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John Holt (singer)
John Kenneth Holt CD (11 July 1947 – 19 October 2014) was a Jamaican reggae singer who first found fame as a member of The Paragons, before establishing himself as a solo artist. Early life Holt was born in the Greenwich Farm area of Kingston in 1947.Thompson, Dave (2002), ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books, , pp. 117–120. His mother Amy was a nurse.Ustanny, Avia (2004),You Inspired Me", '' Jamaica Gleaner'', 7 November 2004. Retrieved 25 October 2014. By the age of 12, he was a regular entrant in talent contests run at Jamaican theatres by Vere Johns, winning 28 contests, some broadcast live on Radio Jamaica.Larkin, Colin (1998), ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae'', Virgin Books, .Black, Roy (2014)Holt: One Of The Most Enduring Jamaican Singers, ''Jamaica Gleaner'', 23 October 2014. Retrieved 23 October 2014. Career and recognition He recorded his first single in 1963 with "Forever I'll Stay"/"I Cried a Tear" for record producer Leslie Kong, and also recorde ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Order Of Distinction
The Order of Distinction is a national order in the Jamaican honours system. It is the sixth in order of precedence of the Orders of Societies of Honour, which were instituted by an Act of Parliament (''The National Honours and Awards Act'') in 1968. The motto of the Order is "Distinction Through Service". The Order of Distinction is conferred upon citizens of Jamaica who have rendered outstanding and important services to Jamaica, or to distinguished citizens of a country other than Jamaica."National Awards of Jamaica" , Jamaica Information Service, accessed 12 May 2015. The former are made Members of the Order, and the latter are made Honorary Members. The Order has two ranks: the higher class of Commander, and the lower class of Officer. Commanders take place and precedence immediately after Members and Honorary Members o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Studio One (record Label)
Studio One is one of Jamaica's most renowned record labels and recording studios; it has been described as the Motown of Jamaica. The record label was involved with most of the major music movements in Jamaica during the 1960s and 1970s, including ska, rocksteady, reggae, dub and dancehall. History Studio One was founded by Clement "Coxsone" Dodd in 1954, and the first recordings were cut in 1963 on Brentford Road in Kingston. Amongst its earliest records were "Easy Snappin" by Theophilus Beckford, backed by Clue J & His Blues Blasters, and "This Man is Back" by trombonist Don Drummond. Dodd had previously issued music on a series of other labels, including World Disc, and had run Sir Coxsone the Downbeat, one of the largest and most reputable sound systems in the Kingston ghettos. In the early 1960s, the house band providing backing for the vocalists were the Skatalites (1964–65), whose members (including Roland Alphonso, Don Drummond, Tommy McCook, Jackie Mittoo, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phil Pratt
Phil Pratt, born George Phillips (born 1942 in Kingston, Jamaica)Thompson, Dave (2002), ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books, , p. 316. is a Jamaican reggae singer and record producer. Career Phil Pratt worked at Studio One for Coxsone Dodd as a box-loader during the rocksteady period when Lee Perry was operating there, before moving to the United Kingdom in the early 1960s. Pratt returned to Jamaica in 1965, and as a singer, he recorded in 1967 a song called "Safe Travel" together with Hemsley Morris released on his own Wiggle Spoon label. He moved to Ken Lack's label Caltone and recorded a few tunes there. In 1966, Pratt decided to get into production and while at Caltone recorded the young Horace Andy. During the rocksteady period, he recorded singers such as Ken Boothe, John Holt and Pat Kelly, backed by session men such as Lynn Taitt, his productions appearing on the Caltone, Wiggle Spoon and WIRL labels before he launched his own label, Jon Tom. Throughout the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alvin Ranglin
