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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.
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, Florida in 1963 on a seasonal farm work contract, and after returning to Kingston in 1964, he settled in Trenchtown, lodging at the home of the aunt of popular sound system deejay King Sporty, who he knew from his days in Port Antonio. In Trench Town, Dillon met Peter Tosh, who introduced him to Bob Marley and Bunny Livingston, his fellow vocalists in the Wailers. An audition was swiftly arranged at Studio One, where the Wailers were recording some of the biggest hits of the day, which led to Dillon voicing his first material. Three songs were backed by the Wailers, including a sound system favourite called "Ice Water", based on lyrics of double entendre, while "Suffering On The Land" and "Beggars Have No Choice" were more concerned with the harshness of life in the ghetto; a fourth song, "Woman, Wine And Money", featured Delroy Wilson on harmony. All of the songs were issued on 45 rpm singles, credited to Jack Sparrow. Shortly after the release of these singles, through the efforts of the Ethiopian Reorganization Centre in Waterhouse (established by elders Nasser King and Daddy King), Dillon entered the Rastafari faith, which he remained committed to thereafter.
Back in Jamaica, Melvin Reid became a temporary member of the group for some recordings made at Federal recording studio, but the group soon reverted to a duo again. "Cut Down (On Your Speed)" was recorded for Lee "Scratch" Perry, but far more successful work was issued by H. Robinson's Carib Disco company, including "Reggae Hit The Town", celebrating the new beat, and the successful "Engine 54" (recorded at a time when immigrant Garnet Hargreaves was acting as manager of the group), which celebrated a defunct railway engine that used to transport city folk on countryside excursions in Jamaica. The popularity of this track and earlier hit singles led to a debut album, Engine 54, issued by Doctor Bird in the UK.
Then, the most solid and lasting working relationship was forged with producer Carl Johnson, yielding a series of hits in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Things started off with "Everything Crash," after Sir JJ told Dillon to write a song with that title when Dillon first appeared at JJ's shop on Orange Street; the song commented on the widespread strikes that gripped Jamaica in 1968 and was recorded with the backing band, the Caribbeats. Other hits to follow included "Feel The Spirit," "Hong Kong Flu," and "Woman Capture Man". The Sir JJ phase yielded the popular albums Reggae Power and Woman Capture Man, both issued by Trojan Records in Britain.
During the early 1970s, the Ethiopians recorded widely for various producers, including Lloyd "The Matador" Daley ("Satan Gal"), Duke Reid ("Pirate"), Derrick Harriott ("Good Ambition"), Rupie Edwards ("Hail Rasta Man"), Alvin Ranglin ("Love Bug"), Prince Buster ("You Are For Me"), Joe Gibbs ("Ring A Burn Finger"), Bob Andy ("The Word Is Love"), and Lee Perry ("Life Is A Funny Thing"), among others. Dillon also helped build Perry's Black Ark Studios in 1973-4.David Katz, People Funny Boy: The Genius of Lee "Scratch" Perry, p. 118 In 1975, Stephen Taylor was killed in a traffic accident, leading to a period of inactivity as Dillon struggled to adapt to life without his singing partner.
Leonard Dillon then largely became a solo artist. Under the name The Ethiopian, Dillon cut Open The Gate Of Zion for Ranglin in 1978, and Everything Crash for Studio One in 1980, the latter featuring "Locust" voiced on an adaptation of the "Train to Skaville" rhythm. The Dread Prophecy album, shared with The Gladiators, was issued by the American label Nighthawk in 1986, One Step Forward surfaced in France on Blue Moon in 1992, Owner Fer De Yard was a Studio One set issued by Heartbeat in 1994, Tuffer Than Stone was recorded with Jahco Thelwell in 1999 and issued on the Melodie label in France, while Mystic Man was issued by Studio One in 2002; a second set for Nighthawk remains unreleased.
The Ethiopians reached the end when Dillon died on 28 September 2011.
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