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Entertainment History & The Ellis Dynasty
 Everybody knows – or should know – about Jamaica’s Godfather of Rock Steady, Alton Ellis, O.D. He emerged on the musical landscape in 1958, teaming up with Eddie Perkins as “Alton & Eddie” on the monster single “Muriel”. He then formed the group “Alton Ellis and the Flames” that gave us enduring hits like “Girl I’ve got a date” and “Get ready Rock Steady” before going solo and releasing over 25 albums. Except for the real old-timers though, not many people might know about his younger sister, the late Hortense Ellis. And even fewer people are aware that Hortense is the first Jamaican woman to ever put her voice on a record.
She won the 1960 Vere John’s Talent contest and recorded three albums and several singles. Some music historians say her career was hampered by frequent pregnancies, but Hortense saw it differently. She placed maternal responsibilities above professional aspirations and consciously bypassed opportunities to exploit her talent. And she harboured no regrets about focusing on family instead of pursuing fame. After raising her 9 children, she reactivated her career in the 90s, and passed away in October 2000 after a brief illness. However, the Ellis involvement in entertainment didn’t begin, and certainly won’t end with Alton and Hortense.
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Dancehall and Soca Wed
Ever since the days of the iconic 'dancehall/soca' collaboration featuring soca stalwart, Byron Lee and the Dragonaires and dancehall veteran, Admiral Bailey, artistes from both genres have been able to find common
ground and thrill audiences all over the world.
The truth is that, once you excuse the usual differences in
tempo and instruments used, it becomes easy to see that there are not
many differences between the two forms. They both represent the region and catalogue the Caribbean experience; it therefore shouldn’t be surprising that both genres would unite to create a striking musical-crossbreed.
In fact, though many Trinidadians may shun this bit of information, Jamaica
can stake a small claim in the birth of soca. Trinidadian calypso legend, 'Lord Shorty', upon seeing the rise of reggae and the apparent demise of calypso in the late 60s, began to experiment with calypso and Indian instruments; the result was a new, up-beat hybrid, which we now know as soca. His single “Indrani” served as a formal introduction to the genre and henceforth, sparked a musical fever.
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Bacchanal Jamaica: Twenty years in style
“Bacchanal one, Bachannal two,
Bacchanal, bacchanal, bacchanal!”
The favourite chant of soca partygoers will take on a new meaning this year. Celebrating twenty years of carnival in Jamaica, Bacchanal Jamaica will pull out all the stops with uncorked exuberance for patrons in 2008.
“Everything we are doing this year comes with a little extra flair. There (will be) bigger entertainment and many more attractions,” states Bacchanal Jamaica director Michael Ammar.
Patrons at the Friday night parties at Mas Camp on Oxford Road in Kingston discovered this fact. Five bars replaced the usual one, and theme parties were the signature of the Friday night events. Ocean Spray Night, (Friday, February 25) featured the Cotton Candy Dreams Party, where patrons were invited to jump into a foam pit and go wild. Free cotton candy, jello shots, Smirnoff and Ocean Spray cocktails were also distributed to the eager patrons.
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Has Easter lost it's flavor
Not every Christian is willing to make a wilderness trek, armed with his/her sackcloth and ashes to fast and pray for forty days as Jesus did; this is because fasting is only one aspect of Easter – an aspect, which is fast fading.
To the devoted Christian, Easter is a time of pensive reflection on the life and most importantly, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ; but, like Christmas, has its meaning become diluted? Are we even familiar with some of the traditional (secular) practices associated with the season? Do the tender-footed youth consider these practices to be antiquated ‘mumbo jumbo’, with no application in the modern world?
Take for example the Jamaican tradition of setting egg yolk in a pint of water on Good Friday to predict one’s future. The egg yolk, having coagulated (as any good egg yolk will), will assume various shapes; the most common of which, legend has it, are: the ship, the aero plane and the coffin. The symbol shown will indicate if the person will be traveling in this world or the next. Not many youngsters are familiar with that myth, and those who are, often see it as nonsense.
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