Dennis Vassell, better known as Dennis Walks, 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
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, best known for his work with
Harry Mudie
Harry A. Mudie (born 1940 in Spanish Town, Jamaica) is a Jamaican record producer.Thompson, Dave (2002) ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books, , p. 315
Biography
Harry Mudie attended the St Jago High School.Larkin, Colin (1998) ''The Vi ...
in the late 1960s and 1970s. His stage name was given to him by
Roy Shirley.
Life and career
Walks first recorded in 1963 for
Duke Reid
Arthur "Duke" Reid CD (21 July 1915 – 1 January 1975) was a Jamaican record producer, DJ and label owner.
He ran one of the most popular sound systems of the 1950s called Reid's Sound System, whilst Duke himself was known as The Troja ...
at
Treasure Isle
Arthur "Duke" Reid CD (21 July 1915 – 1 January 1975) was a Jamaican record producer, DJ and label owner.
He ran one of the most popular sound systems of the 1950s called Reid's Sound System, whilst Duke himself was known as The Troja ...
.
In the late 1960s, he recorded for producer
Joe Gibbs
Joe Jackson Gibbs (born November 25, 1940) is an American auto racing team owner and former professional football coach. In football, he was head coach for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL) from 1981 to 1992, and ...
("Having a Party"), but is best known for his recordings with producer Harry Mudie; "The Drifter" and "Heart Don't Leap" were both big hit singles in Jamaica.
[Foster, Chuck (1999) ''Roots Rock Reggae'', Billboard Books, , p. 271] In 1974 he had another hit with "Margaret", backed by the Mudie's All Stars, which formed the basis of
Lennie Hibbert
Lennie Hibbert OD (born Leonard Aloysius Hibbert, 12 November 1928 - 8 September 1984)tropicmusic.com was a Jamaican musician who was bandmaster at the Alpha Cottage School, and also a vibraphone virtuoso, recording two albums for Studio One.
...
's "Margaret's Dream".
[Larkin, Colin (1998) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae'', Virgin Books, , p. 314] In 1975 he had a hit on the UK reggae charts with "Sad Sweet Dreamer" and a reissue of "Margaret".
Walks' debut album ''Meet Dennis Walks'', collecting several of his earlier hits, was released on the Moodisc label in 1976. The "Drifter" rhythm has been recorded on by several artists over the years, including versions of "The Drifter" by
Dennis Brown
Dennis Emmanuel Brown CD (1 February 1957 – 1 July 1999) was a Jamaican reggae singer. During his prolific career, which began in the late 1960s when he was aged eleven, he recorded more than 75 albums and was one of the major stars of lo ...
and
Cornell Campbell
Cornel Campbell aka Don Cornel or Don Gorgon (born 23 November 1945 in Kingston, Jamaica) is a reggae singer, best known for his trademark falsetto voice, and his recordings at Studio One in the late 1960s and his later work with Bunny Lee i ...
, a
deejay
A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile D ...
version by
I Roy
Roy Samuel Reid (28 June 1942 – 27 November 1999), better known as I-Roy, was a Jamaican deejay who had a very prolific career during the 1970s.
Biography
Born in 1944 in Saint Thomas Parish, Jamaica, Reid graduated from Dinthill Technical C ...
, and ''Reggae Bible (Book of Drifters)'', an entire album based on the track.
Walks also worked with
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 ...
, and
Prince Jazzbo
Linval Roy Carter (3 September 1951 – 11 September 2013), better known as Prince Jazzbo, was a Jamaican reggae and dancehall deejay and producer.
Career
Born in Clarendon Parish, Jamaica, and raised in Kingston, Linval Roy Carter (who wou ...
in the late 1960s and 1970s and continued to release singles into the 1990s.
He had further hits in the early 1980s with "The Lover", "Roast Fish and Cornbread" (with
Billy Boyo
Billy Boyo (born Billy Theophilus Rowe, 21 September 1969 – 29 October 2000) was a Jamaican reggae artist born in Kingston, Jamaica, who was arguably the most prolific of the early-1980s child DJs. He is most well known for his songs "One Sp ...
