Ray Ellington
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| Ray Ellington | ||
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 Ray Ellington
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| Background information | ||
| Birth name | Harry Pitts Brown | |
| Born | March 17, 1916 | |
| Origin |  England |
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| Died | February 28, 1985 age 68 England |
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| Genre(s) | Jazz, blues | |
| Occupation(s) | singer, drummer, bandleader | |
| Instrument(s) | drums | |
| Years active | 1950s-? | |
Ray Ellington (born Harry Pitts Brown March 17, 1916, died February 28, 1985) was a popular English singer, drummer and bandleader. He is best known for his appearances on The Goon Show from 1951 to 1960. The Ray Ellington Quartet had a regular musical segment on the show, and Ellington also had a small speaking role in many episodes, often as a parodic African, Native American or Arab chieftain (but also often, with no attempt to change his normal Black accent, as a female secretary or a Scotsman).
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[edit] Early life
Ellington was born at 155 Kennington Road, Kennington, London, the youngest of four children. His father was Harry Pitts Brown (c.1877–1920), an African American music-hall comedian and entertainer, and his mother was Eva Stenkell Rosenthal (b. c.1879), a Russian Jewess. His father died when Brown was four years old. He was brought up as a strictly Orthodox Jew. He attended South London Jewish School (1924–30), before entering show business at the age of twelve, when he appeared in an acting role on the London stage.
[edit] Musical style
Ellington specialised in jazz but experimented with many other genres throughout the show's history and his musical style was heavily influenced by the comedic jump blues of Louis Jordan. Ellington's band was one of the first in the UK to feature the stripped-back guitar/bass/drums/piano format that became the basis of rock'n'roll, as well as being one of the first groups in Britain to prominently feature the electric guitar. They were also reputedly the very first jazz band in the UK to use an amplified bass.
Early in the show's run, there were many jokes linking Ellington to the African nation of Ghana, thus leading Ellington to say that he came from Ghana. In truth, Ellington was born to a Russian Jewish mother and an African-American father in England.[1]
Ray's son Lance Ellington is a singer who has recorded several jazz orientated albums. Lance has also appeared in tributes to Peter Sellers and in the movie The Life and Death of Peter Sellers, where he played his father. In May, 2001, Lance took part in "Goon Again", a 50th anniversary celebration of the Goon Show.
[edit] References
- ^ Ray Ellington. The Goon Characters. Goon Show Preservation Society (2006). Retrieved on 2007-03-18.
[edit] External links
- Ray Ellington at the Internet Movie Database
- The Spike Milligan Tribute Site
- The Spike Milligan Appreciation Society
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This biographical article about a British singer is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
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| The Goons | Michael Bentine • Spike Milligan • Harry Secombe • Peter Sellers |
| Other Contributors | Ray Ellington • Max Geldray • Wallace Greenslade • Dennis Main Wilson • Larry Stephens • Wally Stott • Eric Sykes • Andrew Timothy |
| Radio and TV Series | The Goon Show • The Telegoons |
| Films | Let's Go Crazy • Penny Points to Paradise • Down Among the Z Men • The Case of the Mukkinese Battle Horn • The Running Jumping & Standing Still Film |
| Characters | Cast members and their Characters • Major Bloodnok • Bluebottle • Henry Crun and Minnie Bannister • Eccles • Hercules Grytpype-Thynne • Count Jim Moriarty • Neddie Seagoon |
| General information | Episodes and archiving • Running Jokes |
