The Ethiopians

The Ethiopians were one of Jamaica's best-loved harmony groups during the late ska, rocksteady and early reggae periods. Responsible for a significant number of hits between the mid-1960s and early 1970s, the group was also one of the first Jamaican acts to perform widely in Britain.

Origins

The Ethiopians was founded by Leonard Dillon (9 December 1942 – 28 September 2011) with Stephen "Tough Cock" Taylor and Aston "Charlie" Morrison at the tail end of the ska period. Dillon was a stonemason from the small community of Boundbrook, located on the outskirts of the northeast coastal town of Port Antonio, where he was raised by his grandparents in a strict Seventh Day Adventist household. With his grandfather the choirmaster in the local church, Dillon had good grounding in music from an early age. While still attending high school, he performed with a local act known as the Playboys (later re-named Ray and the Gladiators), the mellifluousness of his voice bringing the nickname "Sparrow".

Like many of his peers, Dillon moved to Kingston towards the end of his teen years in search of work, staying first in a tiny shack in the west Kingston slum of Back-O-Wall. He travelled to Fellsmere...

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