The issue of black pride was on Brown’s mind in those months. “Just another day in the office,” says Ellis, deadpan. The day after King’s murder, following a night of riots, Brown played the Boston Garden and was hailed for helping maintain calm in the city. “Say It Loud (I’m Black and I’m Proud)” was created in the volatile aftermath of the assassination of civil rights leader Dr Martin Luther King in April 1968. Ellis is now credited as “the man who invented funk”, with his innovative arrangements inspiring scores of musicians, including George Clinton and Sly Stone.Įnjoy unlimited access to 70 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music Sign up now for a 30-day free trial Sign up I could tell you, but then I would have to kill you.”Īfter working throughout America as a musician and bandleader, Ellis had his big career break in 1965, when he hooked up with soul singer Brown and forged a partnership whose dynamic sound revolutionised soul and R&B music, and transformed pop, too. Studying with Sonny was amazing.” Can he remember any of the advice Rollins gave him? “Yes I can…” he replies, very slowly, with a cackle, “but I’m not telling you. I was earning $90 a week at The Pythodd Club in Rochester and the flight was $55. Every Wednesday, I would go to the airport and fly upstate to meet Sonny in New York, have a lesson and then fly back. “We went around the corner to the studio and I spent a couple of hours soaking up every word. “I don’t know what possessed me to think it was OK to ask Sonny to teach me, but he was very forthcoming and generous,” says Ellis.
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January 2023
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