Carl Harvey (born 1 October 1958) is a

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

n born Canadian guitarist and

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

who recorded as a member of Crack of Dawn and

The Aggrovators The Aggrovators were a dub/reggae backing band in the 1970s and 1980s, and one of the main session bands of producer Bunny Lee. The line-up varied, with Lee using the name for whichever set of musicians he was using at any time.Larkin, Colin ...

in the 1970s, and later became guitarist for

Toots & the Maytals The Maytals, known from 1972 to 2020 as Toots and the Maytals, are a Jamaican musical group, one of the best known ska and rocksteady vocal groups. The Maytals were formed in the early 1960s and were key figures in popularizing reggae music. ...

Early life and education

Harvey was born in Jamaica and emigrated to

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, Canada with his family at an early age. He began playing guitar aged 13 and also played the

tuba The tuba (; ) is the lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece. It first appeared in the mid-19th century, making it one of the ne ...

at school.

Career

After listening to music by Jimi Hendrix, Harvey joined the Toronto funk and soul band Crack of Dawn, which was signed by Columbia Records and had hits in Canada with "It's Alright" and "Keep the Faith" in 1976. In the mid-1970s, Harvey visited Jamaica regularly and recorded as a member of

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 i ...

's house band The Aggrovators, playing on albums such as ''Kaya Dub'', Jackie Mittoo's ''In Cold Blood'' and ''King in the Arena'', and also played guitar on

Willi Williams Willi Williams (also Willie Williams) is a Jamaican reggae and dub musician and producer. He is known as the "Armagideon Man" after his hit, "Armagideon Time", first recorded in 1977 at Studio One in Kingston. The song was covered by The Cla ...

' ''Messenger Man''.Carl Harvey
at Roots Archives In 1978, he went into the studio with Lee to record several tracks where he played improvised guitar over some of Lee's classic rhythms. These were released in 1979 as the album ''Ecstasy of Mankind'' on the British label Cancer. Although the record was unavailable for many years, it was released by

Rhino Records A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species ...

in 1994, who sold it as a

Lee "Scratch" Perry Lee "Scratch" Perry (born Rainford Hugh Perry; 20 March 1936 – 29 August 2021) was a Jamaican record producer, composer and singer noted for his innovative studio techniques and production style. Perry was a pioneer in the 1970s development o ...

album, under the title ''Guitar Boogie Dub''. The album was given a wider release, with correct title and credits, in 2005 by Makasound Records. In the 1980s, Harvey became the lead guitarist of Toots & the Maytals, and has been with the band for over twenty-five years.Johnson, Reed (2009)
Live: Toots & the Maytals and Black Uhuru at the Hollywood Bowl
, ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'', 11 August 2009''Ecstasy of Mankind'' review
, Reggae-Reviews.com The band performed internationally, including in the United States and the United Kingdom. Harvey also toured with his own band, with Jackie Mittoo, and worked as a

, producing four albums by

Messenjah Messenjah is a Canadian-based reggae group that flourished to become one of the most successful and popular reggae groups in the history of Canadian music. History Messenjah was formed in 1980 in Kitchener, Ontario and released their first album ...

(two of which were nominated for

Juno Awards The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...

), and recordings by the Juno-winning

Kim Richardson Kim Richardson (born December 22, 1965) is a Canadian singer and actress,

and Sway."Reggae"
''

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage. Available f ...

'', June 10, 2007. He later played lead guitar in Messenjah. Harvey released a second solo album, ''The Times'', in 2005."Carl Harvey - The Times"
''AllMusic'' Review by Stewart Mason

Solo discography

*''Ecstasy of Mankind'' (1979), Cancer *''The Times'' (2005) - Carl Harvey (credited to Carl Harvey & Friends) *''Unleashed'' EP (2012) - Carl Harvey Project

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harvey, Carl 1958 births Living people Jamaican emigrants to Canada Black Canadian musicians Canadian guitarists Canadian reggae musicians Musicians from Toronto Toots and the Maytals members