Alvin 'GG' Ranglin (born 1942, Eden, Clarendon Parish, Jamaica)Greene (Alvin Ranglin Biography) is a Jamaican reggae singer, record producer and record label owner. Biography Ranglin started to sing in public in his teens with an Adventist Church background. As a radio and television technician involved in the jukebox industry, he soon acquired his own sound system he named "GG". By the mid-1960s, he opened his own TV repair shop in May Pen and started to produce records with artists such as Trevor Brown; and as a singer with Vernon Buckley (later of The Maytones) as "Vern & Alvin" and with Lloyd Flowers under the name of "Flowers & Alvin".Thompson, p. 436, 494 He soon developed his business by buying jukeboxes and opening his first record shop. He took over the Gloria label from a family member in 1969 and had his first hit with The Maytones' (of which he was an early member) single "Loving Reggae".Thompson, p. 316 He worked with the vocal duo until they split in 1980 and enj ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
OK Fred
"OK Fred" is a song by Jamaican singer-songwriter John Holt. It was first released as a single in 1971. Background Errol Dunkley stated that the song is about an up-town girl who falls for a down-town guy who is a non-conformist in the way he dresses and wants to become care-free like him. Jamaican parents might tell their unkempt children, "Fix up youself, put you shirt in you trousers, you look like a yaga yaga" ic AllMusic gave a different version, saying the song describes the singer's prowess and technique with the opposite sex. The song is considered a cross over hit due to being by a Jamaican artist but appealing to a white audience. Holt's version features Vin Gordon on trombone. It was produced by Coxsone Dodd. The song was covered with greater chart success by Dunkley. Chart success Holt's version did not chart in the UK. Dunkley's version reached No. 11 on the UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
I Want A Love I Can See
"I Want a Love I Can See" is a 1963 single by The Temptations for the Gordy (Motown) label. The single was the group's first A-side to be written and produced by Miracles lead singer Smokey Robinson. Robinson had previously written the B-side "Slow Down Heart", but for over the past year Berry Gordy, Jr. had been The Temptations' main producer. Overview Lead singer Paul Williams, in the role of the song’s narrator, talks about what he thinks is true love. :''I want a love I can see'' :''That's the only kind that means a thing to me'' :''Don't want a love you have to tell me about'' :''That kind of loving I can sure do without'' This single not only marked Williams return as lead on the A-side, but would also be the only one with him as the sole lead (although there are a few B-sides with him only as lead). During the previous year, fellow group member Eddie Kendricks was given the lead on the singles' A-sides with very little success. By early 1963, the Tempts was a regional R& ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prince Buster
Cecil Bustamente Campbell (24 May 1938 – 8 September 2016), known professionally as Prince Buster, was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and producer. The records he released in the 1960s influenced and shaped the course of Jamaican contemporary music and created a legacy of work that would be drawn upon later by reggae and ska artists. Early life Cecil Bustamente Campbell was born in Orange Street in Kingston, Jamaica, on 24 May 1938. His middle name was given to him by his family in honour of the Labour activist and first post-Independence Prime Minister William Alexander Clarke Bustamante. In the early 1940s, Campbell was sent to live with his grandmother in rural Jamaica where his family's commitment to the Christian faith, gave him his earliest musical experiences in the form of church singing as well as private family prayer and hymn meetings. Returning to live at Orange Street while still a young boy, Campbell attended the Central Branch School and St. Anne's School. Whi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harry J
Harry Zephaniah Johnson (6 July 1945 – 3 April 2013), known by the stage name Harry J, was a Jamaican reggae record producer. Biography Born in Westmoreland Parish, Jamaica, Johnson started to play music with the Virtues as a bass player before moving into management of the group.Larkin, Colin (1998) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae'', Virgin Books, , p. 139 When the band split up he worked as an insurance salesman. He first appeared as a record producer in 1968, when he launched his own record label, "Harry J", by releasing The Beltones' local hit "No More Heartaches", one of the earliest reggae songs to be recorded. His agreement with Coxsone Dodd allowed him to use Studio One's facilities, where he produced the hit "Cuss Cuss" with singer Lloyd Robinson, which became one of the most covered riddims in Jamaica. Johnson also released music under a subsidiary label, Jaywax. In October 1969, he met success in the UK with " The Liquidator" (number 9 in the UK Singles Chart) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bunny Lee
