1938 Changsha fire and Alton Ellis: Difference between pages

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{{Infobox musical artist <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Musicians -->
[[Image:文夕大火6.jpg|right|thumb|Wenxi Fire]]
| Name = Alton Ellis O.D.
{{Unreferenced|date=April 2007}}
| Img =
The '''[[Changsha]] Fire of 1938''' (长沙大火), also known as '''Wenxi Fire''' (文夕大火), was the greatest human-caused city-wide fire that ever besieged [[China]]. It happened in 1938 during the [[Second Sino-Japanese War]]. The result of this fire made Changsha one of the most damaged cities during [[World War II]], alongside [[Stalingrad]], [[Hiroshima]] and [[Nagasaki, Nagasaki|Nagasaki]].
| Img_capt =
| Img_size =
| Landscape =
| Background = solo_singer
| Birth_name = Alton Neamiah Ellis
| Alias =
| Born = 1944<br />[[Kingston, Jamaica|Kingston]], [[Jamaica]]
| Died =
| Origin =
| Instrument = [[Vocals]]
| Voice_type =
| Genre = [[R&B]], [[ska]], [[rocksteady]], [[reggae]]
| Occupation = [[Singer-songwriter]]
| Years_active = 1959 – present
| Label = [[Studio One]], Treasure Isle, [[Trojan Records|Trojan]]
| Associated_acts =
| URL =
| Current_members =
| Past_members =
| Notable_instruments =
}}
'''Alton Ellis [[Order of Distinction|OD]]''' (born '''Alton Neamiah Ellis''', 1944 in [[Kingston, Jamaica]]) is a [[musician]] best known as one of the innovators of [[rocksteady]] music.<ref name="allmusic">[http://wc10.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:gifixqq5ldfe~T1 allmusic.com entry for Alton Ellis]</ref><ref>[http://zonareggae.wordpress.com/2007/04/13/zonareggae-reviews-many-moods-ofalton-ellis/ Zona Reggae review of "Many Moods of Alton Ellis"]</ref><ref name="bbctyne">[http://www.bbc.co.uk/tyne/roots/2004/01/altonellis.shtml BBC Tyne article]</ref> In 2006, he was inducted into the International Reggae And World Music Awards Hall Of Fame.


==Background==
==Career==
Ellis started his career in 1959 as part of the duo ''Alton & Eddie'' with [[Eddie Perkins (singer)|Eddie Perkins]].<ref name="Larkin">Larkin, Colin (1998) "The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae", Virgin Books, ISBN 0 7535 0242 9</ref> Ellis and Perkins recorded for [[Coxsone Dodd]] at [[Studio One (record label)|Studio One]], initially in the [[R&B]] style, having a massive hit with "Muriel", before Perkins moved to the [[United States]].<ref name="Larkin" /> Ellis continued to work for Dodd and also recorded for his arch-rival, [[Duke Reid]] on his Treasure Isle [[record label|label]].<ref name="Larkin" /> By the mid 1960s, [[ska]] was moving on and the beat was slowing down to [[rocksteady]] and becoming associated with the [[rude boy]] [[subculture]] in Jamaican [[dancehall]]s. Recording with a backing trio, The Flames (consisting of his brother Leslie Ellis, David "Baby G" Gordon and [[Winston Jarrett]]), Ellis scored big with the hits "Girl I've Got a Date", "Cry Tough" and "Get Ready - Rock Steady", which was the first song to refer to the name of the newer genre. As rocksteady dominated the Jamaican airwaves for the next two years, Ellis continued to score hits for Treasure Isle, working with artists such as [[Lloyd Charmers]], [[Phyllis Dillon]] and [[The Heptones]]. His ''Mr. Soul of Jamaica'' album is regarded as one of the definitive rocksteady albums.<ref name="Larkin" />


During the late 1960s and early 1970s, Ellis recorded for some of Jamaica's top producers, having two huge hits with [[Lloyd Daley]] in "Deliver Us" and "Back to Africa".<ref name="Larkin" /> Ellis had toured the [[United Kingdom]] in the 1960s with Studio One band the [[Soul Vendors]], and from 1972 he based himself in the UK.<ref name="Larkin" />
On [[October 25]], [[1938]], the city of [[Wuhan]] fell to the [[Empire of Japan]]. Soon after, a great number of refugees and injured soldiers, in addition to government institutions and factories, were relocated to Changsha. This caused a [[population boom]] in the city, and the number of residents jumped from 300,000 to more than 500,000. Though the city did prepare for this type of scenario for a long time, due to the limited transport capacity of Changsha, it still could not hold this amount of goods and people.


