Jan. 31, 2007

The sky-high level of soulful intensity John Ellison brought to his lead vocals with the Soul Brothers Six will be displayed on Thursday evening at the Matthaei.

Willie John Ellison, the writer of the hit song "She's Some Kind of Wonderful," will perform live at halftime of the WSU men's basketball game vs. Findlay on Thursday, February 1. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

John Ellison, a coalminer's son, grew up in West Virginia. He learned to play guitar and wrote his first songs when he was 13, later moving to New York City and then Rochester. Soul Brothers Six cut two records on two tiny labels before inking with Atlantic on the strength of Ellison's "Some Kinda Wonderful."

In the 60's radio air play was limited to black artists and the song was only played on black radio stations. Although the song received a limited amount of air play it still managed to make the top 100 play list in Billboard Magazine.

In 1970 Willie John formed another group and continued to perform under the name Soul Brothers Six. His music took him on tours throughout Canada, Europe and the U.S. performing with Smokey Robinson, Diana Ross, Patti Labelle, Curtis Mayfield, James Brown, Little Richard just to name a few.

In 1974 a white group out of Flint decided to do a cover version of "She's Some Kind of Wonderful." The song was an instant hit world wide and because of the exposure it brought to light the talent of Willie John Ellison as a songwriter. In 1995 Willie John was honored with a with a Citation of Achievement from Broadcast Music Inc. for writing the third most played song in the world.

To date, "Some Kind of Wonderful" has been recorded by 52 different singers making it one of the most recorded songs in the history of music. It has been played over four million times on the radio and has sold 42 million copies world wide. The Soul Brothers Six have been credited with setting the trend for modern day music and is listed in a book written by Peter Guralnick as being pioneers of today's music. The heavy bass line and music pattern of Some Kind of Wonderful can be heard in many songs of today.

Ellison has cut two solo albums to date, appeared in the A&E movie Rev, and marketed a Some Kinda Wonderful spice via the Allen Beef Company.

One ticket for the concert and the two Wayne State basketball games versus Findlay is only $5.00. Parking is free in Lot 50 off Warren Avenue.