Edward O'Sullivan Lee OD (23 August 1941 – 6 October 2020), better known as Bunny "Striker" Lee, was a Jamaican record producer. He was known as a pioneer of the United Kingdom reggae market, licensing his productions to Trojan Records in the early 1970s, and later working with Lee "Scratch" Perry and King Tubby. Early life Bunny Lee was born on 23 August 1941 and grew up in the Greenwich Farm area of Kingston, where his father was a shoemaker.Burrell, Ian (2014)Jamaican music producer Bunny ‘Striker’ Lee: Rewinding a career that never missed a beat, ''The Independent'', 11 November 2014. Retrieved 16 November 2014 Career Lee began his career working as a record plugger for Duke Reid's Treasure Isle label in 1962,Larkin, Colin:"The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae", 1998, Virgin Books, later performing the same duties for Leslie Kong.Barrow, Steve and Dalton, Peter:"Reggae: The Rough Guide", 1997, Rough Guides, He then moved on to work with Ken Lack, initially in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Deejay (Jamaican)
Toasting (rap in other parts of the Anglo Caribbean), or deejaying is the act of talking or chanting, usually in a monotone melody, over a rhythm or beat by a reggae deejay. It can either be improvised or pre-written. Toasting developed in the United States and carried its form to the music of Jamaica, such as ska, reggae, dancehall, and dub. It also exists in grime music and is traditionally in hip hop. Toasting is also often used in soca and bouyon music. The African American oral tradition of toasting, a mix of talking and chanting, influenced the development of MCing in US hip hop music and in Jamaican toasting. The combination of singing and toasting is known as singjaying. In the late 1950s in Jamaica, deejay toasting was sedby Count Matchuki. He conceived the idea from listening to disc jockeys on American radio stations. He would do African American jive over the music while selecting and playing R&B music. Deejays like Count Machuki working for producers woul ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
U-Roy
Ewart Beckford OD (21 September 1942 – 17 February 2021), known by the stage name U-Roy, was a Jamaican vocalist and pioneer of toasting.Jo-Ann GreeneU-Roy Biography, AllMusic. Retrieved 11 April 2013. U-Roy was known for a melodic style of toasting applied with a highly developed sense of timing. Early life Ewart Beckford was born in Jones Town, Saint Andrews Parish, Kingston, Jamaica, on 21 September 1942. He was raised within a religious and musical family; his mother was an organist for the choir at a local Seventh-day Adventist church.Angus TaylorU-Roy Interview, United Reggae, 20 December 2012. Retrieved 7 April 2013. The sobriquet U-Roy originated from a younger member of his family who found it difficult to pronounce his first name. Beckford attended Denham Town High School in Kingston. As a young man Beckford listened to the music of Louis Prima, James Brown, Ruth Brown, Fats Domino, Rufus Thomas, Smiley Lewis and was especially influenced by the vocal phrasing of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atomic Kitten
Atomic Kitten is an English girl group formed in Liverpool in 1998, whose current members are Liz McClarnon, Jenny Frost and Natasha Hamilton. The group was founded by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) members Andy McCluskey and Stuart Kershaw, who served as principal songwriters during Atomic Kitten's early years. The group's debut album '' Right Now'' was released in October 2000 and charted at number 39 in the United Kingdom. After five top ten singles, original member Kerry Katona quit – four weeks before "Whole Again" reached number one in the UK Singles Chart – and was replaced by former Precious singer Jenny Frost. "Whole Again" became the group's most successful single, staying at number one for four weeks in the UK and six weeks in Germany, and reaching number one in many other territories; in Britain, it was the 13th best-selling single of the 2000s. The group re-released their debut album, with some tracks re-recorded with Frost's vocals: it peaked at numbe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
