Alton Ellis was regarded by many connoisseurs as the most consummate Jamaican vocalist of the 1960s, when he recorded some masterful records in the ska and rocksteady styles which preceded reggae. With his powerful, yearning voice he also had a particular gift for taking American soul and R&B songs and giving them a uniquely Jamaican character.

One of his finest albums was titled Mr Soul of Jamaica, although he was also fêted with the sobriquet the “Godfather of Rocksteady”. His popularity declined in the 1970s and he moved first to Canada and then to Britain. But there was no stilling his majestic voice. He continued to make some fine records and his popularity revived dramatically in the 1990s when the rocksteady style that he had epitomised enjoyed a revival. His finest work remains part of the bedrock of Jamaican music and has been much sampled, referenced, adapted and recycled by other artists.

Born in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1938, he learnt to play the piano at a young age, briefly sought fame by entering talent contests as a dancer and began his recording career in 1959, when he teamed up with the singer Eddy Perkins in the duo Alton and Eddie. On their first hit, Muriel, they were backed by Clue J’s Blues Blasters, and although recorded in rudimentary fashion with band and singers competing to be heard as they performed into a single microphone, the song exudes a tremendous atmosphere. Ellis recalled years later: “It was a one-track studio and when they count ‘1, 2, 3, 4’, everybody have to be there. Who is not there the train is gone!”

The two singers soon went their separate ways for solo careers. Perkins moved to America and Ellis went on to record for not only Coxsone Dodd at Studio One but also for his main rival, Duke Reid, at Treasure Isle, who initially released his recordings under the name Alton Ellis and the Flames, a backing trio which included his brother Leslie. By 1966 the rhythms of ska were slowing down and giving way to a more refined and syncopated sound in which the singers took greater prominence over the instrumentalists, akin perhaps to the transition in American black music from R&B to soul. The new rhythm became known as “rocksteady” and Ellis was its unchallenged master from the moment he and Reid cut Girl I’ve Got a Date, often credited as the first hit record in the new style. When he followed with Get Ready — Rock Steady, the first song to use the phrase in its title, rocksteady was launched as the pre-eminent sound in Jamaican music until the advent of reggae.

Although hailed as its godfather, Ellis was in some ways an oddity in the world of rocksteady. The music swiftly became associated with the rudeboys or “rudies”, an unruly and sometimes violent subculture of ghetto youths who hung around the dancehalls of Kingston. While other singers, including Bob Marley and the Wailers, glorified their dubious exploits, Ellis took a strong stance against them, recording a number of anti-rudeboy songs such as Don’t Trouble People, Dance Crasher, Cry Tough and The Preacher.

He also recorded some superb versions of American hits such as Ain’t That Lovin’ You, Ooh We Baby and the doo-wop classic Sh-Boom (Life Could Be a Dream). These were not simply routine cover versions but profound reinterpretations, giving the songs a quintessentially Jamaican spirit. A number of them appeared alongside his own compositions on the album Mr Soul of Jamaica, a collection that is widely regarded as the artistic pinnacle of the rocksteady era. As rocksteady gave way in the early 1970s to the sound of reggae and themes of black consciousness and emancipation, Ellis proved his adaptability with hits such as Deliver Us and Back to Africa, recorded for Lloyd Daley’s Matador Productions. But he kept up his tirades against the rude boys, most notably on Big Bad Boy (1971), produced by Keith Hudson.

Shortly after its release he left Jamaica, disillusioned with the banditry of the island’s recording industry and, in 1972, he settled in Britain, where he opened the Alltone record shop in Brixton and started a label of the same name. Although his own career faded, his influence remained pervasive in the work of other performers. He continued recording and performing almost until the end, making his last concert appearance in London in August. He suffered from lymphatic cancer.

He is survived by his wife, Judith, and a large number of children.

Alton Ellis, singer, was born on September 1, 1938. He died on October 10, 2008, aged 70