The "Mad Mad" [[riddim]], first [[sound recording and reproduction|recorded]] by Ellis in 1967 would later be recycled in more than one hundred other [[song]]s. The instantly recognizable three-note descending horn line was reinterpreted by [[Henry "Junjo" Lawes]] and eventually became known widely as the "Diseases" [[reggae]] riddim. "Diseases" is notably utilized in [[Yellowman]]'s [[hit record|hit]] song ""Zungguzungguguzungguzeng", which has in turn has been [[sampling (music)|sampled]] and reinterpreted by a long list of popular [[hip hop]] artists including [[KRS One]], [[The Notorious B.I.G.]], [[Tupac Shakur]] and [[Blackstar]]. This constant reinterpretation and referencing has made Ellis a major but little-known influence in the trajectory of dancehall, reggae and hip hop.<ref>{{cite paper|first=Marshall|last=Wayne|title="Mad Mad" Migration: Caribbean Circulation and the Movement of Jamaican Rhythm|url=http://www.wayneandwax.com/academic/mad-mad-paper.html|date=2004-03-11|accessdate=2008-02-01}}</ref>
On October 8, [[Imperial Japanese Army|Japanese invader]]s entered northern [[Hunan]]. On the 11th, [[Yueyang]] fell. Soon, Chinese and Japanese armies faced off along [[Xinqiang River]] just outside of Changsha. The situation in the city became increasingly tense. Because of a lack of confidence in withholding the city, [[Chiang Kai-shek]] decided to burn the entire city. It was reasoned that with the city burned to the ground, Japan would gain nothing even if it chooses to forcefully enter it. On November 10 (some say the 12th), chairman of the Hunan government, Zhang Zhizhong, passed Chiang's idea to his subordinates in a meeting. An arson team was immediately organized. The team was dispatched to every corner of the city and was ordered to set the fire once a signal fire were set off on the top of Tianxin Building in the southwest of Changsha.


Ellis continued to be active on the reggae scene until his health began to deteriorate.<ref name="Taylor">Taylor, Angus (2006) "[http://www.reggaenews.co.uk/concert_reviews/alton_ellis.asp Alton Ellis @ The Jazz Cafe 5th January 2006]", Reggae News</ref> In December 2007, he was admitted to hospital in [[London]] for treatment of cancer of the [[Lymphatic system|lymph]] glands.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/lifestyle/html/20071215T150000-0500_130425_OBS_SAY_A_PRAYER_FOR__THE_GODFATHER_OF_ROCKSTEADY__.asp|title=Say a prayer for 'The Godfather of Rocksteady'|last=Walters|first=Basil|publisher=The Jamaica Observer|date=2007-12-16|accessdate=2007-12-26}}</ref>
==Events==


He is the younger brother of the late [[Hortense Ellis]], and the father of Noel Ellis and Christopher Ellis, who are both reggae singers.
At around 2 o'clock in the morning of [[November 13]], [[1938]], there was a fire in a military hospital just outside of the South Gate (to this day, it remains a mystery whether the fire was a signal or an accident). The arson team took it as a signal and started to set the fire. The burning lasted for five days. At the end of it, historical antiques more than 2500 years old suddenly became ashes. City residents tried their best to escape, resulting in a severe boat accident at a river ford on the [[Xiang River]].


