Hortense Mahalia Ellis, the younger sister of reggae superstar Alton Ellis, was born 18th April 1941 in Trench Town, Jamaica.  Her father worked on the railways while her mother ran a fruit stall.

Hortense was just 18 years old when she made her first appearance on Vere Johns Opportunity Hour - then Jamaica's foremost showcase for young undiscovered talent.  Her version of Frankie Lymon's "I'm Not Saying No At All" so impressed both audience and panel, she was invited back the following week.  Hortense went on to enter many other talent competitions and showcases; managing to reach six semi-finals and four finals.

                                        These three early Hortense pictures kindly provided by Mr. Dudley "Manzie" Swaby                                                             Mr. Alton Ellis

Hortense's earliest recordings include "Eddie My Love" in 1961 for producer Clement "Coxsone" Dodd and "Midnight" in 1962 for Duke Reid swiftly followed by "I'll Come Softly" and "I Am In Love" (both of which are among my most treasured possessions).  It was around this time that Hortense was also recording duets with her brother Alton.  Although Hortense remained primarily a solo performer, she recorded many duets over the years with stars such as Derrick Morgan, Jackie Edwards, Stranger Cole along with Jackie Opel.

By the late sixties, Hortense had acquired extensive experience both in live performance and also in the studio.  She toured Jamaica with Byron Lee and The Dragonaires and was recording with some of the island's top producers.  Among these were Ken Lack ("I Shall Sing" and "Hell And Sorrow"), Coxsone Dodd ("Twelve Minutes To Go" and "I'll Come Softly") and also the great Duke Reid.

Clement "Coxsone" Dodd was, of course, the genius behind the Studio One record label - described by Marcia Griffiths in the television documentary "Stir It Up" as Jamaica's Motown.  The street, Brentford Road, on which Dodd's studio was sited has recently been renamed Studio One Boulevard in his memory.  In the early days, Alton Ellis was also recording for Dodd who cleverly exploited the family connection by producing "female" adaptions of some of Alton's hits for Hortense to record.  One example "I'm Just A Guy" recorded by Alton became "I'm Just A Girl" some years later for Hortense.

Alton and Hortense toured Canada in 1970, but the following year Hortense was back in Jamaica.  She married Mikey Saunders with whom she had five children in quick succession.  Although her live performances suffered as a result, Hortense remained busy in the studio.  Recording as Mahalia Saunders for Lee "Scratch" Perry, she cut several sides including "Right On The Tip Of My Tongue" and "Piece Of My Heart".

Hortense's biggest success came in the late seventies with a song recorded for Augustus "Gussie" Clarke.  "Unexpected Places" became popular all over the world.  In my humble opinion, Hortense well deserved the same UK Top 40 success enjoyed by Dawn Penn and Ken Boothe.  However, Hortense never managed to "cross over" in this way.

For producer Bunny "Striker" Lee, Hortense became Queen Tiney for her "Down Town Ting" - an answer record to Althea & Donna's "Up Town Top Ranking" which had itself been sung over Alton's "I'm Still In Love With You" rhythm.

It was in the seventies Hortense recut many of her Studio One sides with other producers - "Secretly" for Dudley "Manzie" Swaby and "Sitting In The Park" for Martin Williams.  In addition, she was also recording with Soul Syndicate and the up and coming team of Sly & Robbie.

The rise of the Lovers Rock genre in the late seventies and early eighties resulted in Hortense cutting cover versions of several popular soul classics such as "Down The Aisle" (Patti Labelle) and "Young Hearts Run Free" (Candi Staton).

Following her divorce from Mikey Saunders, Hortense spent much of the eighties living in Brooklyn NY and Miami.  On her return to Jamaica in 1989, Hortense began suffering ill health.  Despite often being in considerable pain, she somehow managed to continue with local live performances.  Performing - especially for a local crowd - was something Hortense enjoyed immensely.  She lived for her children as a devoted loving mother and for her music as a talented dedicated performer.

Following a private visit to New York in the summer of 1999 - the last time I would see my Hortense alive - she went to Miami where ill health finally caught up with her.  Instead of seeking immediate treatment, she insisted on struggling home to her beloved Jamaica where she was immediately hospitalised.

Hortense died peacefully in her sleep, aged just 59, in Kingston Public Hospital on 19th October 2000.  She left nine children, 26 grandchildren  and two great-grandchildren.

Her funeral took place at Andrews Seventh Day Adventist Church in Hope Road, Kingston on 9th November.

imikimi - Customize Your World

 Family and friends at Hortense's funeral

HORTENSE ELLIS ON MYSPACE

The Hortense Ellis MySpace is brand new as of November 2007.  It can be found at www.myspace.com/hortenseellisjm

Originally conceived as a simple offspring of this website, containing only a bio and a music player, I have found I am able to incorporate features into the MySpace that cannot successfully be installed on this site.  On the Hortense Ellis MySpace, you can find a slide show, along with blogs and also comments from fellow MySpace users.

When first creating this website, I didn't want to identify myself at all.  I didn't consider it necessary to do so as, in the context of this website, it is Hortense herself who is the star.  Therefore this site remains largely anonymous.  However, the "Blog" feature on the Hortense Ellis MySpace allows me to not only introduce myself and explain what I am doing, but also to share with readers a little of the immense love that I felt for Hortense.  Therefore, if you want to know exactly who is behind this website tribute to a wonderful talented lady, please head over to Hortense's MySpace.

Jim Obasa

FACEBOOK??

Unfortunately, it has not been possible to replicate the success of the Hortense Ellis MySpace Profile on Facebook.  This is due to Facebook's stubborn attitude in not permitting an individual to have a Facebook facility in another person's name.  Upon being informed that Hortense had in fact passed away seven years ago, they demanded to see a death certificate.  Whereas I knew Hortense as a close friend for 21 years and I remain a friend of the Ellis family, there is no reason on earth for me to have possession of or ever had in the past had possession of Hortense's death certificate.

Therefore, there is currently no Hortense Ellis presence on Facebook.

A varied selection of Hortense Ellis records

at www.musicstack.com

LINKS

www.top5jamaica.com

www.strictly-vibes.com

www.roots-archives.com

www.discogs.com/artist/Hortense+Ellis

www.elvisinfonet.com/cdreview_allshookup_reggae.html

www.reggaetrain.com

www.myspace.com/hortenseellisjm

NOTE: If you previously had a link on this page that is no longer visible, please contact me admin@hortense-ellis.com