), and "Shut Up Your Face" (with
Lee Van Cliff).
In 2004 he released the ''Gwanee Gwanee'' album, recorded with
Mafia & Fluxy
Mafia & Fluxy are a British reggae rhythm section and production team, consisting of the brothers Leroy (bass) and David Heywood (drums), whose careers began with London reggae band The Instigators in 1977. They backed Jamaican artists on UK to ...
. He has performed in the 21st century in "oldies" shows such as ''Stars R Us'' and ''Vintage Showcase''.
[Cooke, Mel (2004),]
Vintage Showcase Builds to Unsatisfactory End
", '' Jamaica Gleaner'', 4 October 2004. Retrieved 23 September 2012.[Stars R Us is back]
", '' Jamaica Observer'', 10 August 2010. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
Discography
Albums
*''Meet Dennis Walks'' (1976), Moodisc
*''Gwanee Gwanee'' (2004),
Jet Star
Singles
*"Having a Party" (1968), Amalgamated
*"Uncle Sam's Country" (196?), Amalgamated – promo only
*"Belly Lick" (1968), Blue Cat
*"Heart Don't Leap" (1969), Bullet
*"Love of My Life" (1969), Bullet
*"The Drifter" (1969), Crab – B-side of Grossett's "Run Girl Run"
*"Combination Drifter" (1970), Afro – with
I Roy
Roy Samuel Reid (28 June 1942 – 27 November 1999), better known as I-Roy, was a Jamaican deejay who had a very prolific career during the 1970s.
Biography
Born in 1944 in Saint Thomas Parish, Jamaica, Reid graduated from Dinthill Technical C ...
*"Heart Don't Leap" (1971), Moodisc – with I Roy
*"Time Will Tell" (1971), Moodisc
*"
Snowbird
Snowbird is a common name for the dark-eyed junco (''Junco hyemalis'').
Snowbird may also refer to:
Places
*Snowbird, Utah, an unincorporated area and associated ski resort
*Snowbird Lake, a lake in the Northwest Territories, Canada
*Snowbird ...
" (1971), Afro – with instruments by Mudies All Stars, piano by
Gladstone Anderson and female backup vocals by The S.P.M.s though uncredited on a 45 RPM single
*"Ooh Wee Baby" (1972), Moodisc
*"Margaret" (1974), Count Shelly
*"Sad Sweet Dreamer" (1974), Moodisc
*"Misty" (1975), HAM
*"Don't Play That Song" (1975), Magnet
*"Pretty Dress" (197?), Conrack
*"Almighty I" (1978), Joe Gibbs
*"Togetherness" (1978), Velvet Sound
*"Fancy Dress" (1980), Orbit
*"Drifter" (1981), Jah Guidance – 12-inch
*"Roast Fish & Cornbread" (1982),
Greensleeves
"Greensleeves" is a traditional English folk song. A broadside ballad by the name "A Newe Northen Dittye of ye Ladye Greene Sleves" was registered by Richard Jones at the London Stationer's Company in September 1580,Frank Kidson, ''English Fo ...
*"Fisherman" (198?), Midnight Rock
*"Don't Worry" (19??), Everglaids
*"Only Time Will Tell" (19??), Moodisc
*"Shoulder To Shoulder" (19??), Ujama
*"Business" (1985), Hard Rock
*"Better To Be Early" (1987), Arietha Productions
*"You Could A Deal" (1992), Mandingo
*"True Love Is All I Need" (1992), Mandingo
*"Father And Son" (19??), Icom – Dennis Walks & Zebra
*"Drifter Mix" (2010), Jah Life – Dennis Walks & Carl Meeks
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walks, Dennis
Living people
People from Spanish Town
Jamaican male singers
Jamaican reggae singers
Year of birth missing (living people)