The Jamaican legend was instrumental in the rocksteady movement, a slower version of ska music. Ellis first recording the Mad Mad riddim in 1967, which became a much used beat to a plethora of rocksteady records, as well as being sampled by hip hop artist such as KRS-One and Tupac Shakur.
Ellis scored big with hits "Girl I've Got a Date", "Cry Tough" and "Get Ready - Rock Steady", which was the first song to refer to the name of the newer genre. His Mr. Soul of Jamaica album is regarded as one of the definitive rocksteady albums.
Ellis succumbed to lymphatic cancer at Hammersmith Hospital in West London. He was 70.
On a personal note, during the mid-90s, my older brother Roderick played guitar for one of Alton's twenty children, Noel Ellis, on a Canadian tour.
Riddim!
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