ALTHOUGH her career began in the early 1960s on the popular Vere Johns Opportunity Hour, singer Hortense Ellis did not taste solo success until a decade later.
Augustus “Gussie” Clarke produced one of her biggest hits, a cover of Kim Carnes’s Love Comes from Unexpected Places, which made the top 5 of the RJR Top 40 chart in 1976.
“I met Hortense in my very early days in the music industry. We all had common places where we met up, whether it was down by Randy’s [record store in downtown Kingston] or at the studios. We would always run into each other. She was such a good soul and had an exceptionally unique voice and sound,” Clarke told the Jamaica Observer.
“What drew me to working with Hortense was the sound of her voice and her willingness to work. I don’t think she was getting a whole lot of work, and I don’t think the industry itself saw her talent and gave her the opportunities that I think she needed… She was exceptionally good and talented. I produced Love Comes from Unexpected Places and it did well locally. It also did well in Britain and brought a lot of renewed interest in her work,” he continued.
Ellis, younger sister of rocksteady king Alton Ellis, was born in Trench Town. In 1964 she was awarded a silver cup for being Jamaica’s Best Female Vocalist, a feat she repeated for the next five years.
During that period Ellis recorded well-received duets with Alton. She toured Jamaica with Byron Lee and The Dragonaires and recorded for top producers such as Bunny “Striker” Lee, Ken Lack, Clement Dodd, and Duke Reid.
Ellis also recorded for producer Rodguel “Blackbeard” Sinclair’s Hulk and Mr Tipsy labels.
“I remember when she performed a cover of the Connie Francis hit Where The Boys Are at the Vere Johns show at Palace Theatre on Windward Road, and when she reached the part in the song that said ‘In the crowd of a million people I found my valentine,’ her baby father jumped up and said ‘Si mi here!’ The place roared,” Sinclair recalled.
“Hortense was a champion when it came to the stage. She is a great singer and I didn’t have any problems with her at all. One night she sang a cover of Down the Aisle by Patti LaBelle and the Blue Belles at a show at the Carib Theatre and Patti, who was in the audience, ran on stage and started singing the song with her,” said Sinclair.
In the early 1970s Ellis married Mikey “Junior” Saunders with whom she had five children. She recorded as Mahalia Saunders for producer Lee “Scratch” Perry. Those songs included covers of Right on The Tip of My Tongue and Piece of My Heart.
Ellis spent most of the 1980s living in New York City and Miami. Returning to Jamaica in 1989 she suffered health problems but performed occasionally on the popular vintage series, Heineken Startime.
Hortense Ellis died in her sleep on October 19, 2000. She was 59 years old.
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