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Roy Ellis

Published on Oct 23, 2024

Roy Ellis

First let me introduce myself!
My name is Roy Ellis, now also known as Mr. Symarip.
Making my first recording way back in1962, been young and ambitious trying to get in the music business…

I met a guy called Sonny Burke, he was a singer and saxophone player and producer. He was always looking for young talent at that time, so I went to him to introduce my self to him. I remember this time very very clearly. It was in December 1962 just a few days before Christmas. He asked me to sing a song so that he could hear my voice without backing music. In this time Ska music had just reached England. I asked him what should I sing? and he said, any song that you know. I began to tremble, then I asked him just like that without backing? and he said yes, if you want to be a singer you should able to sing without backing music. So been it was geting near to Christmas, I sang the christmas song ‘Jingle Bells’ and play a Ska rhythm with my mouth, while I was singing then. He and his friends began to laugh, I got very embarrass not knowing that they meant it well. So I kept on singing and playing the rhythm, and they all started dancing and claping their hands, then when I stoped singing, he looked at me and said: “boy yo good no blud clat” (I’ve never seen something like this before). Then I was very happy, he asked me “do you have any songs that you wrote?”, I said no “not yet!”, he said to me, “if you can write or come up with some good idea, I could record you” (at this time not knowing that he was a thief).
Well I tried to write some songs. I came with three titles that I wrote:

1. I Don’t Want You Anymore (ska)
2. Everyday You Got Me Crying Girl (ska)
3. Mr.Wang (ska instrumental)

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