Who he is…

Singer, songwriter, musician, husband, father, son, brother and friend: Andre' Smile-E Ellis, a native of Waterbury, CT was born in the late 70's. He was created through music and while in his mother's womb, that's all he heard was music. He was raised in a single parent home with a younger sister by a mother who was a quartet singer. He was raised in a musically inclined family, which helped to develop his love for music at an early age.

Andre' began singing at his church at age 5 with his first solo being, "He loves you" by the legendary Highway QC's. As he got older and joined the choir, he would lead songs such as, "Never Shall Forget" and "Jesus is Real" by John P. Kee. The anointing of God was evident in his voice as he would usher the crowd into praise and worship. At his home church is also where he learned to play the drums, the bass and the lead guitar. Soon he began getting work all around the area, playing and singing with many of the gospel quartet groups.

In the early nineties he got a chance to travel on the road playing bass guitar for world famous, "Willie Neal Johnson & The Gospel Keynotes." During his time with the group, in 1999 they won a Stellar Award for quartet album of the year. He also got the opportunity to perform on the Stellar Awards and Bobby Jones gospel. After many years of traveling all over the country and even other parts of the world, he decided to move on and work on his solo career. His music has an ol' skool feel modernized for today! His rich and soulful sound can be incredibly immersive. It creates an emotional intimacy and a spiritual transformation. He's very grateful that those genes have also been passed down to his teenage daughter, as he encourages her to embrace her gift.

Some of his role models include Sam Cooke, Ira Tucker, Sly Stone, The Temptations, The Soul Stirrers, Jessie L. Ellis, Sr., his beloved grandfather and many more. Andre' Smile-E Ellis acknowledges that his gift of singing and being able to minister to others comes from the Lord above and he's committed to whole heartedly spreading the good news of Jesus Christ everywhere he goes. His favorite scripture is 1 Corinthians 10:31, "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." That is his mission, to do everything to the glory of God!