SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL: A STORY ABOUT COPYRIGHT AND CHARCTER by Michael D. Rigg

"Excuse me, sir..."

On Saturday afternoon of this past Labor Day weekend, my wife and I strolled through the Charleston Town Center, a once-thriving indoor shopping mall, located, as the name implies, smack-dab in the middle of downtown in West Virginia’s capital city. Why we were there isn’t the subject of today’s blog. Today, I’ll talk about What, and Who, we found.   

At its height, the two-story mall offered patrons access to 130 stores, including Sears, J.C. Penney, and Macy’s. (A small third-story contains the mall’s food court.) Today, approximately 50 stores and restaurants remain. J.C. Penny stands as the lone anchor-store. Footsteps from a dwindling number of shoppers echo among the increasing square footage of drywall-covered storefronts. A change in ownership, and plans for strengthening the regional economy, bring hope for a brighter future.

As we continued our walk and discussed where to stop for a late-lunch, I looked to my left and caught the eye of a distinguished gentleman standing outside one of the open storefronts. “Excuse me, sir, can I take a few minutes of your time to tell you my story,” or words to that effect, greeted me. I walked toward him. Here is his story.

The gentleman was (and, I suspect, still is) John Ellison. The “store” was actually a mini-museum of the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame—WVMHOF. (West Virginia Music Hall of Fame (wvmusichalloffame.com)). According to its website, “The West Virginia Music Hall of Fame is a non-profit organization dedicated to documenting and preserving the rich and lasting contributions West Virginians have made to all genres of music.” Members include: Leon "Chu" Berry, Little Jimmy Dickens, Johnnie Johnson, Molly O'Day, Bill Withers, Ann Baker, Phyllis Curtin, Red Sovine, Frankie Yankovic, Billy Cox, Kathy Mattea, Peter Marshall (that’s right, the Hollywood Squares guy), Ada "Bricktop" Smith, Ann Magnuson, and Fred "Sonic" Smith.

Mr. Ellison (John, if I may take the liberty) was a 2015 inductee. Wow. I told him I wasn’t much of a “music guy,” so I had to plead ignorance of him and his accomplishments, even after he asked if I had ever heard of the song “Some Kind of Wonderful.”

John was born in 1941 in Montgomery (Fayette County), West Virginia. His father was a coal miner, who eventually moved the family to Welch, in McDowell County. John told me that he left Welch when he was seventeen and traveled by bus to Rochester, New York. He wanted to be a singer and recording artist. He arrived there with his worldly belongings stuffed in a grocery bag and $3.25 in his pocket.

After eight years of struggle, he formed the group, Soul Brothers Six, and was its lead singer and songwriter. The group released its first recording, “Some Kind of Wonderful” in 1967. In those days, “White” radio stations wouldn’t play “Black” music, so the recording had a limited audience. Nonetheless, it reached Number 91 on Billboard magazine’s “Hot 100” for the year. Soul Brothers Six disbanded in 1969. 

In case you don’t remember, here’s an excerpt of the lyrics:

I don't need a whole lots of money
I don't need a big fine car
I got everything that a man could want
I got more than I could ask for
And I don't have to run around
I don't have to stay out all night
'Cause I got me a sweet, a sweet loving woman
And she know just how to treat me right

Oh, my baby, she's alright
Oh, my baby's clean out of sight
Don't you know that she's?
She's some kind of wonderful
She's some kind of wonderful
Yes, she is, she is
She's some kind of wonderful
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ….

In 1974, Grand Funk Railroad recorded “Some Kind of Wonderful.” Not facing the “Black radio” versus “White radio” hurdle, the Grand Funk Railroad version reached Number 3 on Billboard’s “Hot 100” on February 22, 1975. According to Wikipedia, “To date, the song has been recorded by more than 62 different artists and sold more than 42 million copies. As a result, John has received five Lifetime Achievement awards for writing one of the most played songs in the world.”

And therein, we see the genius of our nation’s “founding fathers,” by including Article I, Section 8, Clause 8 in the U.S. Constitution and giving Congress the power “To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries.” So, while John’s work may not have garnered the publicity and airtime it deserved when the Soul Brothers Six first recorded it, the laws protecting Copyrights and calling for payment of royalties have certainly benefitted him financially (and deservedly so). In sum, to those who believe in downloading songs “royalty free,” I ask you to remember artists like John Ellison. 

That’s the “Copyright” portion of the blog. And now, the “Character” piece—why John Ellison was at the Charleston, West Virginia Town Center on a sleepy Saturday over the Labor Day weekend. 

He was there to support his friend Dwight Morgan and his fundraising effort on behalf of his wife Natasha. She needs an organ transplant. For more details, check out (5) Natasha Needs a Transplant | Facebook; (5) Facebook; and CORE Center for Organ Recovery & Education - Donate Life America (registerme.org). To encourage donations, John provided copies of his biography, Some Kind of Wonderful: The John Ellison Story. (John Ellison Music; (a Kindle version is available through Amazon at: Some Kind of Wonderful: The John Ellison Story: John Ellison, Jon Wells: 9780988056008: Amazon.com: Books.)) In return for a $20 donation, we received a copy, and John signed it. And if supporting Dwight and Natasha by talking about his books on Saturday wasn’t enough, John had participated in a benefit concert the night before, performing with The Carpenter Ants.

John told me he currently lives in Florida. So, here’s a guy, hopefully a millionaire many times over from his royalty payments, who traveled from Florida, performed in a benefit concert, and then chatted with passersby, like me, at the Charleston Town Center to raise a few dollars more to support his friends-in-need. Following up on my previous blogs on the topic, I believe that, if you look at the dictionary definition of Character, you’ll see a photo of John Ellison. Underscored by his struggles against a biased system, his many accomplishments, and his selfless efforts on behalf of Dwight and Natasha, John is, truly, “Some Kind of Wonderful.” I am proud, and deeply honored, to have met him. 

Soul Brothers Six. 
John Ellison is in the
middle of the front row,
with his hand on a guitar.