Born 11 August 1941, into an impoverished family in a small coal mining town in West Virginia, a young John started on a difficult career path as a musician experiencing tremendous hardship and violent racism. In the mid-1960s, Ellison traveled to Rochester, New York, where he founded Soul Brothers Six. in 1967, John Ellison wrote what would become one of the most famous songs in the history of popular music - Some Kind of Wonderful, a song that not only conquered the whole world, but also mirrors the musical talent of John and the story of his remarkable live.

​

In 1987, the book Sweet Soul Music named the Soul Brothers Six as a major influence on the sound of modern music. Not only has the trademark bass line in "Some Kind of Wonderful" been utilized by countless other artists for a variety of different songs, but the song has also earned a spot in music history. More than 70 different artists (Grand Funk Railroad, Buddy Guy, Joss Stone, Conway Twitty, Huey Lewis & the News etc.) have recorded "Some Kind of Wonderful," making it one of the most recorded songs in the history of music. Here you have a list of all the artists that has covered this timeless classic: SecondHandSongs.

​

John’s songwriting proved more: e.g. in the UK the ballad “I’ll Be Loving You” is a popular soul gem, the song “Funky, Funky Way of Making Love” was featured in the movie Lovelace, and Latimore recorded “You Can Count on Me”. After Soul Brother Six John has been releasing several solo albums and has performed regularly throughout Europe, Asia and North America. John has received five live time achievements awards from BMI (in 1995 for writing the third-most played song in the world), was inducted in the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame (2015) and received a lifetime musical achievement award in Canada (2010). In 2012 Ellison released his autobiography, Some Kind of Wonderful: The John Ellison Story. In 2020 John releases the awareness single “Wake-Up Call (Black Like Me)” with good reviews in e.g., Rolling Stone and Forbes Magazine. The song was nominated “Song of the Year 2021” by Pop Awards. 

​

On August 11, 2023 (his 82nd birthday) John releases a new version of his classic "Some Kind of Wonderful" and serves as the title track for an album featuring eleven new songs penned by Ellison and produced by Roger Heijster. The single was on the first round of ballots in the category "Best American Roots Performance" for the 66th Grammy Awards nominations. On December 29, 2023 the second single "If I Had Just One Wish" was released; a feel-good catchy reggae vibe calling for more love, peace and harmony. The collection is available drop digitally, on CD as well on vinyl on January 26 2024 from PopMi Music

​

John Ellison impresses with his music and voice and is one of the few remaining soul and blues legends that have made an essential contribution to the development of blues, gospel, soul and funk music in a time of great social change. Together with his amazing Soul Brothers Soul orchestra John is delivering a stunning live show with all his classics and more – John Ellison Live is Some Kind of Wonderful!