It’s A Shame Alton Ellis 7 inch Vinyl

Description

Alton Ellis – It’s a Shame

Alton Ellis is considered the grandfather of rocksteady – the musical form following ska that had a brief two year heyday as a precursor of reggae. ‘It’s a Shame’ is a lament to the narrator’s partner generally messing him around and was originally written and produced by Stevie Wonder in a collaboration for The Spinners.

Ellis recorded his own, reggae influenced version in 1971 – a year after The Spinners original. The reggae treatment gives the song much more gravitas than the upbeat soul original, and the slower beat seems to give the simple yet sincere sentiments more time to be articulated and settle on the listener.