Thursday, March 1, 2012

ALTON SINGS MORE ROCK AND SOUL


If ever there was a smooth voice in reggae, Alton Ellis is one guy who had it, and he loved his covers. His version of the Delfonics' "La La Means I love You" is an a perfect example of how early reggae singers effectively interpreted Top 40 hits. I couldn't leave it at one, so I went digging and found a few more. I think you'll agree, this stuff is the textbook definition of smooth. A few things to note: You'll want to grab the first one quick because Cover Me is diligent about cleaning out songs after a couple weeks. About the rest: "Whiter Shade of Pale" is a Procol Harum cover, "These Eyes" is a Guess Who cover, "It's A Shame" was originally done by the Spinners and "You Make Me So Very Happy" is a Blood, Sweat and Tears song (originally recorded by Brenda Holloway, as pointed out by Marc the Clarifier below). And "Knock On Wood" is an Eddie Floyd cover, but even you youngsters knew that one, right?

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~
Listen:
Alton Ellis - La La Means I Love You mp3 at Cover Freak
Alton Ellis - Whiter Shade of Pale mp3 at Rasta Geeks
Alton Ellis - These Eyes mp3 at Quality Peoples
Alton Ellis - It's a Shame mp3 at In Bed With Dactylo
Alton Ellis - You Make Me So Very Happy mp3 at Essentially Eclectic
Alton Ellis - Knock On Wood mp3 at 8106

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Actually, "You Make Me So Very Happy" was originally a Brenda Holloway song, though BS&T obviously had the bigger hit with it.

Love your blog!

Marc

Tom G. said...

Duly noted. Thanks!