LORRAINE ELLISON

Lorraine Ellison recorded her biggest hit at a session meant for Frank Sinatra.

She was born Marybelle Luraine Ellison in Philadelphia on March 17, 1931. Like so many other soul artists, she got her start in gospel music. In Ellison’s case, she belonged to the Golden Chords, the Slyvania Singers, and the Ellison Singers. It was with the latter group that she recorded her first two singles, “In the Upper Room” / “He’s Holding Me” (1962) and “Open Up Your Heart” / “This Is the Day” (1963).

By 1964, Ellison had switched over to soul music. She signed with Mercury Records and made the Rhythm & Blues chart with 1965’s “I Dig You Baby.” After a second, unsuccessful Mercury release, Ellison moved on to Loma, the R&B subsidiary of Warner Brothers. When Frank Sinatra canceled a recording session at the last minute, leaving an orchestra with nothing to do, Warners called on Ellison to do the session instead. The resulting single, “Stay With Me,” featured a bellowing, melismatic performance by Ellison that rendered producer Jerry Ragovoy, the recording engineer, and the full orchestra awestruck.

“Stay With Me” peaked at #11 on the Billboard R&B chart and topped out at #64 pop. Its relative lack of success had nothing to do with the quality of the single. Rather, it was due to Warner Brothers being a pop label that did not know how to market to the soul audience. That also accounts for just one more of Ellison’s subsequent releases doing anything on the charts, despite many fine recordings. (Janis Joplin was impressed enough with Ellison’s “Try Just a Little Bit Harder,” that she recorded her own version.) By late 1968, Warners had discontinued the Loma imprint.

Ellison wrote a number of her own songs and had some of her works recorded by other artists—including Jerry Butler, Garnet Mimms, Howard Tate, and Dee Dee Warwick. She co-wrote some songs with her manager (and later husband) Sam Bell, who sang with Mimms’ group, the Enchanters.

Twice-married and using the surname Gonzalez-Keys, Lorraine Ellison eventually left the music business to take care of her ailing mother. She continued to sing, but only in church. Lorraine Ellison died on January 31, 1983, of ovarian cancer at age fifty-one.

Rock critic Dave Marsh included “Stay With Me” in his 1989 book, The Heart of Rock and Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made.

Charted singles:

“I Dig You Baby” (1965) R&B #22, Pop #103
“Stay With Me” (1966) R&B #11, Pop #64
“A Good Love” (1966) Pop #131
“Heart Be Still” (1967) R&B #43, Pop #89

Other notable recordings by Lorraine Ellison include “No Matter How It All Turns Out,” “Heart Be Still,” “I Want to Be Loved,” “Try (Just a Little Bit Harder),” and “Only Your Love.”