Angels Woman...Lorraine Ellison

Lorraine Ellison has possessed my soul, body, brain and heart
over of my life, Her biggest success 'Stay With Me Baby'

IS the greatest Soul ballad
of all time.

-the portastylistic
~

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Lorraine Ellison - Stay with Me The Best of Lorraine Ellison
(1966-1973)

"Stay With Me" starts with a slow-rotating piano line and a whisper-coo vocal, before it wells up and explodes into one of the great scenery-chewing choruses of all time. An orchestra drops bombs, and Ellison's voice abandons all restraint, clawing and rasping and howling at the man who's about to leave her.

With an incredible vocal power, range, and intensity that was perhaps too heavy for the record-buying masses, Lorraine Ellison never made it big, except of course in the hearts of committed soul fans-and the occasional rock and pop buyer. Ellison was born in North Philadelphia and began singing gospel with her family at age six. She sang professionally with a local group named the Sylvania Singers before forming the family group The Ellison Singers in the late '50s/early '60s. By 1964, she began recording R&B music, and her first hit was the 1965 R&B hit 'I Dig You Baby' (later made into a pop smash by Jerry Butler). One year later, she released her signature song, the intense, symphonic-drenched ballad 'Stay With Me,' written and produced by Jerry Ragovoy and issued by the Warner label. It hit number 11 on the R&B charts in the fall of 1966. Some of her other singles were 'Heart Be Still,' 'Don't Let It Go to Your Head,' and 'I've Got My Baby Back.' Songs that she wrote with her manager Sam Bell (of Garrett Mimms & the Enchanters) were recorded by Mimms and Howard Tate. Ellison's Warner LPs include Heart and Soul (1966), Stay With Me (1969), and Lorraine Ellison (1974) and the compilation The Best of Philadelphia's Queen (1976). Lorraine Ellison died on August 17, 1985 from ovarian cancer at the young age of 51. This set containing 23 songs from 1966-1973, includes three non-LP singles, three unreleased cuts from an aborted 1970 session at Muscle Shoals, her only two charting singles, and even an Al Kooper song from an obscure 1970 soundtrack. These are among the foremost examples of the collision of soul, gospel, and pop, with the accent on the soul and gospel. The first half of the program, consisting of 1966-70 sides produced by Ragovoy (who also wrote most of those songs), have the edge over the early-'70s sessions. But Ellison's vocals are hard to fault anywhere. It also includes the original version of 'Try (Just a Little Bit Harder),' covered by Janis Joplin.

The story goes Lorraine Ellison was working with producer/composer Jerry Ragovoy at a major NY recording studio when someone popped in to say that the 46 piece orchestra lined up for the Frank Sinatra session was available next door as Sinatra had canceled. Ragovoy upscaled the arrangement, making lead sheets for the grumpy musicians who'd been expecting to schmooze Frank and now "demoted" to this obscure R&B canary. THEN upon the first and ONLY take: standing ovation for Lorraine from the Big Band boys.

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All about
Lorraine Ellison

Lorraine Ellison’s full name is Marybelle Luraine Ellison Gonzalez-Keys (she was married twice) and was born and raised in Philadelphia.
Lorraine recorded with two gospel groups, the Ellison Singers and the Golden Chords, but left the latter in 1964 to pursue a solo career in R & B music.
She also sang with a group called the Sylvania Singers before forming the Ellison Singers.
‘I Dig You Baby’ (number 22 R & B) in 1965 was her first chart entry.

Lorraine signed with the Loma imprint, and had a fortunate break when Frank Sinatra cancelled a studio recording, leaving an orchestra with nothing to do.
She stood in at the last minute and recorded the Soul Classic, ‘Stay With Me’.
‘Stay With Me’ (number 11 R & B, number 64 pop) in 1966 was the song that really took her to another level.
‘Stay With Me’ was written and produced by Jerry Ragovoy and really helped establish and imbed Soul Music within the music industry.
‘Heart Be Still’ (number 43 R & B, number 89 pop), followed in 1967.
Lorraine never charted again, however, she released ‘Try Just A Little Bit Harder’ in 1968, which rock singer Janis Joplin later remade with great success.
Her compositions, on which she often collaborated with her manager, Sam Bell (of Garnet Mimms And The Enchanters fame), were recorded by Howard Tate and Garnet Mimms.
Lorraine has a surviving daughter named Tonya A. Ellison-Veal.
There are 2 remaining members of the original Ellison singers still getting on with day to day things, (Pauline Ellison-King & Jean Ellison-Dennison).

Ellison died in January 1983, from ovarian cancer, at the age of 51.

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I really detest the current crop of 'divas" and even refuse to use the word.
which has replaced "icon" at the #1 spot in the Top Ten of misused words.

“ Thank You Ms. Lorraine comes into my life.”


-the portastylistic