The Ethiopians

by Steve HueyEssentially a mouthpiece for singer and songwriter Leonard Dillon, the Ethiopians were one of Jamaicas most influential vocal groups during their heyday. Not only did the duo (completed by Stephen Taylor) spearhead the transition between ska and rocksteady, Dillons heavily Rastafarian lyrics also paved the way for the socially conscious roots reggae era that was to come. Born in Port Antonio in 1942, Dillon grew up in a Christian family and discovered music through their church. Having written some original songs, he moved to Kingston in 1963; finding the going difficult, he returned home for a time to regroup, but made the move back to Kingston permanently in 1964. Not long after, he met Peter Tosh, who liked his original material and introduced Dillon to the rest of the Wailers. The Wailers in turn brought Dillon to Clement Coxsone Dodds Studio One, where Dillon made his first recordings under the name Jack Sparrow. Two Sparrow singles, Ice Water and Suffering on the Land, were both released in 1965.Around the same time, Dillon discovered a street-corner singing duo consisting of Taylor and singer/guitarist Aston Morris. At first, he invited them to sing backup for him, then decided to form a full-fledged group dubbed the Ethiopians. Together they cut several excellent singles for Studio One in 1966, including Free Man, Live Good, and the ska/rocksteady-bridging Owe Me No Pay Me. Morris, a songwriter in his own right, elected to leave the group by the end of 1966, reducing the Ethiopians to a duo. Meanwhile, Dillon was working a day job in construction and met another singer there named Albert Griffiths (who would later found the Gladiators). Together they convinced their boss to finance a recording session, and the result for the Ethiopians was the breakthrough smash hit Train to Skaville, which even managed to scrape the lower reaches of the U.K. Top 40.With this success under their belt, the Ethiopians recorded prolifically over the remainder of 1967, cutting hits like Engine 54, Train to Glory, Stay Loose Mama, and another big smash in the percussion-driven The Whip; all but the former were recorded for rocksteady producer Sonia Pottinger, and they also worked a bit with Lee Scratch Perry. 1968 saw the release of their first LP, Engine 54, and the arrival of a semiofficial third vocalist, Melvin Reid. Toward the end of that year, the group teamed with producer Carl Sir J.J. Johnson in what would become their most celebrated association. Their first hit for Johnson was the proto-reggae Everything Crash, a socially conscious, rhythmically jerky juggernaut that became arguably the groups signature tune. Through 1970, Johnson and the Ethiopians collaborated on numerous other groundbreaking hits, including What a Fire, Gun Man, Hong Kong Flu, Woman Capture Man (the title track of their third LP), and The Selah, all of which helped keep them popular in the U.K. as well as Jamaica.The restless Dillon subsequently moved the Ethiopians to a succession of other labels and producers; over 1969-1971, they recorded popular material for Harry Robinson (Fire a Mus Mus Tail), Lloyd Daley (Satan Girl), Derrick Harriott (Lots Wife, No Baptism), and Duke Reid (Good Ambition, Pirate). As the group evolved into a rootsier reggae outfit over the next few years, all the producer-hopping grew even more frantic over the next several years, with Vincent Chin, Prince Buster, Joe Gibbs, Bob Andy, and Rupie Edwards numbering just some of the groups collaborators. Part of the reason was that Dillon hadnt been receiving his fair share of past royalties and was forced to record constantly just to make money. Reid left for good in 1974, by which time Dillon and Taylor had taken day jobs once again. Sadly, Taylors day job would turn into tragedy in September 1975: he was working at a gas station when he was killed by a van while crossing the street.Taylors untimely death effectively spelled the end of the Ethiopians golden age. Dillon, understandably distraught, took a hiatus from music for a time, returning home to Port Antonio for two years. Eventually, he contacted charter member Aston Morris and revived the Ethiopians name, cutting the rootsy, political album Slave Call in 1977 with producer Winston Niney Holness. Dillon toured off and on under the Ethiopians name afterwards, sometimes with Harold Bishop and Neville Duncan, and recorded occasionally as a solo act in the 80s and 90s. Toward the end of the millennium, he formed a new Ethiopians lineup with female backing vocalists Jennifer Lara and Merlene Webber, who appeared on the 1999 album Tuffer Than Stone.