The Ethiopians was founded by Leonard Dillon (9 December 1942 – 28 September 2011)[1] with Stephen "Tough Cock" Taylor and Aston "Charlie" Morrison at the tail end of the ska period.

[2] Dillon was a stonemason from the small community of Boundbrook, located on the outskirts of the northeast coastal town of Port Antonio, where he was raised by his grandparents in a strict Seventh Day Adventist household.

He travelled to Fellsmere, Florida in 1963 on a seasonal farm work contract, and after returning to Kingston in 1964, he settled in Trench Town, lodging at the home of the aunt of popular sound system deejay King Sporty, who he knew from his days in Port Antonio.

Undaunted by his departure, Dillon and Taylor went back to Studio One to record another half-dozen tracks, including the boastful "I'm Gonna Take Over Now", and a late-ska number called "I Am Free," which castigated an unfaithful lover.

Continuing with the masonry led Dillon to the Ethiopians' next phase, once he found a financial backer for the group in the form of real estate speculator, Leebert Robinson, who financed the self-produced single "Train to Skaville", issued in Jamaica on WIRL (West Indies Records Limited).

Subsequent singles, "The Whip" and "Cool It Amigo", were recorded at WIRL studio with top rocksteady band, Lynn Taitt and the Jets, (and engineer Lynford Anderson), and licensed to Sonia Pottiger for release in Jamaica, as well as Graeme Goodall's Doctor Bird label in Britain; the three songs were all significant hits in 1967.

[1] 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.

[1] Dillon subsequently formed a new version of the Ethiopians with other members of the Rastafari faith, including Melvin Reid, to record the album Slave Call with Niney the Observer in 1977.