ALTON LOSING THE FIGHT?

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From the Jamaica Star


ALTON LOSING CANCER BATTLE - Family says hospitalised singer not doing well



Family members of legendary reggae/rocksteady singer, Alton Ellis, say the singer, who has been battling cancer for several months, is not doing well.

Speaking with The Star last night from the United Kingdom, Clive Ellis, one of Alton's sons, revealed that the family was not very optimistic as it relates to Alton surviving the fight with the disease. "We can't say we are hoping for the best in this situation. The family is looking for the worst," Clive said regretfully. "He is gasping for air. He is not talking, he is not moving, I don't think he is going to come out on top of this fight." Clive said the family was still trying to keep strong in these difficult times.

He said his father has been in the hospital for a number of weeks, battling lymphatic cancer. Rumours started circulating yesterday that Alton Ellis had died. However, family members dispelled the gossip. Clive noted: "He (Alton) isn't gone, he is still here. I'm actually in the hospital now, he is very weak, but he is not gone (dead)."

Alton Ellis, a father of 15 children, came to the fore of Jamaican music in the 1950s and has since made his mark with hits such as Cry Tough and Girl I've Got A Date among others.

The vocalist's first wife, Pearl, and his sister, Hortense, both died on October 19, in 2005 and 2000, respectively.

Tragedy also struck the Ellis family earlier this year when Alton's sister, Veronica Ellis, was brutally murdered just before Mother's Day, along with her teenage grandson.

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From Jamaica Observer

A year ago, pioneer Jamaica singer/songwriter Alton Ellis, was admitted to London hospital where he was undergoing treatment for cancer of the lymph glands. After this newspaper carried the story with the headline, "Say a prayer for the Godfather of rocksteady," his amazing recovery was celebrated with two memorable performances in Jamaica in June of this year.

However, at press time, his condition has deteriorated to the point that rumours are swirling far and wide that the veteran entertainer has made his exit from this life. Such is the state of the health of rocksteady's best crooner, that in recent days family members have been so overwhelmed with panic and anxiety, it has given rise to rumours across countries that he has died.

"There are a lot of rumours going around, but let your readers know that he (my father) is not dead. He is deteriorating all the time, so we his kids and family are staying by him," Clive Ellis, son of Alton Ellis, told the Observer from the hospital in London at the time of writing.

And Owen "Blacka" Ellis said that his uncle Alton was not talking or moving, and this cast a shadow over his prospect for survival that led to the spate of rumours that he had undergone the worst. The undisputed Godfather of rocksteady, Alton Ellis' performances were always legendary, always commanding attention, and in this his most challenging experience ever, is no different.

A supremely gifted artiste whose professional career is marked by his ability to take rhyhtm and blues/souls songs, popular or obscured, and turned them into reggae hits, rather than just another cover version. One can't help but wonder if Alton Ellis, in his heyday, was scripting the soundtrack for the phase he is now going through.

In this moment of sombre contemplation there are songs in which he could take comfort, in reflections. Songs evoking memories of his two most recent performances in Jamaica like Can't Stop Now, Girl I've Got A Date, Too Late to Turn Back Now, Cry Tough, The Feeling Inside, Can I Change My Mind and Still Trying.

And anyone who attended his Get Ready to Rock Steady concerts in June put on by the Ministry of Information, Culture, Youth and Sports at the National Indoor Sport Centre, as well as Comedy Rock Steady staged by his family organisation Ellis International at The Roof of the Portmore Pines Plaza, would have had an experience to cherish forever.