''Mr Soul of Jamaica'' is an album by Jamaican

rocksteady Rocksteady is a music genre that originated in Jamaica around 1966. A successor of ska and a precursor to reggae, rocksteady was the dominant style of music in Jamaica for nearly two years, performed by many of the artists who helped establish ...

singer

Alton Ellis Alton Nehemiah Ellis (1 September 1938 – 10 October 2008)Godfather ...

. It contains twelve tracks recorded between 1967 and 1970 at

Duke Reid Arthur "Duke" Reid CD (21 July 1915 – 1 January 1975) was a Jamaican record producer, DJ and label owner. He ran one of the most popular sound systems of the 1950s called Reid's Sound System, whilst Duke himself was known as The Troja ...

's Treasure Isle Recording Studios in

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley Inter ...

and was produced by Reid and released on his Treasure Isle label in 1974. Although this was his only album for the label, Ellis had already been a star musician in Jamaica from the early 1960s onwards, having recorded for

Coxsone Dodd Clement Seymour "Coxsone" Dodd (26 January 1932 – 4 May 2004) was a Jamaican record producer who was influential in the development of ska and reggae in the 1950s, 1960s and beyond. He was nicknamed "Coxsone" at school due to his talent a ...

's Studio One label before moving to Treasure Isle, and the album is a compilation of some of his Treasure Isle singles, although some of his biggest hits including "Rock Steady", "Girl I've Got a Date" and "Cry Tough" were left off it. In May 2013 the album was reissued as an expanded 2-CD set titled ''Mr Soul of Jamaica/Greatest Hits'', featuring the other singles Ellis recorded for Treasure Isle with his band the Flames from 1964 onwards, plus the extended

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

mixes of some of the tracks that were released on Jamaica's High Note label in the 1970s.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Alton Nehemiah Ellis except where indicated.

Side one

#"Breaking Up" – 3:02 #"Why Birds Follow Spring" – 2:27 #"I Can't Stop Now" – 3:24 #"Ain't That Loving You" ( Allen Avoid Jones Jr.,

Homer Banks Homer Banks (August 2, 1941 – April 3, 2003) was an African American songwriter, singer and record producer. Although best known by many for his songwriting for Stax Records in the 1960s and 1970s, some of his own releases from the 1960s are co ...

) – 2:43 #" You Make Me Happy" ( Berry Gordy Jnr.,

Brenda Holloway Brenda Holloway (born June 26, 1946) is an American singer and songwriter, who was a recording artist for Motown Records during the 1960s. Her best-known recordings are the soul hits, "Every Little Bit Hurts", " When I'm Gone", and " You've Ma ...

, Frank Edward Wilson, Patrice Yvonne Holloway) – 2:55 #"Remember That Sunday" (Ellis, Edgar Clinton Gordon,

Winston Jarrett Winston Jarrett (born 14 September 1940)Thompson, Dave (2002) ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books, , p. 423 is a Jamaican reggae singer who was part of Alton Ellis's group The Flames in the 1960s before recording with The Righteous Flam ...

) – 2:55

Side two

#"All My Tears Come Rolling" – 2:46 #"Baby I Love You" – 2:21 #"Chatty Chatty" – 2:22 #"Willow Tree" (Robert Elgin, Kay Rogers,

Luther Dixon Luther Dixon (August 7, 1931 – October 22, 2009) was an American songwriter, record producer, and singer. Dixon's songs achieved their greatest success in the 1950s and 1960s, and were recorded by Elvis Presley, the Beatles, the Jackson 5, B.B ...

) – 2:44 #"If I Could Rule the World" – 2:29 #" What Does It Take" (

Harvey Fuqua Harvey Fuqua (July 27, 1929 – July 6, 2010) was an American rhythm and blues singer, songwriter, record producer, and record label executive. Fuqua founded the seminal R&B/doo-wop group the Moonglows in the 1950s. He is notable as one of th ...

Johnny Bristol John William Bristol (February 3, 1939 – March 21, 2004) was an American musician, most famous as a songwriter and record producer for the Motown label in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was a native of Morganton, North Carolina, about which ...

, Vernon Bullock) – 3:19 *Note: The original 1974 release of the album contains several errors in the track titles, which were corrected on the 2013 reissue.