==Damage==
==Albums==
* ''Mr Soul Of Jamaica'' (1967) Treasure Isle
* ''Sings Rock and Soul'' (1967) Studio One
* ''The Best Of'' (1969) Coxsone
* ''Sunday Coming'' (1970) Coxsone
* ''Greatest Hits'' (1973) Count Shelly also released as ''Cry Tough''
* ''Still In Love'' (1977) [[Trojan Records|Horse]]
* ''A Love To Share'' (1979) Third World
* ''Showcase'' (1984) Studio One
* ''Slummin''' (198?) Abraham
* ''Mr Ska Bean'a'' (1981) Cha Cha (Alton Ellis & The Heptones)
* ''A New Day'' (1983) Body Music
* ''Daydreaming'' (1983) Silver Camel
* ''25th Silver Jubilee'' (1984) Sky Note
* ''Continuation'' (1985) All Tone
* ''Jubilee Volume 2'' (1985) Sky Note
* ''Change My Mind'' (2000) Orchard
* ''More Alton Ellis'' (2001) T.P.
* ''Live With Aspo'' Belle


;With Hortense Ellis:
More than 3000 people lost their lives during the fire. Over 90%, or 56,000, of the buildings were burned. The fire cost a total economic loss of 1 billion dollars, which account to 43% of the total output of the city. Government institutions that were destroyed include the provincial government headquarter, buildings housing the bureaus of civil affairs, construction, police, army mobilizations, security, telegraph, telephone, post as well as the courts, [[Kuomintang]] branches, chamber of commerce, central news agency, central radio station and several newspaper offices. More than 31 schools including the [[University of Hunan]] were also burned down. Banks destroyed include the [[Bank of Hunan]], [[Bank of Shanghai]], [[Jiaotong Bank]] and [[Bank of China]]. More than 40 factories were burned. The one that suffered the most was the First Textiles Factory of Hunan. The damage to this factory include $270,000 loss due to burned workshops; $960,000 to raw materials; $600,000 to machinery. Of the 190 rice mills and storage buildings, only 12 and half survived the fire. More than $2 million, or about 80% of the total, were lost in the silk industry. 40 Hunan [[embroidery]] factories were completely destroyed. Except for the Xiangya Hospital, every hospital in Changsha was burned to ground.
* ''Alton & Hortense Ellis At Studio 1'' (1990) [[Heartbeat Records|Heartbeat]]


;Compilations:
Later Chinese leaders such as [[Zhou Enlai]] and [[Ye Jianying]] were also present during the fire. A verbal description of the fire was written by [[Guo Moruo]], who also happened to be in Changsha during the fire.


* ''All My Tears'' (1965-68) (2006) Brook
==Aftermath==
* ''Alton Ellis Sings, Heptones Harmonise'' [[Jet Star]] (Alton Ellis & [[The Heptones]] - 1978-80)
* ''Arise Black Man'' (1968-78) Moll Selekta
* ''Be True To Yourself'' (196X-7X) (2004) Trojan
* ''Get Ready For Rock Reggae Steady'' (1967-74) (1999) Jamaican Gold
* ''Many Moods Of Alton Ellis'' (1978-80) (1980) Tele-Tech
* ''My Time Is The Right Time'' (1966-71) (2000) Westside
* ''Reggae Valley Of Decision'' (197X) (1996) House of Reggae
* ''Soul Groover'' (1997) [[Trojan Records|Trojan]]
* ''Reggae Max'' (1997) Jet Star
* ''The Duke Reid Collection'' (1999) Rhino
* ''Soul of Jamaica'' (2001) Bianco
* ''It Hurts Me So'' (2006) Essential Gold
* ''Reggae Chronicles'' (2006) Hallmark
* ''Muriel'' (2007) All Tone


==References==
In Chinese, the [[Chinese character|character]] for 'wen' in the term 'Wenxi Fire' refers to the telegraph abbreviation code for the day of the month, whereas 'xi' (meaning 'night') refers to the time of the fire.
{{reflist}}


==External links==
On November 18, in order to calm popular rage over the fire, Chiang Kai-shek ordered the executions of three accused in the case. Zhang Zhizhong, the chairman of the Hunan government, also subsequently resigned. They became the scapegoats for the incident.
*{{MySpace|altonellisod}}

