Mike Elliott (saxophonist)

For other people named Mike Elliott, see Mike Elliott (disambiguation).

Mike Elliott (saxophonist)
Also known as	Mike Eliott
Born	August 6, 1929(1929-08-06) Jamaica, West Indies
Origin	Jamaica
Genres	Pop Soul Jazz
Occupations	Musician
Instruments	Saxophone
Years active	1960's–1970's
Labels	Ackee, Carrival, Planetone, PYE
Associated acts	Eric Allendale, Clem Curtis, The Foundations, Colin Hicks & The Cabin Boys, Rico's Combo, Rico Rodriguez, Alan Warner

Mike Elliott is a saxophonist who was born in Jamaica on 6 August 1929. He played on Ska recordings in the early 1960s as well as some Pop / Soul hits in the late 1960s.

Biography

Early 1960s

Elliott was a member of Rico's Combo ^[1] who were a house / studio band led by Jamaican trombonist Rico Rodriguez. Besides Rodriguez on Trombone and Elliott on saxophone, the band included another saxophonist Lovett Brown and Jackie Edwards on piano etc. They played on early 1960s Jamaican Ska recordings issued on the Planetone label ^[2] such as "Hitch & Scramble" (recorded in 1962).^[1] He had also recorded a handful of records under his own name, two of them on the Planetone label in 1963. These two Planetone singles were shared with other artists. His recording "This Love Of Mine" appeared on the flip side of Terry Moon's "Moon Man" ^[3] and it would actually appear again later appear on the Carnival label in 1964 as the flip side to Young Satchmo's "Things Are Getting Better".^[4] The other track he recorded on the Planetone label, "J.K. Shuffle" is possibly a dedication to former American president John Kennedy ^[5] who was assassinated in 1963 ^[6] and at that time was seen as something of a saviour.^[5]

He had also been a member of The Cabin Boys, led by Colin Hicks the brother of British rock 'n' roll singer Tommy Steele,^[7] and had played with jazz saxophonists Tubby Hayes and Ronnie Scott.^[8]

Mid to late 1960s

By 1967 he was a member of the multi-racial English soul group The Foundations who had million selling hits with "Baby, Now That I've Found You" and "Build Me Up Buttercup" etc. At 38 years of age he was the oldest member of the group and was nearly 20 years older than the youngest member of the group 18 year old Tim Harris. He was part of their three man brass section playing Tenor Sax along side fellow Jamaican tenor saxophonist and flautist Pat Burke and Dominican trombonist Eric Allendale.^[9] He played on their first three hit singles, "Baby, Now That I've Found You", "Back On My Feet Again" and "Any Old Time (You're Lonely And Sad)". He also played on their PYE debut album "From The Foundations", a live album "Rocking The Foundations" and on three Foundations tracks at a John Peel session in January 1968.^[10]

In 1968 The Foundations were experiencing some problems within their group as well as problems with their songwriter and producer Tony Macaulay who wouldn't allow them to record their own compositions. Around that time the band had recorded a track called "It's All Right", a live favourite of theirs and quite possibly the last Foundations recording he played on. He left around the same time as the Foundations lead singer Clem Curtis, who left to pursue a solo career.^[8] Some sources say that Elliott's departure signalled the internal dissatisfaction.^[7] He wasn't replaced.^[11]

1970s

In 1972 Elliott had a Reggae styled single, "Milk & Honey" released on the Ackee record label.^[12]

It is also rumoured that Elliott had some involvement with another Reggae single released on Supreme SUP 225 by Eugene And Burst and backed with a track by Denzil And Burst. The songs were "Let It Fall" on side 1 and "Can't Change" on side 2. This was released on the label in 1971. The Denzil on this recording is Denzil Dennis.^[13] Elliott along with Eddie "Tan Tan" Thornton and Sonny Burke had previously recorded with Denzil Dennis.^[14]

Discography

• Terry Moon - "Moon Man" // Mike Elliot - "This Love Of Mine" - Planetone RC11, 1963
• Basil John - "Drink And Drive" // Mike Elliott - "J.K. Shuffle" - Planetone RC12, 1963 ^[3]
• Mike Elliott - "This Love Of Mine" // Young Satchmo - "Things Are Getting Better" - Carnival CV 7008, 1964 ^[4]
• Mike Elliott - "Milk & Honey" // Mike Elliott & Errol - "Burst A Shirt" - Ackee ACK151, 1972 ^[12]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Geocities Rico Rodriguez, Hitch & Scramble
2. ^ ricorodriguez.wikia.com Planetone Records
3. ^ ^{a b} www.xs4all.nl/~tapirs/planet7.htm PLANETONE 7"s
4. ^ ^{a b} www.xs4all.nl/~tapirs/carniv7.htm CARNIVAL 7"S
5. ^ ^{a b} www.johnnyspencer.info J.K. SHUFFLE * MIKE ELLIOTT
6. ^ news.bbc.co.uk On This Day 1963: Kennedy shot dead in Dallas
7. ^ ^{a b} NME NME Artists The Foundations
8. ^ ^{a b} Dopson, Roger. Baby Now That I've Found You, Sequel Records NEECD 300 (1st ed.). UK: Sequel Records. 
9. ^ NME NME Artists, The Foundations
10. ^ www.bbc.co.uk PEEL SESSIONS, 08/01/1968 - The Foundations
11. ^ All Music The Foundations Biography
12. ^ ^{a b} www.reggaehitthetown.com Ackee First Series (1969-1972)
13. ^ Discogs Denzil Dennis
14. ^ Traditional Skinheads Traditional Skinhead Culture, Denzil Dennis Interview

Persondata
Name	Elliott, Mike
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	6 August 1929
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death