Lorraine Ellison Biography by Ed Hogan

Lorraine Ellison is best known for her hit ballad "Stay With Me" and her cover of Jerry Butler's "I Dig You Baby." She originally recorded "Just a Little Bit Harder," later covered by Janis Joplin. She's also a favorite with U.K. Northern soul devotees. Born in 1931 in Philadelphia, PA, the deep soul vocalist first recorded with the gospel groups the Ellison Singers (who recorded for Sharp/Savoy in 1962) and the Golden Chords (who recorded for CBS in 1963). By 1964, she began recording R&B music, and her first hit was the 1965 R&B hit "I Dig You Baby" (later made into a pop smash by Jerry Butler).

Heart and Soul

One year later, she released her signature song -- the intense, symphonic-drenched ballad "Stay With Me," written and produced by Jerry Ragovoy and issued by the Warner label. It hit number 11 on the R&B charts in the fall of 1966. Some of her other singles were "Heart Be Still," "Don't Let It Go to Your Head," "Try," and "I've Got My Baby Back." Songs that she wrote with her manager Sam Bell (of Garnet Mimms & the Enchanters) were recorded by Mimms and Howard Tate. Ellison's Warner LPs include Heart and Soul (1966), Stay with Me (1969), and Lorraine Ellison (1974) and the compilation The Best of Philadelphia's Queen (1976). Lorraine Ellison died on January 31, 1983.

Lorraine Ellison – Heart & Soul

Lorraine Ellison - Heart & Soul album cover

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Label: Warner Bros. Records – W 1674

Format:

Vinyl, LP, Album, Mono

Country: US

Released: 1967

Genre: Jazz, Funk / Soul

Style: Soul, Vocal

A1 Heart And Soul

Written-By – Loesser*, Carmichael*

3:02

A2 Games That Lovers Play (Eine Ganze Nacht)

Written-By – Snyder*, Last*, Kusik*, Loose*

2:30

A3 He's My Guy

Written-By – Warren Schatz

2:44

A4 What A Difference A Day Makes

Written-By – Grever*, Adams*

3:00

A5 A Change Is Gonna Come

Written-By – Sam Cooke

3:30

A6 If I Had A Hammer

Written-By – Hays*, Seeger*

2:15

B1 When Love Flies Away

Written-By – Ragovoy*, Bell*

3:09

B2 Cry Me A River

Written-By – Arthur Hamilton

3:04

B3 Stay With Me

Written-By – Weiss*, Ragovoy*

3:29

B4 What Is A Woman

Written-By – Schmidt*, Jones*

3:00

B5 That's For Me

Written-By – Hammersein II - Rodgers*

2:36

B6 My Man's Gone Now

Written-By – Heyward*, Gershwin*

3:20

Arranged By – Oliver Nelson

Art Direction – Ed Thrasher

Engineer – Phil Ramon*

Liner Notes – Hal Halverstadt

Photography By – Sherman Weisburd

Producer – Jerry Ragovoy

GOLDMINE GRADING

MINT ---- It should appear to be perfect. No scuffs or scratches, blotches or stains, labels or writing, tears or splits. Mint means perfect.

NEAR MINT ---- Otherwise mint but has one or two tiny inconsequential flaws that do not affect play. Covers should be close to perfect with minor signs of wear or age just becoming evident: slight ring-wear, minor denting to a corner, or writing on the cover should all be noted properly.

VERY GOOD PLUS ---- The record has been handled and played infrequently or very carefully. Not too far from perfect. On a disc, there may be light paper scuffs from sliding in and out of a sleeve or the vinyl or some of the original luster may be lost. A slight scratch that did not affect play would be acceptably VG+ for most collectors.

VERY GOOD ---- Record displays visible signs of handling and playing, such as loss of vinyl luster, light surface scratches, groove wear and spindle trails. Some audible surface noise, but should not overwhelm the musical experience. Usually a cover is VG when one or two of these problems are evident: ring wear, seam splits, bent corners, loss of gloss, stains, etc.

GOOD ---- Well played with little luster and significant surface noise. Despite defects, record should still play all the way through without skipping. Several cover flaws will be apparent, but should not obliterate the artwork.

POOR ---- Any record or cover that does not qualify for the above "Good" grading should be seen as Poor. Several cover flaws.