*[http://www.roots-archives.com/artist/87 Alton Ellis at Roots Archives]
On November 19, on the ruins of Changsha, food markets returned. But this time, there were 5 people selling meat and vegetable.
*"[http://www.firecorner.com/magazine/boomshak/index.html Sleepy Meets Mr. Soul at Ladbroke Grove]" - interview with Alton Ellis and [[Horace Andy]] by Lol Bell-Brown and Mark Ottignon

*[http://www.rebelbase.be/index.php?page=54&interview_column=76 Rebel Base interview]
The Bell Tower and the Xiangya Hospital, which survived the carnage, became the living witnesses to the fire.

Chiang's fear proved wrong. The city repulsed three separate attacks against Japanese in [[Battle of Changsha (1939)|1939]], [[Battle of Changsha (1941)|1941]] and [[Battle of Changsha (1942)|1942]]. The city did not fall until 1944 to the Japanese in the [[Battle of Changsha (1944)|fourth battle of Changsha]] although by that time the city no longer hold strategic importance.

In July 2005, the first memorial commemorating the event in Changsha, a memorial wall on an old lamp company site, was built. The memorial wall is located on the bank of the [[Xiang River]]. In the same year, there was also erected a huge alarm clock carving as a tribute to the fire.

==Lost history==

Prior to the fire, Changsha was China's only city that has not shifted its location over a 2000 year period. The fire, however, annihilated all the cultural accumulations that the city retains since the [[Spring and Autumn]] period. Ground historical treasures were completely wiped out, causing an immeasurable damage to archaeological studies.

==References==
<references/>
"1938 China." MSN encarta. 6 Jan. 2007. msn. 15 Feb. 2008 <http://encarta.msn.com/sidebar_461500174/1938_China.html>.


{{DEFAULTSORT:Changsha Fire 1938}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellis, Alton}}
[[Category:Second Sino-Japanese War]]
[[Category:1944 births]]
[[Category:Man-made disasters]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:War crimes in China]]
[[Category:Rocksteady musicians]]
[[Category:20th century fires]]
[[Category:Jamaican musicians]]
[[Category:Fires in China]]
[[Category:1938 in China]]
[[Category:History of Changsha]]


[[ja:長沙大火]]
[[fr:Alton Ellis]]
[[he:אלטון אליס]]
[[zh:文夕大火]]
[[ht:Alton Ellis]]
[[pl:Alton Ellis]]

Revision as of 22:18, 10 October 2008

Alton Ellis

Alton Ellis OD (born Alton Neamiah Ellis, 1944 in Kingston, Jamaica) is a musician best known as one of the innovators of rocksteady music.[1][2][3] In 2006, he was inducted into the International Reggae And World Music Awards Hall Of Fame.

Career

Ellis started his career in 1959 as part of the duo Alton & Eddie with Eddie Perkins.[4] Ellis and Perkins recorded for Coxsone Dodd at Studio One, initially in the R&B style, having a massive hit with "Muriel", before Perkins moved to the United States.[4] Ellis continued to work for Dodd and also recorded for his arch-rival, Duke Reid on his Treasure Isle label.[4] By the mid 1960s, ska was moving on and the beat was slowing down to rocksteady and becoming associated with the rude boy subculture in Jamaican dancehalls. Recording with a backing trio, The Flames (consisting of his brother Leslie Ellis, David "Baby G" Gordon and Winston Jarrett), Ellis scored big with the hits "Girl I've Got a Date", "Cry Tough" and "Get Ready - Rock Steady", which was the first song to refer to the name of the newer genre. As rocksteady dominated the Jamaican airwaves for the next two years, Ellis continued to score hits for Treasure Isle, working with artists such as Lloyd Charmers, Phyllis Dillon and The Heptones. His Mr. Soul of Jamaica album is regarded as one of the definitive rocksteady albums.[4]

