Orville Thomas, better known by his stage name Da'Ville, is a Jamaican
reggae
Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...
singer.
Biography
Orville Thomas is the first child of
Jah Thomas
Nkrumah "Jah" Thomas (b. 1955, Kingston, Jamaica) is a reggae deejay and record producer who first came to prominence in the 1970s, later setting up his own ''Midnight Rock'' and ''Nura'' labels.
Biography
Named Nkrumah after Ghanaian nationali ...
and Cleopatra Wright.
[Morgan, Simone (2012)]
Singer Da’Ville returns with new album
, ''Jamaica Observer
''Jamaica Observer'' is a daily newspaper published in Kingston, Jamaica. The publication is owned by Butch Stewart, who chartered the paper in January 1993 as a competitor to Jamaica's oldest daily paper, ''The Gleaner''. Its founding editor i ...
'', 29 June 2012, retrieved 30 June 2012 He was raised primarily by his grandmother Ms. Feama who instilled in him the principles of education and religion. She was a strict disciplinarian, who ensured that Da'Ville attended church and sang in the church choir. As a teenager, he continued to sing in the St. Peter Claver Church choir and performed in local school functions.
When highly successful groups emerged on the scene, Da'Ville became inspired to create a group of his own. After several unsuccessful attempts he continued to develop his craft until he graduated from high school. Upon graduation from Norman Manley Comprehensive High School, Da'Ville worked in a factory and as a store clerk. Shortly after, he was introduced to a newly formed group which later became ARP (A Raw Perspective).
[Da'Ville... Can't get over]
", ''Jamaica Star'', 14 July 2005, retrieved 19 February 2011
After working with former group members of ARP, in 2001 he signed with Penthouse Records as a solo artist under the management of
Donovan Germain.
He recorded the hit singles "Cruzin", and "All My Life", the latter of which was recorded with then label mate,
Marcia Griffiths
Marcia Llyneth Griffiths (born 23 November 1949) is a Jamaican singer. One reviewer described her by noting "she is known primarily for her strong, smooth-as-mousse love songs and captivating live performances".
Biography
Born in West Kingst ...
. The single "All My Life" was nominated for the 2001 Reggae Soca Awards.
Da'Ville continued to record
hit single
A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single or simply a hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record' ...
s for producers such as: J.Brown, Fire Links,
Stephen McGregor, Don Corleon, Preston Anfoy, Wee-Pow (
Stone Love),
Beres Hammond
Beres Hammond OJ (born Hugh Beresford Hammond; 28 August 1955, in Annotto Bay, Saint Mary, Jamaica)Moskowitz, David V. (2006) ''Caribbean Popular Music: an Encyclopedia of Reggae, Mento, Ska, Rock Steady, and Dancehall'', Greenwood Press, , p. ...
,
Robert Livingston (Big Yard Music), and many more.
Aside from Da'Ville's vocal abilities, he is a songwriter, composer and producer. His early 2005 chart topping single "In Heaven", was produced by himself, O.Thomas and N.Palmer for Nap Musiq.
In January 2005 Da'Ville was introduced to Dj CurlyLocks of Federation Sound in Philadelphia. Together they started working on his breakout mix cd "A Moment With Da'Ville" which set the pace for Da'Ville's debut album ''In Heaven'' in 2005 produced and co-produced by O. Thomas, J. Brown and R.(Shams) Browne, for Fashozy Records, was released in Japan by Avex Entertainment Group. The album charted within the 2005 top ten best selling reggae albums for Japan Tower Records and led to numerous tours throughout Japan, Jamaica and the
Caribbean Islands
Almost all of the Caribbean islands are in the Caribbean Sea, with only a few in inland lakes. The largest island is Cuba. Other sizable islands include Hispaniola, Jamaica, Puerto Rico and Trinidad and Tobago. Some of the smaller islands are re ...
. As a result, in 2006, Avex released his second album ''Can't Get Over You'', produced by O. Thomas and J. Brown for Fashozy Records. The albums included three successful singles – "In Heaven", produced by O. Thomas and N. Palmer for Nap Musiq, "Can't Get Over You", and "On My Mind", produced by O. Thomas and J. Brown for Fashozy Records.
In 2006, the singles "Can't Get Over You", "On My Mind", and "This Time I Promise" were all chart toppers.
[Evans, Teino (2006)]
Da'Ville highlights his favourite songs
", ''Jamaica Star'', 23 October 2006, retrieved 19 February 2011[Evans, Teino (2007)]
", ''Jamaica Gleaner
''The Gleaner'' is an English-language, morning daily newspaper founded by two brothers, Jacob and Joshua de Cordova on 13 September 1834 in Kingston, Jamaica. Originally called the ''Daily Gleaner'', the name was changed on 7 December 1992 to ' ...
