Donovan Germain (born 7 March 1952 in

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 ...

) is a

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 ...

producer, one of the most successful of the digital era.

Biography

Germain's entry into the music industry was via his record shop in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in the 1970s.Larkin, Colin (1998) "The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae", Virgin Books, He began production in 1972, visiting Jamaica for recording sessions, working in both

roots reggae Roots reggae is a subgenre of reggae that deals with the everyday lives and aspirations of Africans and those in the African Diaspora, including the spiritual side of Rastafari, black liberation, revolution and the honoring of God, called Jah ...

and lovers rock. As a producer he had hits on the reggae charts with the likes of Cultural Roots' "Mr. Boss Man" in 1980, and broke through into the UK Singles Chart in the early and mid-1980s with

Sugar Minott Lincoln Barrington "Sugar" Minott (25 May 1956 – 10 July 2010)Campbell, Howard (2010)Reggae singer Sugar Minott dies at 54, Associated Press, 11 July 2010. Retrieved 12 July 2010Peru, Yasmine (2010)Godfather of Dancehall, Sugar Minott, dead at ...

's "Good Thing Going" and

Audrey Hall Audrey Hall (born c. 1948 in Kingston, Jamaica) is a reggae singer. Biography Hall began her career singing with Dandy Livingstone in the duo Dandy & Audrey.Larkin, Colin (1998) "The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae", Virgin Books, They recorded ...

's "One Dance Won't Do".Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The Rough Guide to Reggae", Rough Guides, He ran the Revolutionary Sounds label which started in the early 1980s and ran from New York, and also ran the Rub-a-Dub, Reggae, and Germain labels.Thompson, Dave (2002) "Reggae & Caribbean Music", Backbeat Books, Reggae Producers - The Big 5
",

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 ...

, 2 March 2008 One of Germain label's most well-known records on the sound system circuit in UK, especially on

Jah Shaka Jah Shaka, also known as the Zulu Warrior is a Jamaican reggae/dub sound system operator who has been operating a South East London-based, roots reggae Jamaican sound system since the early 1970s. His name is an amalgamation of the Rastafarian t ...

sound, was Sam Bramwell's ''It ago Dread inna

Babylon ''Bābili(m)'' * sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠 * arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel'' * syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel'' * grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn'' * he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel'' * peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru'' * elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...

'', which Bramwell-- previously a vocalist with The Chantells -- recorded with The Revolutionaries. He returned to Kingston in 1987 and opened his ''Penthouse Studio'' on Slipe Pen Road (originally located on the top floor — hence the name — now located on Ballater Avenue and including a pressing facility), which soon became highly in-demand, and became one of the island's top studios, with Germain becoming recognized as one of the very top reggae producers, taking over as Jamaica's leading producer from

King Jammy Lloyd James (born 26 October 1947),Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter: "Reggae: The Rough Guide", 1997, Rough Guides, better known as Prince Jammy or King Jammy, is a Jamaican dub mixer and record producer. He began his musical career as a dub ma ...

.Henry, Davina (2013)
Penthouse Celebrates 25 Years
, ''

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 ' ...

'', 13 October 2013. Retrieved 13 October 2013 In the early days of the studio he worked with such renowned artists as

Freddie McGregor Freddie McGregor (born 27 June 1956, in Clarendon, Jamaica) is a Jamaican singer, musician and record producer. His music career began when he was seven years old. Biography In 1963 he joined with Ernest Wilson and Peter Austin to form The C ...

Delroy Wilson Delroy George Wilson CD (5 October 1948 – 6 March 1995) Greene, Jo-Ann, " Delroy Wilson Biography, allmusic.com, Macrovision Corporation was a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae singer. Wilson is often regarded as Jamaica's first child s ...

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 ...

, and

Tenor Saw Clive Bright (2 December 1966 – August 1988), better known as Tenor Saw, was a Jamaican dancehall singjay in the 1980s, considered one of the most influential singers of the early digital reggae era. His best-known song was the 1985 hit "Rin ...

, and went on to enjoy great success with

Buju Banton Mark Anthony Myrie (born 15 July 1973),Larkin, Colin (1998) "The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae", Virgin Books, professionally known by his stage name Buju Banton, is a Jamaican reggae dancehall musician. He is considered to be one of the most ...

(who with Germain had more Jamaican number one singles than any other artist),

Mad Cobra Ewart Everton Brown (born 31 March 1968), better known by his stage name Mad Cobra or simply Cobra, is a Jamaican dancehall musician.Huey, Steve " Mad Cobra Biography, AllMusic, retrieved 2010-01-31Larkin, Colin (1998) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia ...

Cutty Ranks Philip Thomas (born 12 February 1965), better known as Cutty Ranks, is a Jamaican dancehall singer. Biography Thomas was born in Clarendon Parish, Jamaica in 1965. He began his career as a reggae artist at the age of eleven with local sound s ...

Morgan Heritage Morgan Heritage is a Grammy-winning Jamaican reggae band formed in 1994 by five children of reggae artist Denroy Morgan, namely Peter "Peetah" Morgan, Una Morgan, Roy "Gramps" Morgan, Nakhamyah "Lukes" Morgan, and Memmalatel "Mr. Mojo" Morgan. ...

Wayne Wonder Von Wayne Charles (born 26 July 1972), better known by his stage name Wayne Wonder, is a Jamaican reggae artist. While his early recordings were dancehall and reggae, he later moved towards hip hop and rap. His most popular single is the 2003 ...

, and

Beres Hammond Beres Hammond Order of Jamaica, OJ (born Hugh Beresford Hammond; 28 August 1955, in Annotto Bay, Saint Mary Parish, Jamaica, Saint Mary, Jamaica)Moskowitz, David V. (2006) ''Caribbean Popular Music: an Encyclopedia of Reggae, Mento, Ska, Rock St ...

. In 2012, Germain received Jamaica's Excellence in Music and Entertainment (EME) Award for Producer of the Year (reggae).White, Nadine (2013)
Donovan Germain blasts current state of dancehall music
, ''Vision newspaper'', 24 June 2013. Retrieved 25 July 2014 In October 2014 the

Institute of Jamaica The Institute of Jamaica (IOJ), founded in 1879, is the country's most significant cultural, artistic and scientific organisation:Musgrave Medal The Musgrave Medal is an annual award by the Institute of Jamaica in recognition of achievement in art, science, and literature.Webster, Valerie J. (2000), ''Awards, Honors & Prizes, Volume 2'', Gale Group, , p. 447. Originally conceived in 1889 a ...

for his contribution to music.Campbell, Howard (2014)
Winkler, Germain and Gussie get medals
, ''

'', 9 October 2014. Retrieved 9 October 2014 In August 2015 it was announced that he would be awarded the

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'') i ...

by the Jamaican government.Campbell, Howard (2015)
Ronnie Burke heads field of distinction
, ''

'', 7 August 2015. Retrieved 15 August 2015

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Germain, Donovan 1952 births Living people Jamaican record producers Recipients of the Musgrave Medal Recipients of the Order of Distinction