| Orion | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Jimmy Bell |
| Also known as | Jimmy Ellis |
| Born | February 26, 1945 |
| Origin | Orrville, Alabama, USA |
| Died | December 12, 1998 (aged 53) |
| Genres | Rockabilly |
| Occupations | Singer |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 1961–1982 |
| Labels | Sun |
| Associated acts | Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis |
Orion (February 26, 1945 – December 12, 1998) was the stage name of rockabilly singer Jimmy Ellis. Following the death of Elvis Presley in August 1977, Ellis dressed and sang in the manner of Presley and wore a mask during public appearances, fueling speculation that Presley had faked his death and returned to singing.[1] Ellis had recorded rock and country singles under his real name for a number of independent labels since the early 1960s before adopting the Orion persona for Sun Records — Presley's first recording label — in 1980.
Sun owner Shelby S. Singleton conceived of the idea of overdubbing Ellis' Presley-styled vocals onto a previously-unreleased 1961 Jerry Lee Lewis recording of "Save The Last Dance For Me". Ellis was billed only as "Friend." The single made #26 on the Billboard Country charts. Another overdubbed pairing with Lewis, a cover of Hank Williams' "Cold, Cold Heart" was also released as a single, peaking at #84.
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By the '90s, Ellis had distanced himself from the Orion persona and was performing fewer than 50 shows a year, living on a farm near Selma, Alabama, where Ellis also owned several small stores. On 12 December 1998, Ellis was behind the register at the convenience store he owned, when three local teens, brandishing sawed-off shotguns, attempted a robbery. The gunmen shot the 53-year-old Ellis, his 44-year-old fiancee Elaine Thompson, both of whom died, and a friend, Helen King, who was severely wounded. Ellis was survived by his son Jimmy Ellis Jr,.
| Year | Song | Peak chart positions[1] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | |||||
| 1979 | "Ebony Eyes" | 89 | |||
| "Honey" | flip | ||||
| 1980 | "A Stranger in My Place" | 69 | |||
| "Texas Tea" | 68 | ||||
| "Am I That Easy to Forget" | 65 | ||||
| 1981 | "Rockabilly Rebel" | 63 | |||
| "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" | 79 | ||||
| "Born" | 76 | ||||
| "Some You Win, Some You Lose" | 83 | ||||
| 1982 | "Morning, Noon and Night" | 69 | |||
| "Honky Tonk Heaven" | 70 | ||||