During the late 1960s and early 1970s, Ellis recorded for some of Jamaica's top producers, having two huge hits with Lloyd Daley in "Deliver Us" and "Back to Africa".[4] Ellis had toured the United Kingdom in the 1960s with Studio One band the Soul Vendors, and from 1972 he based himself in the UK.[4]

The "Mad Mad" riddim, first recorded by Ellis in 1967 would later be recycled in more than one hundred other songs. The instantly recognizable three-note descending horn line was reinterpreted by Henry "Junjo" Lawes and eventually became known widely as the "Diseases" reggae riddim. "Diseases" is notably utilized in Yellowman's hit song ""Zungguzungguguzungguzeng", which has in turn has been sampled and reinterpreted by a long list of popular hip hop artists including KRS One, The Notorious B.I.G., Tupac Shakur and Blackstar. This constant reinterpretation and referencing has made Ellis a major but little-known influence in the trajectory of dancehall, reggae and hip hop.[5]

Ellis continued to be active on the reggae scene until his health began to deteriorate.[6] In December 2007, he was admitted to hospital in London for treatment of cancer of the lymph glands.[7]

He is the younger brother of the late Hortense Ellis, and the father of Noel Ellis and Christopher Ellis, who are both reggae singers.

Albums

  • Mr Soul Of Jamaica (1967) Treasure Isle
  • Sings Rock and Soul (1967) Studio One
  • The Best Of (1969) Coxsone
  • Sunday Coming (1970) Coxsone
  • Greatest Hits (1973) Count Shelly also released as Cry Tough
  • Still In Love (1977) Horse
  • A Love To Share (1979) Third World
  • Showcase (1984) Studio One
  • Slummin' (198?) Abraham
  • Mr Ska Bean'a (1981) Cha Cha (Alton Ellis & The Heptones)
  • A New Day (1983) Body Music
  • Daydreaming (1983) Silver Camel
  • 25th Silver Jubilee (1984) Sky Note
  • Continuation (1985) All Tone
  • Jubilee Volume 2 (1985) Sky Note
  • Change My Mind (2000) Orchard
  • More Alton Ellis (2001) T.P.
  • Live With Aspo Belle
With Hortense Ellis
  • Alton & Hortense Ellis At Studio 1 (1990) Heartbeat
Compilations
  • All My Tears (1965-68) (2006) Brook
  • Alton Ellis Sings, Heptones Harmonise Jet Star (Alton Ellis & The Heptones - 1978-80)
  • Arise Black Man (1968-78) Moll Selekta
  • Be True To Yourself (196X-7X) (2004) Trojan
  • Get Ready For Rock Reggae Steady (1967-74) (1999) Jamaican Gold
  • Many Moods Of Alton Ellis (1978-80) (1980) Tele-Tech
  • My Time Is The Right Time (1966-71) (2000) Westside
  • Reggae Valley Of Decision (197X) (1996) House of Reggae
  • Soul Groover (1997) Trojan
  • Reggae Max (1997) Jet Star
  • The Duke Reid Collection (1999) Rhino
  • Soul of Jamaica (2001) Bianco
  • It Hurts Me So (2006) Essential Gold
  • Reggae Chronicles (2006) Hallmark
  • Muriel (2007) All Tone

References

  1. ^ allmusic.com entry for Alton Ellis
  2. ^ Zona Reggae review of "Many Moods of Alton Ellis"
  3. ^ BBC Tyne article
  4. ^ a b c d e f Larkin, Colin (1998) "The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae", Virgin Books, ISBN 0 7535 0242 9
  5. ^ Wayne, Marshall (2004-03-11). ""Mad Mad" Migration: Caribbean Circulation and the Movement of Jamaican Rhythm". Retrieved 2008-02-01. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  6. ^ Taylor, Angus (2006) "Alton Ellis @ The Jazz Cafe 5th January 2006", Reggae News
  7. ^ Walters, Basil (2007-12-16). "Say a prayer for 'The Godfather of Rocksteady'". The Jamaica Observer. Retrieved 2007-12-26.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1938_Changsha_fire&oldid=244458790"