“I use my gift of music to connect us to each other and to our humanity, to move people, or to enrich their lives in some way. Happy or heartbreaking; social commentary or spiritual message; a song of love and romance or a fun ditty to make you smile, this is me reaching out. I hope my music is just what you need to hear when you hear it.”
Gordon Ellis’s music might best be described as “Relevant Country”. The musical style and production certainly fall into the Country genre, yet so much of today’s country seems to have lost its soul–it’s relevance. Gordon’s music reaches out to people about things that matter.
Born in New York City (Not exactly the country music capital of the world), Gordon’s early vocal influences included rangy voiced artists like Roy Orbison and Elvis. He began writing songs in his teens, but was too shy to share them with anyone at the time, so his first group, The Fortunes did rock and folk cover tunes..
While attending the University of Oklahoma, where he obtained a BA in psychology, Gordon became attracted to the honesty and simplicity of country music, picking up influences like Ray Price, Johnny Bush, Glen Campbell, and Conway Twitty, among others. There, he performed as part of a duo around campus, occasionally throwing in an original song.
After college, Gordon moved to the San Francisco Bay area, more for his own personal growth than for music, but it was there, that he began perfecting his songwriting and performing skills. He performed on the streets of Fisherman’s Wharf for tips, as a duo in coffeehouses, and later, with his own band, GORDON ELLIS & the All Night Ramblers, doing mostly originals. During this time, he won several songwriting awards in the Music City Song Festival, and was a Male Vocal Finalist in the Bay Area’s Nashville Talent Search, hosted by Hall Of Fame songwriter Bill Anderson.
After much encouragement, Gordon moved to Nashville in 1990. Since then, he has performed extensively around the Nashville writers club circuit, including the Bluebird Cafe, Douglas Corner, The Hall Of Fame Lounge, and Commodore Lounge, to name a few. He was featured on the Viacom TV show “Writers Night” shortly after moving to town, and has been the featured artist/writer at numerous songwriter venues in Nashville since then.
In recent years, Gordon has been drawn to the “New Thought” movement. A member of the Positive Music Association, he has a growing catalogue of songs that reflect the ideas found in “Positive” or “Conscious” music, while still retaining their country flavor. Gordon has had numerous songs published and a number of songs recorded by independent artists, including former “American Idol” contestant Holly Hardin. He has his own ASCAP publishing company, Gordel Music, and his CD “MEMORY MACHINE”, which he released on his own label, Optimum Records, has received airplay on numerous radio stations in the United States and overseas. He also has a 5 song EP called “One God/One Family”, and 50 songs available for online purchases through iTunes (Search for Gordon Ellis; then click “View more results in iTunes”). Gordon’s music can also be found at Amazon, eMusic, Rhapsody, Zune and other sites.
Gordon Ellis does not sound or write like your typical country artist, but with a strong voice, powered by a three octave range, he sings his songs with passion and conviction–songs that are catchy and memorable–songs about real people, real feelings, real life. When you get right down to it, that’s what music is supposed to be about!