Earl George Lawrence (1946–2003), also known as George Faith, Earl George and George Earl, was a Jamaican

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 in the 1970s with producers such as

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 ...

and

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 ...

Biography

Born in

Rae Town Rae Town is a Kingston, Jamaica neighborhood by Kingston Harbor Kingston Harbour in Jamaica is the seventh-largest natural harbour in the world. It is an almost landlocked area of water approximately long by wide. Most of it is deep enough t ...

, Lawrence was the son of a barber and a factory cook.George Faith
(obit.),

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

, 23 May 2003 His singing talent was first noted as a member of the school choir. He made his recording debut in 1970 with "See Me," produced by Clancy Eccles. In the early 1970s he worked with singer/producer Glen Lee, recording "Green Hills, I Won't Cry" and "Gonna Give Her All The Love I've Got". During the mid-1970s he was approached by Lee Perry, who ran a record shop a few doors away from Lee's studio, and under the name "George Earl" recorded a cover of William Bell's "To Be A Lover". This was followed by "Soulful Lover", "Since I Met You Baby" and "Island in the Sun" for producer Lloyd Campbell, and "Love Is Something", "So Many Ways" and "Love Depression" for

Phil Pratt Phil Pratt, born George Phillips (born 1942 in Kingston, Jamaica)Thompson, Dave (2002), ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books, , p. 316. is a Jamaican reggae singer and record producer. Career Phil Pratt worked at Studio One for Coxsone ...

.Male, Andrew (2008)
DiscOfTheDAY: George Faith – To Be a Lover
",

MOJO Mojo may refer to: *Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * MOJO HD, an American television network * ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film * '' ...

Lawrence recorded eight tracks with Perry, all covers of American soul and pop hits, at the

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.Katz, David (2000) "People Funny Boy – The Genius of Lee "Scratch" Perry", Payback Press, These recordings took around eight months, which prompted Perry to suggest a stage name for George, telling him "You have a lot of faith. You should change your name to George Faith". As a result of Perry's deal with

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...

, the first record to be credited to "George Faith" was released in July 1977. "To Be a Lover" was issued on Island's ''Black Swan'' label, and proved more popular than any of the previous Jamaican versions of the song. The Jamaican release of the disco (12-inch single) featured a mix lasting nearly twelve minutes. Island issued "I've Got The Groove" as a follow-up, and a third disco 45 was issued later with George's cover of

Wilson Pickett Wilson Pickett (March 18, 1941 – January 19, 2006) was an American singer and songwriter. A major figure in the development of soul music, Pickett recorded over 50 songs which made the US R&B charts, many of which crossed over to the ''Bill ...

's "Midnight Hour". The productions by Lee "Scratch" Perry were collected together for George Faith's debut album, ''To Be a Lover'', also released in Jamaica under the title ''Super Eight''. The album proved popular, and a further single, "Opportunity" was released in February 1978. Lawrence recorded a second album with Perry at the Black Ark in 1978, ''Working on the Guideline'', although the album was not released, with only a few tracks being released, the singles "Guideline" and "Don't Be Afraid", Lawrence now recording original material with more "conscious" themes.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The Rough Guide to Reggae, 3rd edn.", Rough Guides, Lawrence was also due to go on a tour that Perry was arranging with Island Records, but the plans were shelved in the midst of the erratic behaviour of Perry that would eventually lead to the destruction of the Black Ark. Also in 1978, Lawrence recorded an album with Phil Pratt, ''One & Only'', credited to "Earl George" and issued on the

Trojan Records Trojan Records is a British record label founded in 1968. It specialises in ska, rocksteady, reggae and dub music. The label currently operates under the Sanctuary Records Group. The name ''Trojan'' comes from the Croydon-built Trojan truck t ...

subsidiary Burning Sounds. He also recorded for

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 ...

, these tracks issued in 1979 as the album ''Loving Something''. He then recorded an album for

, ''Soulful'', which took a similar approach to his first album and featured new versions of "To Be a Lover" and "Turn Back The Hands of Time". He again worked with Ranglin in the early 1980s on the ''Since I Met You Baby'' album. After living in Canada for a few years, he returned to the Jamaican recording scene in 1986, and released another album, ''Sings For Lovers Only'' in 1987. Lawrence died in 2003 from cancer.

Discography

Albums

*''Super Eight'' (1977) Black Art, also issued as ''To Be a Lover'' (1978)

Island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

/Black Swan *''One & Only'' (1978) Burning Sounds *''Soulful'' (1979) Hollywood *''Loving Something'' (1979) GG's *''Since I Met You Baby'' (1982) GG's *''Happy Anniversary'' (1986) *''Sings for Lovers Only'' (1987) Nighthawk *''Just the Blues'' (1993) Studio One *''Rock for Lovers'' (1998) Nyam Up *''Reggae Got Soul'' (1999)

Charly ''Charly'' (marketed and stylized as ''CHAЯLY'') is a 1968 American drama film directed and produced by Ralph Nelson and written by Stirling Silliphant. It is based on ''Flowers for Algernon'', a science-fiction short story (1958) and subseque ...

*''Reggae's Love & Affection'' (2002) Clocktower *''Together Forever'' (1999), Joe Frasier – Marie Baines & George Faith *''Straight to the Heart'' (2006), EAD

Singles

*"See Me" (1970) *"Green Hills, I Won't Cry" (1973) *"Gonna Give Her All The Love I've Got" (1973) *"To Be a Lover" (1974) *""Soulful Lover" (197?) *"Since I Met You Baby" (197?) *"Island in the Sun" (197?) *"Love Is Something" (197?) *"So Many Ways" (197?) *"Love Depression" (197?) *" To Be a Lover (Have Mercy)" (1977) Island/Black Swan *"Midnight Hour" (1977) island/Black Swan *"All the Love I've Got" (1977) Island/Black Swan *"I've Got the Groove" (1978) Island/Black Swan *"Opportunity" (1978) Island *"Guideline" (1978) *"Don't Be Afraid" (1978) Upsetter *"So Many Ways" (1978) Sunshot *"Don't Be Afraid" (

Discomix A discomix, or simply a disco, is an extended reggae 12-inch single that typically features the vocal track followed by a dub version or a deejay version of the same track.Heath, ML (2010)Joe Gibbs: 12" Reggae Discomix Showcase Volumes 4 and 5, Pop ...

) (1979) Warrior *"I Would Be Telling You a Lie" (1979) GG's *"Sam Stone" (1979) GG's *"Gipsy Woman" *"I'm So Glad" (1979) Black & White *"Follow Jah" (1979) Justice *"What to Do" (1980) Paradise... *"Give Me Music" (1981) Nura *"Stealing Love" GG's *"Say You Say Me" Top Rank *"Old Fashioned Love" (1984) *"Ordinary Girl" (1988) Pickout *"Loving Someone" (1988) *"Need to Belong to Someone" (1988) Bunny Lee *"On My Own" Joe Frasier (with Marie Baines) *"The End of the World" Studio One *"Ask Her" Arrows *"Lavender Blue" (1996)

References

External links

George Faith
at Roots Archives *Planer, Lindsay " ''To Be a Lover'' Review, Allmusic, Macrovision Corporation {{DEFAULTSORT:Faith, George Jamaican reggae musicians 1946 births 2003 deaths