'', 5 August 2007, retrieved 19 February 2011 The single "Can't Get Over You", which was a top ten hit in Jamaica, was number one on the reggae chart in
Aruba
Aruba ( , , ), officially the Country of Aruba ( nl, Land Aruba; pap, Pais Aruba) is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands physically located in the mid-south of the Caribbean Sea, about north of the Venezuela peninsula of ...
and number two in New York, and was included on the VP album ''2006 Reggae Gold''. "On My Mind", held the top position on several charts including Jamaica (5 weeks), New York (3 weeks), Florida, Europe and Africa.
Da'Ville on everybody's mind
", ''Jamaica Star'', 4 October 2006, retrieved 19 February 2011 After a performance in New York City in early October, he was profiled in ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
''. In December he was honoured with Stone Love's 'Singer of the Year' award 2006.Apollo Theatre
The Apollo Theatre is a Grade II listed West End theatre, on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster, in central London. where he was nominated in several categories and won Most Improved Entertainer for 2006. In addition, Da'Ville made a special guest appearance at Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...
and he also performed at Irie Jamboree V before leaving for yet another Japan and Caribbean tour.
One of his biggest hit singles, "Always on My Mind", was remixed with dancehall artiste Sean Paul
Sean Paul Ryan Francis Henriques OD (born 9 January 1973) is a Jamaican rapper and singer who is regarded as one of dancehall's most prolific artists.
Paul's singles "Get Busy" and "Temperature" topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in the ...
.[Da'Ville For Red Stripe Reggae Sumfest – July 15 thru 21st in Montego Bay, Jamaica]
", Jamaicans.com, 22 June 2007, retrieved 19 February 2011
Da'Ville's latest album, ''Krazy Love'', was released in May 2012, preceded by the mixtape ''Vitamin D''.[Jackson, Kevin (2022)]
Da'Ville is a happy man
, ''Jamaica Observer
''Jamaica Observer'' is a daily newspaper published in Kingston, Jamaica. The publication is owned by Butch Stewart, who chartered the paper in January 1993 as a competitor to Jamaica's oldest daily paper, ''The Gleaner''. Its founding editor i ...
'', 19 February 2022. Retrieved 20 February 2022 His first album in ten years is due to be released in 2022, with the first single taken from it, "Happy", released in February that year.
Albums
*''In Heaven'' (2005)
# Mamas Portrait
# In Heaven
# Gallis
# Bring It On (Hey Baby)
# These Wounds
# Crazy
# Weh She Want
# Jump Off
# Out of My Head
# My Grade
# Love Will Show Me the Way
# All My Life
# This Is the Feeling
# She
# One for Me
# Chill
*''Can't Get Over You'' (2006)
# Intro
# Have You Ever
# On My Mind
# Can't Get Over You
# This Time I Promise
# Crying Over You
# Will You Be Mine?
# Baby I Wish
# Got To Love You More
# Tell Me Again
# Always By Your Side
# Cruizin
# Don't Say Goodnight
# Smoking
# No New Friends
# Thuggist
# Keep Holding On
# In Heaven (Accapella)
# In Heaven (Version)
# Outro
*''On My Mind'' (2007)
# Always on My Mind (Reprise) – Da'Ville, Sean Paul,
# Can't Get Over You
# All My Life – Da'Ville, Marcia Griffiths
# I'm in Love with You
# And So I Will Wait for You
# This Time I Promise
# Give Thanks for What You've Got
# My Grade
# Give It Up for My Baby
# Yesterday
# Have You Ever Been in Love?
# My Heart
# Dancehall Lovers Rock
# Always on My Mind
*''Ichiban'' (2009)
# ICHIBAN feat FIREBALL
# HOLD ME NOW
# MISSING YOU RIGHT NOW
# BLESSINGS A MULTIPLY feat DEMARCO
# NEVER GONNA CRY
# PERFECT
# AS I AM
# GAL YOU GONE
# FOREVER feat SHAGGY
# TURNING ME ON
# EYES
# YESTERDAY
# JUST ANOTHER DAY (THE VOICES)
# AWAY (BONUS TRACK)
*''Single Ready To Mingle'' (2011) Produced by Sherman de Vries & Scarecrow Beats
*''Krazy Love'' (2012)
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Living people
Jamaican reggae musicians
1978 births
Musicians from Kingston, Jamaica
VP Records artists