Lorraine Ellison (March 17, 1931 – January 31, 1983) was an American

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

singer and songwriter known for her

recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, ...

of the song " Stay with Me" (sometimes known as "Stay With Me Baby") in 1966.

Life and career

Born Marybelle Luraine Ellison, in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, Pennsylvania, to a musical family, Ellison sang in churches from the age of six and attended the

John Bartram High School John Bartram High School is a public secondary school serving neighborhoods of the Southwest Philadelphia area of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The school, which serves grades 9 through 12, is a part of the School District of Philadelphia. History O ...

. She originally sang

gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music, and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is com ...

, working in the groups the Ellison Singers and the Golden Chords in the early 1960s. In 1963, Ellison appeared with the Golden Chords on the ''Introducing The Sweet Chariot The Sensational New Pop Gospel Night Club With Soul Recorded Live'' album, leading "Wake Me, Shake Me". Ellison also appeared at the Festival of the Two Worlds in

Spoleto, Italy Spoleto (, also , , ; la, Spoletum) is an ancient city in the Italian province of Perugia in east-central Umbria on a foothill of the Apennines. It is S. of Trevi, N. of Terni, SE of Perugia; SE of Florence; and N of Rome. History Spoleto ...

. She switched to the R&B genre in 1964 and her first release was a chart entry, "I Dig You Baby" in 1965 on

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it is ...

, which reached No. 22 on the US ''Billboard'' R&B chart. Initially a slow seller, five months after its release, its reported national sales were 40,000. After another unsuccessful single with Mercury, she signed with

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

, and in 1966 recorded "Stay with Me" at a last-minute booking, following a studio cancellation by

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...

. "Stay with Me" reached number 11 in the U.S. ''Billboard'' R&B chart and number 64 in the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. The song was produced and written by

Jerry Ragovoy Jordan "Jerry" Ragovoy (September 4, 1930 – July 13, 2011) was an American songwriter and record producer. His best-known composition " Time Is on My Side" (written under the pseudonym of Norman Meade) was made famous by the Rolling Stones, alt ...

. Some of her later single releases were on Warner's subsidiary soul music record label,

Loma Records Loma Records was an American subsidiary record label of Warner Bros. Records managed by Bob Krasnow, then later Russ Regan. Its name was derived from Eloma, a cleared copyright Warner owned. History In March 1964, Warner Bros. president Mike Mai ...

. "Stay with Me" would become her

signature song A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a Handwriting, handwritten (and often Stylization, stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and ...

. Her follow-up single was "Heart Be Still" a minor

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

in 1967. Ellison also recorded "Try (Just a Little Bit Harder)", a song later covered to more success by

Janis Joplin Janis Lyn Joplin (January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970) was an American singer and musician. One of the most successful and widely known Rock music, rock stars of her era, she was noted for her powerful mezzo-soprano vocals and "electric" stage ...

. Peter Jones of ''

Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper between 1954 and 1991 for pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after the ''NME'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK album chart was published in ''Re ...

'' rated Ellison's "Try (Just a Little Bit Harder)" 4/5 stars, writing, 'Soul-filled ballad here, intense vocals from Lorraine and the femme vocal group. Intense but same-y'. In May 1967, Ellison was due to tour the UK and Ireland, but cancelled due to illness. Ellison composed some of her own songs (by herself and with manager and later husband, Sam Bell, who was lead singer of soul vocal group, The Enchanters). She had her own compositions recorded by several other artists, including

Jerry Butler Jerry Butler Jr. (born December 8, 1939) is an American soul singer-songwriter, producer, musician, and retired politician. He was the original lead singer of the Rhythm and blues, R&B vocal group the Impressions, inducted into the Rock and Rol ...

Garnet Mimms Garnet Mimms (born Garrett Mimms, November 16, 1933) is an American singer, influential in soul music and rhythm and blues. He first achieved success as the lead singer of Garnet Mimms & The Enchanters, and is best known for the 1963 hit " Cry B ...

Howard Tate Howard Tate (August 13, 1939 – December 2, 2011) was an American soul music, soul singer and songwriter. His greatest success came with a string of hit singles in the late 1960s, including "Ain't Nobody Home" and "Get It While You Can," the ...

and

Dee Dee Warwick Delia Juanita Warrick (September 25, 1942 – October 18, 2008), known professionally as Dee Dee Warwick, was an American soul singer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, she was the sister of singer Dionne Warwick, the niece of Cissy Houston, and a f ...

. After leaving Warner, she recorded at least two unissued tracks for the then fast-growing Philadelphia International label in her hometown. Twice-married and using the surname Gonzalez-Keys, Lorraine Ellison gave up the music business to take care of her mother, but continued to sing in church. Ellison died in January 1983 from

ovarian cancer Ovarian cancer is a cancerous tumor of an ovary. It may originate from the ovary itself or more commonly from communicating nearby structures such as fallopian tubes or the inner lining of the abdomen. The ovary is made up of three different c ...

at the age of 51.

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

Singles

* Notes

References

External links

Soulwalking.co.uk biography Article: ''A Soul-Singing Dynamo Gets Her Day'', by Tom Moon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellison, Lorraine 1931 births 1983 deaths African-American women singer-songwriters American gospel singers American rhythm and blues singer-songwriters Deaths from ovarian cancer Musicians from Philadelphia Loma Records artists 20th-century African-American women singers Singer-songwriters from Pennsylvania