
- Sunday Coming · 1970
- Alton Ellis EP · 1988
- Mr Soul of Jamaica · 1970
- Sunday Coming · 1970
- Valley of Decision · 1983
- Sunday Coming · 1970
- La La Means I Love You - Single · 2008
- Alton Ellis Selects Reggae · 1990
Essential Albums
Artist Playlists
- Fall in love with the charismatic Godfather of Rocksteady.
- 2003
Appears On
About Alton Ellis
Alton Ellis was a key figure in the development of rocksteady in mid-’60s Jamaica. Born in Kingston in 1938, he started out as an R&B singer, cutting records in duos with his sister Hortense Ellis and with Eddy Parkins. By 1965, he had formed Alton Ellis & The Flames and had started working with legendary producers like Coxsone Dodd and Duke Reid. The ska sounds that had been in vogue in Jamaica evolved into the slower, more swinging rocksteady style, and Ellis was at the forefront of the movement. On singles like “Don’t Trouble People,” “Dance Crasher,” and “Girl I’ve Got a Date,” he helped lay down the template for the sound, and his 1967 single “Rock Steady” is widely regarded as the song that gave the genre its name. Ellis moved with the times and eventually evolved into a roots-reggae artist, continuing to work into the 2000s before passing away in 2008 at the age of 70.
- GENRE
- Reggae