Ron Ellington Shy is a versatile singer, showman and actor who’s career has seen him star and perform alongside some of Hollywood’s top names. Ron the nephew of celebrated jazz band leader “Duke” (Edward Kennedy) Ellington was born in Cleveland Ohio, with his family later relocating to the West Coast. A talented teenage musical scholar, the first group he joined was Rudy Hunter & The Fabulous Tones, their minimum requirement for prospective group members was to have the ability to play 5 separate instruments as well as being able to sing. Ron an accomplished saxophonist, trombonist, bass guitarist, drum, keyboard and harmonica player, got the Job. Later Ron joined Don & Dewey of “leavin’ It All Up To You” fame. He briefly left them before returning once again to Partner Dewey Terry following Don “Sugarcane” Harris’s imprisonment for narcotic offences.

At different times during the late 60’s and 70’s, Ron presented his own cable TV musical and talk shows, ‘The Ron Ellington Show’ followed by the ‘Las Vegas Legends’ show which he co-hosted with several of the town’s most notable ‘Elvis’ impersonators. During the 1970’s Ron was to further his acting career by landing parts in small screen blockbusters, Dallas, Knots Landing, Falcon Crest and Jake & The Fatman. His big screen credits include Hammerlock (with Pat Morita), Hell To Pay (with former Bionic Man actor Lee Majors) and Gang Warz (Robert Vaughn). While to this day remaining a popular performer on the Las Vegas club circuit.

In 1976 Ron signed with veteran producer H.B. Barnum’s L.A based ‘Little Star’ Label where he recorded several tracks, of which only two tracks were to gain a release, the H.B. Barnum, Walter Johnson penned “Don’t You Know” backed with the Don Grady penned “Didn’t Mean To Break Your Heart”. This release has since proved to be the Little Star labels most sought after 45 single. Ironically at circa the same time another H.B. Barnum artist blue-eyed singer Judy Street had found a huge following on the UK Northern soul Scene with her 60’s classic “What” (Strider 0004). A licensing deal with the UK based Grapevine label followed for the release of “What” to satisfy the records UK demand. When Judy’s tapes arrived in England, H.B also forwarded a tape of the unissued Ron Shy tracks. While Judy Street’s “What” went on to achieve cult status, Ron’s tape remained gathering dust in Grapevine owner, John Anderson’s garage. Ron’s little Star 45 did eventually become a secret sound on the UK modern/crossover scene. While Ron was to release some of his unissued Little Star tracks on a later cd project of his own entitled “Flirtations”. Upon playing the tapes again we realized that a second longer and superior version of “Don’t You Know” with added instrumentation and female backing vocals existed, which we duly signed as part of the licensing deal with H.B. Barnum alongside the previously unissued J.B. Bingham tracks in 2012. Recently with a few more 45 copies of “Don’t You Know” unearthed, the record has grown in popularity throughout the European Northern and Modern soul fraternity. So now before you have the previously unissued version of “Don’t You Know” coupled with another previously unissued dancer “Any Port In A Storm”.