Lorraine Ellison

Lorraine Ellison (March 17, 1931 – January 31, 1983)[1] was an American soul singer and songwriter known for her recording of the song "Stay with Me"[2] (sometimes known as "Stay With Me Baby") in 1966.

Lorraine Ellison
Background information
Birth nameMarybelle Luraine Ellison
Born(1931-03-17)March 17, 1931
Philadelphia, United States
DiedJanuary 31, 1983(1983-01-31) (aged 51)[1]
GenresSoul, R&B
Occupation(s)Singer, songwriter
InstrumentsVocals
Years active1964–1976
LabelsMercury Records
Warner Bros. Records
Loma Records

Life and career

Born Marybelle Luraine Ellison,[3] in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Ellison originally sang gospel music, working in the groups the Ellison Singers and the Golden Chords in the early 1960s. She switched to the R&B genre in 1964 and her first release was a chart entry, "I Dig You Baby" in 1965 [4] on Mercury Records, which reached No. 22 on the US Billboard R&B chart.

After another unsuccessful single with Mercury, she signed with Warner Bros. Records, and in 1966 recorded "Stay with Me" at a last-minute booking, following a studio cancellation by Frank Sinatra.[5] "Stay with Me" reached number 11 in the U.S. Billboard R&B chart and number 64 in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song was produced and written by Jerry Ragovoy. Some of her later single releases were on Warner's subsidiary soul music record label, Loma Records.[6] "Stay with Me" would become her signature song.[7] Her follow-up single was "Heart Be Still" a minor hit in 1967.[8] Ellison also recorded "Try (Just a Little Bit Harder)", a song later covered to more success by Janis Joplin.[6] Peter Jones of Record Mirror rated Ellison's "Try (Just a Little Bit Harder)" 4/5 stars, writing, 'Soul-filled ballad here, intense vocals from Lorraine and the femme vocal group. Intense but same-y'.[9]

Ellison composed some of her own songs (by herself and with manager and later husband, Sam Bell, who was lead singer of soul vocal group, The Enchanters).[10] She had her own compositions recorded by several other artists, including Jerry Butler, Garnet Mimms, Howard Tate and Dee Dee Warwick.[10] After leaving Warner, she recorded at least two unissued tracks for the then fast-growing Philadelphia International label in her hometown.

Twice-married and using the surname Gonzalez-Keys, Lorraine Ellison gave up the music business to take care of her mother, but continued to sing in church. Ellison died in January 1983 from ovarian cancer at the age of 51.[11]

Discography

Studio albums
List of albums, with selected details
Title Album details[12]
Heart & Soul
Stay with Me
Lorraine Ellison

Compilation albums
List of albums, with selected details
Title Album details
The Best of Philadelphia's Queen
Stay with Me: The Best of Lorraine Ellison
Sister Love: The Warner Bros. Recordings

Singles
List of singles as a band member, with selected chart positions, sales figures and certifications
Title[25] Year Artist Album
"Open Up Your Heart" 1963 Lorraine Ellison and the Ellison Singers Non-album single
List of singles as a lead artist, with selected chart positions, sales figures and certifications
Title[12][26] Year Chart positions Album
US
[27]		 US
R&B
/HH
[28]		 CAN
[29]		 UK
[30]		 UK
R&B
[31]
"I Dig You Baby" 1965 10322——— Non-album single
"Call Me Anytime You Need Some Lovin'" 1966 ————— Non-album single
"Stay with Me" 641158568 Heart & Soul
"A Good Love" 131———— Stay with Me
"If I Had a Hammer" 1967 ————— Heart & Soul
"No Matter How It All Turns Out" ————— Stay with Me
"Heart Be Still" 8943———
"I Want To Be Loved" —————
"Try (Just A Little Bit Harder)" 1968 —————
"Only Your Love" 1969 —————
"Stay with Me"[upper-alpha 1] 1970 —————
"You've Really Got A Hold On Me" ————— Lorraine Ellison
"Many Rivers to Cross" 1973 —————
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released.
  • Notes
  1. US and Germany re-issue.[32][33]

References
  1. The Dead Rock Stars Club – The 1980s Archived September 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  2. Joel Whitburn, Top Pop Singles 1955–2002, 2003, ISBN 0-89820-155-1
  3. Users.fortress.com Archived September 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  4. Hogan, Ed (August 17, 1985). "Lorraine Ellison at Allmusic". AllMusic. Retrieved May 8, 2010.
  5. "Songfacts.com". Songfacts.com. Retrieved May 8, 2010.
  6. "Loma Records discography". Lomarecords.com. Retrieved May 8, 2010.
  7. Hogan, Ed (2003). "'Lorraine Ellison' biography". In Vladimir Bogdanov; John Bush; Chris Woodstra; Stephen Thomas Erlewine (eds.). All Music Guide to Soul: The Definitive Guide to R&B and Soul. San Francisco: Backbeat Books. p. 223. ISBN 0-87930-744-7. LCCN 2003052270.
  8. "Allmusic.com". AllMusic. August 17, 1985. Retrieved May 8, 2010.
  9. Jones, Peter (June 22, 1968). "YOUR GUIDE TO THIS WEEK'S NEW SINGLES" (PDF). Record Mirror. p. 9. Retrieved October 31, 2021 – via worldradiohistory.com.
  10. Colin Larkin, ed. (1993). The Guinness Who's Who of Soul Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 80. ISBN 0-85112-733-9.
  11. Moon, Tom. "Npr.org/templates". NPR. Retrieved May 8, 2010.
  12. "Lorraine Ellison Discography at Discogs". discogs. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  13. "Lorraine Ellison – Heart & Soul". AllMusic. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  14. "Lorraine Ellison – Stay with Me (Vinyl, LP, Album, Stereo)". discogs. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  15. "Lorraine Ellison – Stay with Me". AllMusic. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  16. "Lorraine Ellison – Stay with Me (Vinyl, LP, Stereo)". discogs. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  17. "Lorraine Ellison – Lorraine Ellison". AllMusic. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  18. "Lorraine Ellison – Lorraine Ellison (Vinyl, LP)". discogs. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  19. "Lorraine Ellison – The Best Of Lorraine Ellison – Philadelphia's Queen Of Soul (Vinyl, LP, Compilation, Album)". discogs. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  20. "Stay with Me: The Best of Lorraine Ellison – Lorraine Ellison". AllMusic. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  21. "Lorraine Ellison – Stay With Me / The Best of Lorraine Ellison (CD, Compilation)". discogs. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  22. Thomas Erlewine, Stephen. "Sister Love: The Warner Bros. Recordings – Lorraine Ellison". AllMusic. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  23. "Lorraine Ellison – Sister Love: The Warner Bros. Recordings (CD, Compilation, Limited Edition, Numbered)". discogs. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  24. "Sister Love: The Warner Bros. Recordings by Lorraine Ellison on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  25. "Lorraine Ellison and the Ellison Singers – Discography – USA". 45cat. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  26. "Lorraine Ellison Discography – USA – 45cat". 45cat. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  28. "Lorraine Ellison Album & Chart History (R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 19, 2018. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  29. "Results: RPM Weekly – Library and Archives Canada". RPM. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  32. "=45cat – Lorraine Ellison – Stay With Me / Try (Just A Little Bit Harder) – Warner Bros. – USA – 7361". 45cat. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  33. "=45cat – Lorraine Ellison – Stay With Me / Try (Just A Little Bit Harder) – Warner Bros. – Germany – A 7361". 45cat. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
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