Biography of Alton Ellis

One of Jamaica's first singers, the silken-smooth Alton Ellis made his first hit "Muriel" in 1959 as part of a duo with Eddie Perkins. Producer Coxsone Dodd oversaw a string of subsequent successes. Eventually Ellis, seeing little financial remuneration, left for Coxsone's archrival Duke Reid and his Treasure Isle label. Tunes like "Dance Crasher," "Cry Tough," and "Girl, I've Got a Date" gave Reid his first chance to pass Dodd in the popular mind as Jamaica's heaviest studio and sound system.By 1966 the red-hot double-time ska beat had given birth virtually overnight to a much slower, hiccupping rhythm dubbed "rock-steady," and it was Alton who was to be its midwife. "One evening in the studio," Alton recalls, "the bass man didn't show up. So Jackie Mittoo, the keyboardist, had to play the bass pattern on the piano with his left hand, but he couldn't hold it steady, and we all thought the line was so fresh and nice. When the bass player turned up next time, Jackie insisted that he play what Jackie was playing with his left hand. That's how rock-steady was born; we called it so that night."Coxsone lured Alton back, and by 1968 Alton was the undisputed King of Rock-Steady with shots like "Willow Tree," "I'm Just a Guy," and "Sitting in the Park," often highlighted with his trademark yelp of "Looka here now!" Again, the money failed to follow the hits, and somewhat disillusioned, Alton spent several years in the U.S. and Canada before pulling up stakes and moving permanently to England in 1973. Scores of songs were issued steadily, cementing his reputation as one of the most consistent reggae artists around. By 1984 he was celebrated internationally for his 25 years in show business, making a pair of critically acclaimed appearances at Jamaica's Sunsplash festival in 1983 and 1985. From 1989 on, he has been releasing compilations on his own Alltone label of his early masterpieces, and he even recorded Man from Studio One, a new 12-inch for Coxsone in 1991. One of the real gentlemen of reggae, Alton is a satisfying and scintillating singer, one of Jamaica's extraordinary gifts to the world, right up there with Bob Marley. ~ Roger Steffens

Biography of Phyllis Dillon

Phyllis Dillon recorded in rough, tough Kingston, Jamaica, at Duke Reid's Treasure Isle studio, but lived in Linton, St. Catherine -- considered the country -- in the middle of Jamaica. The area, a far cry from Kingston, is where she started singing in school, church, and later with a band called the Vulcans. The crack band found employment all over Jamaica. It was at a gig at the Glass Bucket in Kingston where Dillon caught ska and rocksteady session guitarist Lyn Taitt's ears who suggested she see Reid. She was 19, still living at home, and green as grass. Taitt served as Reid's musical arranger at the time. She signed with Reid in 1965 and never recorded for another Jamaican producer, which was unusual, since most Jamaican artists played musical producers going from Reid to Bunny Lee to Coxsone Dodd and so on.The exciting soprano recorded in a light rocksteady style with soul and pop mixed in to form the complete package. She wrote her first single, the beautiful ballad "Don't Stay Away"; it came out in 1966 and was an instant local success. A succession of engaging singles further enhanced her legend and she became the uncrowned queen of rocksteady. She recorded duets with Alton Ellis, who she cites as one who encouraged her professionally and Hopeton Lewis. The most popular ones are "Right Track," with Ellis, and "Walk Through This World With Me" and "Love Was All We Had" with Hopeton Lewis, and many others with both singers that weren't as successful. Her solo hits include "Perfidia," the self-written "Rock Steady," "One Life to Live," "Tomato," "Nice Time," "We Belong Together," and many others. She worked steadily in Jamaica, hung out at Kingston clubs, dances, and the beaches, necessary activities for promoting records and networking. Despite her perceived success, with all the hits and accolades, she still lived in Linton with her parents. Fed up and wanting something besides music, Dillon left Jamaica in December of 1967 for New York City. Trading the country environment of Linton for the urban Big Apple, she found employment in temporary and odd jobs before landing a stable position at a bank where she worked for decades. Early on she would go to Jamaica twice a year to record for Reid and play the Jamaican clubs, using her vacation time for the excursions. She occasionally flew to London to do shows, but her time was largely spent raising her family. In the 1990s she made a successful comeback. Sadly, Phyllis Dillon was diagnosed with cancer in the early 2000s. She passed away in April of 2004. Her work can be found on solo albums and a long list of various artists' compilations from Trojan and Heartbeat Records. ~ Andrew Hamilton