2013 ''Mr Soul of Jamaica/Greatest Hits'' 2-CD reissue

CD1

#"Breaking Up" – 2:57 #"Why Birds Follow Spring" – 2:30 #"I Can't Stop Now" – 3:20 #"Ain't That Loving You" ( Allen Avoid Jones Jr.,

) – 2:45 #" You Made Me So Very Happy" ( Berry Gordy Jnr.,

, Frank Edward Wilson, Patrice Yvonne Holloway) – 2:53 #"Remember That Sunday" (Ellis, Edgar Clinton Gordon,

) – 2:34 #"All My Tears (Come Rolling)" – 2:40 #"Baby I Love You (Oowee Baby)" – 2:26 #"Chatty Chatty People" – 2:19 #"My Willow Tree" (Robert Elgin, Kay Rogers,

) – 2:41 #"If I Could Rule the World" – 2:23 #"

What Does It Take (To Win Your Love) "What Does It Take (To Win Your Love)" is a 1968 song that was a 1969 hit single by Jr. Walker & the All Stars. The single was one of Jr. Walker's most successful releases, becoming a hit on both the R&B and pop singles charts. "What Does It Take ...

" (

, Vernon Bullock) – 3:16 Bonus tracks:

"Why Did You Leave Me" (Barry Llewellyn, Earl Morgan, Leroy Anthony Sibbles) – 2:36
"I Can't Stand It" (Gloria Rose) – 2:40
"
La La Means I Love You LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...
" ( Thomas Randolph Bell, William A. Hart) – 3:07
" Diana" (
Paul Anka Paul Albert Anka (born July 30, 1941) is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter and actor. He is best known for his signature hit songs including " Diana", " Lonely Boy", "Put Your Head on My Shoulder", and " (You're) Having My Baby". Anka also ...
) – 2:36
"
Personality Personality is the characteristic sets of behaviors, cognitions, and emotional patterns that are formed from biological and environmental factors, and which change over time. While there is no generally agreed-upon definition of personality, mos ...
" (Harold Logan,
Lloyd Price Lloyd Price (March 9, 1933May 3, 2021) was an American singer-songwriter, record executive and bandleader, known as "Mr. Personality", after his 1959 million-selling hit, "Personality". His first recording, "Lawdy Miss Clawdy", was a hit for Spe ...
) – 2:08
"Trying to Reach My Goal" (Edward S. Thomas Jr.) – 2:14
"Pumping In" – 2:36
"Black Man's Word" – 2:48

CD2

#"Something You've Got" ( Chris Kenner) – 2:37 #"Dance Crasher" (Ellis, Gordon, Jarrett) – 2:38 #" A – You're Adorable" ( Buddy Kaye, Fred Wise,

Sidney Lippman Sidney Lippman (March 1, 1914 – March 11, 2003) was a composer and songwriter. He wrote the music for Nat King Cole's 1951 No. 1 hit "Too Young". "Too Young (popular song), Too Young's" words were written by Sylvia Dee, a lyricist and longtim ...

) – 2:41 #"Honey I Love" – 2:59 #"Don't Trouble People" – 2:56 #"The Preacher" – 2:11 #"Blessings of Love" – 2:24 #"Shake It" – 2:44 #"Girl I've Got a Date" (Ellis,

) – 2:28 #"How Can I" ( John Kenneth Holt) – 2:52 #"Cry Tough" (Ellis, Gordon, Jarrett) – 2:13 #"Rock Steady" (Ellis, Brian Anthony Burrell Atkinson) – 2:57 #"

Duke of Earl "Duke of Earl" is a 1962 US number-one song, originally recorded by Gene Chandler. It is the best known of Chandler's songs, and he subsequently dubbed himself "The Duke of Earl". The song was penned by Chandler, Bernice Williams, and Earl Edwar ...

" ( Bernice Williams, Earl G. Edwards Sr., Eugene Drake Dixon) – 3:19 Bonus tracks:

"Breaking Up" (Extended Mix) – 6:05
"I Can't Stop Now" (Extended Mix) – 5:23
"You Make Me Happy" (Extended Mix) (Gordy, B. Holloway, P. Holloway, Wilson) – 7:02
"Remember That Sunday" (Extended Mix) (Ellis, Gordon, Jarrett) – 3:54
"Baby I Love You (Oowee Baby)" (Extended Mix) – 6:08
"If I Could Rule the World" (Extended Mix) – 6:09
"I Can't Stand It" (Extended Mix) (Rose) – 6:48

Personnel

*Alton Ellis – vocals *The Flames – backing vocals * Tommy McCook & the Supersonics – instrumental backing *Duke Reid – production *

Errol Brown Lester Errol Brown MBE (12 November 1943 – 6 May 2015) was a British-Jamaican singer and songwriter, best known as the frontman of the soul and funk band Hot Chocolate. In 2004, Brown received the Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Contributi ...

, Carlton Hamil –

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mr Soul Of Jamaica Alton Ellis albums 1974 albums