Earl Sixteen (b. Earl John Daley, 9 May 1958,

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley Inter ...

)Gregory, Andy (2002) ''International Who's Who in Popular Music 2002'', Europa, , p. 152 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 ...

singer whose career began in the mid-1970s.

Biography

Daley grew up in Waltham Park Road, Kingston, and, influenced by American

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

and Jamaican artists such as Dennis Brown, began his singing career by entering local talent shows. He became the lead vocalist for the group The Flaming Phonics, playing live around Jamaica. Daley decided to drop out of school to pursue his music career, which prompted his mother to throw him out of the family home. Needing to make some money, the group tried out for producer

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 ...

, but left before finishing their recording for him due to his habit of firing live gunshots in the studio. They then worked with

Herman Chin Loy Herman Chin Loy ( Trelawny, 11 July 1948''Aquarius Rock. The Hip Reggae World of Herman Chin-Loy'' booklet and liner notes) is a Jamaican record producer, best known for his productions from the late 1960s and early 1970s of artists such as Augus ...

, with Daley cutting his first solo track, "Hey baby". The group split up, with Daley concentrating on his solo career. Daley recorded "Malcolm X" for producer Joe Gibbs in 1975 - a track written by his school-friend Winston McAnuff, and which was later successfully covered by Dennis Brown. In 1977, he joined Boris Gardiner's group, The Boris Gardiner Happening, which brought him into contact with

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 ...

. In the late 1970s, after a spell with

Derrick Harriott Derrick Clifton Harriott Order of Distinction, OD (born 10 February 1942) is a Jamaican singer and record producer. He was a member of the Jiving Juniors with Herman Sang before embarking on a solo career. He has produced sound recording and re ...

, Daley recorded four tracks at Perry's

Black Ark The Black Ark was the recording studio of reggae and dub producer Lee "Scratch" Perry, built in 1973 and located behind his family's home in the Washington Gardens neighborhood of Kingston, Jamaica. Despite the rudimentary set-up and dated eq ...

studio, including the original recording of "White Belly Rat", also meeting Earl Morgan of

The Heptones The Heptones are a Jamaican rocksteady and reggae vocal trio most active in the 1960s and early 1970s. They were one of the more significant trios of that era, and played a major role in the gradual transition between ska and rocksteady into ...

, who later produced his album, ''Shining Star''. In the early 1980s he recorded singles for a variety of producers including Linval Thompson,

Augustus Pablo Horace Swaby (21 June 1953 – 18 May 1999),Thompson, Dave (2002) ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books, , p. 200-202 known as Augustus Pablo, was a Jamaican roots reggae and dub record producer and a multi-instrumentalist, active f ...

, Clement Dodd, Sugar Minott, Yabby You, and Derrick Harriott, and recorded his debut album with Mikey Dread. He teamed up with Roy Cousins for two albums, ''Julie'' and ''Special Request''. Earlier material recorded for Studio One was released as 1985's ''Showcase'' album. In 1985, after spending time in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, he relocated to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, fathering a child. His child's mother knew Mad Professor, who Daley began working with. He also worked with other British producers such as Stafford Douglas. One of his tracks from this era was a cover version of "Holding Back The Years", which had been a big hit for

Simply Red Simply Red are a British soul and pop band formed in Manchester in 1985. The lead vocalist of the band is singer and songwriter Mick Hucknall, who, by the time the band initially disbanded in 2010, was the only original member left. Since the ...

. Returning to Jamaica, he worked briefly with King Jammy. In the 1990s he made guest appearances on tracks by

Leftfield Leftfield are a British electronic music duo formed in 1989 as the duo of Neil Barnes and Paul Daley (the latter formerly of the Rivals and A Man Called Adam). The duo was very influential in the evolution of electronic music in the 1990s, wi ...

, and he has been one of the two vocalists for the UK electronica/reggae band Dreadzone since 1995. He signed to

WEA The Wea were a Miami-Illinois-speaking Native American tribe originally located in western Indiana. Historically, they were described as either being closely related to the Miami Tribe or a sub-tribe of Miami. Today, the descendants of the ...

for his major label debut album, 1997's ''Steppin' Out'', which was nominated for a MOBO award. Earl has continued touring and working with Dreadzone band, as well as joining

on tours. Recently, Earl has been working with producers in the UK and Europe, as well as doing shows with Thomas Evers of Rockers Artist Agency, worldwide as a Reggae Ambassador. He started his own label, Merge Production, releasing previously unreleased vinyl from the 1970s and 1980s. He also released an album on Merge Production, "Walls Of The City" - Earl 16 Meets Nick Manasseh in March 2013, featuring both British and international artists, on vinyl, digital download and CD.

