Freddie McKay (sometimes Freddy McKay) (1947 – 19 November 1986)
was a Jamaican singer, whose career spanned the
rocksteady and
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 ...
eras.
Biography
McKay, born in
Saint Catherine Parish, Jamaica,
is regarded as one of the most soulful singers to come out of Jamaica.
[Foster, Chuck (1999) ''Roots Rock Reggae'', Billboard Books, , p. 260] McKay first recorded for producer
Prince Buster in 1967, his first hit coming the same year with "Love Is A Treasure", recorded 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 ...
's
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 ...
set-up.
[Larkin, Colin: ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae'', 1998, Virgin Books, ] McKay then enjoyed a fruitful spell with
Coxsone Dodd, recording a number of popular songs for
Studio One backed by The Soul Defenders,
[Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter: "Reggae: The Rough Guide", 1997, Rough Guides, ] including "High School Dance", "Sweet You Sour You", and "Picture on the Wall", the latter the title track of his 1971 debut album.
A second album, ''Lonely Man'' followed in 1974. McKay recorded a duet with
Horace Andy in 1975, "Talking Love" which was also a hit in Jamaica.
[Thompson, Dave:"Reggae & Caribbean Music", 2002, Backbeat Books, ] McKay enjoyed another hit in 1976 with "Dance This Ya Festival", which won the ''
Jamaican Independence Popular Song Contest'' that year.
McKay teamed up with
Alvin Ranglin
Alvin 'GG' Ranglin (born 1942, Eden, Clarendon Parish, Jamaica)Greene (Alvin Ranglin Biography) is a Jamaican reggae singer, record producer and record label owner.
Biography
Ranglin started to sing in public in his teens with an Adventist Chur ...
for the misleadingly titled ''The Best Of Freddie McKay'' (it was an album of new recordings) in 1977, McKay now adapting to the prevailing
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 ...
style. The
Ossie Hibbert
Oswald "Ossie" Hibbert (16 January 1951 – 1 July 2012) was a Jamaican organist, keyboard player and record producer.
Biography
Hibbert began to be active in Jamaican music in the mid-1970s, working as a keyboard player as part of The Professi ...
-produced showcase album ''Creation'' followed in 1979, and ''Tribal Inna Yard'' in 1983.
McKay maintained a faithful following until his death in 1986
from a heart attack,
shortly after finishing his final album, ''I'm a Free Man''.
His son, Andrew Chin, known under the pseudonym
Brushy One String
Andrew Chin, better known by the stage name Brushy One String, is a Jamaican singer and bassist.
Early life
Andrew Chin is the son of Jamaican reggae singer Freddie McKay. According to Chin, the idea of playing a guitar with a single string ...
, is a musician known for playing a one-stringed guitar.
Discography
Albums
*''Picture On The Wall'' (1971, Studio One)
*''Lonely Man'' (1974, Dragon UK / Dynamic Jamaica) (reissued 1996, Lagoon)
*''Fire is Burning'' (1976, Amethyst Records)
*''The Best Of Freddie McKay'' (1977, GG's)
*''Creation'' (1979, Plant and Joe Gibbs)
*''Harsh Words'' (1982 Gorgon)
*''Tribal Inna Yard'' (1983, Move)
*''I'm a Free Man'' (1988 Uptempo)
*''Freddie McKay & Soul Defenders at Studio One'' (1991, Heartbeat)
*''The Right Time Recordings'' (1997, GG's) (with Jah Stone)
*''The Right Time'' (1999, Rhino)
*''When You're Smiling'' (2002, Rhino) (''Lonely Man'' + bonus tracks)
*''Doin' It Right'' (2003, Charly)
Single
*Freddie McKay – "Dance Dis A Festival" – 1976 Carifest Winning Song
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:McKay, Freddie
1947 births
1986 deaths
Jamaican reggae musicians
20th-century Jamaican male singers
People from Saint Catherine Parish