Paul Blake (19 October 1965 – 18 May 2017), better known as Frankie Paul, was a Jamaican

dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The Rou ...

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 ...

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse refers to a practitioner in the visual arts only. However, th ...

. Born blind, he has been dubbed by some 'The Jamaican Stevie Wonder'.

Biography

Born in Jamaica in 1965, Blake was born blind but as a child had his sight partially restored by an operation on a hospital ship. He sang for, and impressed

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...

when Wonder visited the school that Blake attended, prompting him to pursue a singing career. Adopting the stage name Frankie Paul, he first found fame in the early 1980s, and he recorded prolifically throughout the decade. He recorded for virtually every producer/

studio A studio is an artist or worker's workroom. This can be for the purpose of acting, architecture, painting, pottery (ceramics), sculpture, origami, woodworking, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, industrial design ...

in Jamaica at some time, and was known to release several

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

s a year. Notable works of Frankie Paul include the popular "Sara" and "Worries in the Dance". Paul resided in

The Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...

from 1994. In January 2016 he underwent surgery to amputate a foot and part of his leg. Frankie Paul died on 18 May 2017 from complications with his liver at the

University Hospital of the West Indies The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the higher education needs of the residents of 17 English-speaking countries and territories in the ...

in Kingston, Jamaica.

Discography

Albums

*''Give the Youth a Chance'' (1982), Freedom Sounds – also released as ''Rich & Poor'' *''Pass the Tu-Sheng-Peng'' (1985), Nyam Up *''Tidal Wave'' (1985),

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 Fol ...

*''Over the Wall'' (1985), Crystal *''Still Alive'' (1985), Jammy's *''Shut Up Bway'' (1986), Ujama *''Sara'' (1987), Jammy's (JA) / Live & Love (UK/US) *''Warning'' (1987),

RAS Ras or RAS may refer to: Arts and media * RAS Records Real Authentic Sound, a reggae record label * Rundfunk Anstalt Südtirol, a south Tyrolese public broadcasting service * Rás 1, an Icelandic radio station * Rás 2, an Icelandic radio stati ...

*''Alesha'' (1987) *''Fire Deh a Mus Tail'' (1988), Blacka Dread *''Dance Hall Duo'' (1988), RAS *''Slow Down'' (1988), VP *''Frankie Paul at Studio One'' (1988), Studio One *''Veteran'' (1989), VP *''Reaching Out'' (1989), Blue Mountain *''Can't Get You Out of My Mind'' (1990), Rohit *''Detrimental'' (1990), Rohit *''Get Closer'' (1990), Profile *''Start of Romance'' (1991), Sonic Sounds *''Best in Me'' (1991), VP *''Let's Chill'' (1991), VP *''Jamming'' (1991), VP *''Should I'' (1991), Heartbeat *''Money Talk'' (1991), Jammy's *''Sleepless Night'' (1992), Sonic Sounds *''Hot Number'' (1992), VP *''Tomorrow'' (1992), Sonic Sounds *''Cassanova'' (1992), Dynamic Sounds *''Live & Love'' (1992), VP *''Sizzling'' (1992), VP *''Don Man'' (1993), Philo *''Talk All You Want'' (1994), VP *''Hard Work'' (1994), RAS *''Time Less'' (1995), Tan-yah *''If You Want Me Girl'' (1995), Trojan *''Come Back Again'' (1996), VP *''Freedom'' (1996), RAS *''A We Rule'' (1997), RAS *''Live at Maritime Hall'' (1999), Artists Only *''Give Me That Feeling Freedom Blues'' (1999), Foxtail *''Forever'' (1999), World *''Rock On'' (1999), Charm *''Every Nigger Is a Star!'' (2000), Greensleeves *''Remember the Time'' (2001), Artists Only *''I Be Hold'' (2001), T.P. *''Don't Wanna Get Funky'' (2001), Prestige Elite *''Sara'' (2002), Fatman *''Blessed Me'' (2002), Scorpio *''Hardcore Loving'' (2003), Charm *''Asking for Love'' (2004), Jet Star *''Who Issued the Guns'' (2006), Music Avenue *''Are You Ready'' (2007), Cousins *''Best of Friends'' (2007), Charm *''Tink Say Dem Know Me'' (2008), Jet Star *''Most Wanted'' (2011), Greensleeves

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Paul, Frankie 1965 births 2017 deaths Musicians from Kingston, Jamaica Jamaican male singers Jamaican reggae singers Blind musicians VP Records artists Heartbeat Records artists