Discography

Albums

*''Reggae Sounds'' (1981) DATC *''Julie'' (1982) Roy Cousins *''Super Duper'' (1982) Time *''Special Request'' (1983) Roy Cousins *''Shining Star'' (1983) Vista *''Songs For a Reason'' (1983) Vista *''Songs of Love and Hardship'' (1984) Kingdom *''Showcase'' (1985) Studio One *''Year 2000'' (198?) Oswald Music *''Babylon Walls'' (1991)

Ariwa Mad Professor (born Neil Joseph Stephen Fraser, 1955, Georgetown, Guyana) is a Guyanese-born British dub music producer and engineer known for his original productions and remix work. He is considered one of the leading producers of dub music ...

*''Boss Man'' (1992) Carib Sounds *''Not For Sale'' (1993) Next Step *''Phoenix of Peace'' (1993) *''Rootsman'' (1994) Rhino *''Steppin' Out'' (1997) WEA *''Wonderous Works'' (2000) Gussie P *''Cyber Roots'' (2001) Epark *''Soldiers of Jah Army'' (2003) Patate *''Mash Up The Dance: Earl Sixteen live with No More Babylon'' BMG *''Feel The Fire'' WEA Allemagne *''Wake Up'' (2006) Ariwa *''The Fittest'' (2011) JahSolidRock Music/HeartBeat Europe *''Walls of the City'' arl 16 Meets Nick Manasseh(2014) *''Earl 16 vs. Ken Parker'' (2016) Roy Cousins

Selected singles

*"Freedom" (1977) Upsetter *"Trials and Crosses" (1981) Thompson Sound *"No Mash Up the Dance" arl Sixteen and Mike Brooks(1993) Top Beat *"Can't Conquer We" (2005) King Shiloh *"The Joker" arl 16 with The Mighty Dub Generators(2014) Scion Recordings *"Red" (2015) Roots Inspiration

Appearances

Release the Pressure "Release the Pressure" is the third single by the English electronic duo Leftfield and the first to involve Paul Daley with writing duties after he joined the group. The song was released exclusively on 12" in 1992. Unlike previous releases that ...

(12", 1992) *''

Second Light ''Second Light'' (subtitled ''An Original Dreadzone Sound Adventure'') is the second album by the British band Dreadzone. It was released on Virgin Records in May 1995 as their first album on the label and their follow-up to '' 360°'' (1993). The ...

'' Dreadzone (1995) *"Zion Youth" readzone(1995) *"Life, Love and Unity" readzone(1995) *'' Leftism'' eftfield(1996) *"Release the Pressure" eftfield(1996) *''

Biological Radio ''Biological Radio'' is the third album by the British band Dreadzone, released in 1997 by Virgin Records. Although less successful than its predecessor, ''Biological Radio'' represents a mellowing of style, none of the tracks being as energetic ...

'' readzone(1997) *''

Sound In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...

'' readzone (2001) *''

Laika Come Home ''Laika Come Home'' is a Gorillaz remix album released in July 2002. Unlike a typical remix album, it is done by just one group, Spacemonkeyz. It contains most of the songs from Gorillaz' first album, '' Gorillaz'', but remixed in dub and re ...

'' (

Spacemonkeyz Spacemonkeyz are a musical group consisting of Darren Galea, Richie Stevens and Gavin Dodds. They came together when Galea created a dub remix of the Gorillaz' "Tomorrow Comes Today" ("Tomorrow Dub", which was released as a B-side on the "T ...

vs.

Gorillaz Gorillaz are an English virtual band formed in 1998 by musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett, from London. The band primarily consists of four fictional members: 2-D (vocals, keyboards), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar), Noodle (guitar, ...

) (2002) *''

Once Upon a Time "Once upon a time" is a stock phrase used to introduce a narrative of past events, typically in fairy tales and folk tales. It has been used in some form since at least 1380 (according to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'') in storytelling in the ...

'' readzone(2005) *''

Eye on the Horizon ''Eye on the Horizon'' is the sixth studio album by the British band Dreadzone. It was released on 26 April 2010 through Dubwiser records. Track listing All tracks written by Spencer Graham, Greg Roberts and Earl Daley #"Tomorrow Never Come ...

'' readzone(2010) *''Escapades'' readzone(2013) *''Dread Times'' readzone(2017) *''Dreadzone Presents Dubwiser Volume One'' (2019) *''Space Song'' ubioza kolektiv(2020)

References

External links

Earl Sixteen at Roots Archives
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sixteen, Earl 1958 births Living people Musicians from Kingston, Jamaica Jamaican reggae musicians