Gladstone Anderson (18 June 1934 – 3 December 2015), also known by his nickname "Gladdy", was a Jamaican
pianist
A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...
, keyboard player, and singer, who played a major part in the island's musical history, playing a key role in defining the
ska
Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...
sound and the
rocksteady
Rocksteady is a music genre that originated in Jamaica around 1966. A successor of ska and a precursor to reggae, rocksteady was the dominant style of music in Jamaica for nearly two years, performed by many of the artists who helped establish ...
beat, and playing on hundreds of recordings as a session musician, a solo artist, and as leader of Gladdy's All Stars, featuring bassist
Jackie Jackson
Sigmund Esco "Jackie" Jackson (born May 4, 1951) is an American singer best known as a founding member of the Jackson 5, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997. Jackson is the second child of the Jackson family, a ...
, drummer
Winston Grennan
Winston Grennan (16 September 1944 – 27 October 2000) was a Jamaican drummer, famous for session work from 1962 to 1973 in Jamaica as well as later in New York City through the 1970s and 1980s.
Biography
Career
Grennan's career spanne ...
, guitarist
Hux Brown
Lynford "Hux" Brown (4 December 1944 – 18 June 2020) was a Jamaican guitarist who featured on many successful rocksteady and reggae records in the 1960s and 1970s, and was later a member of Toots and the Maytals.
Biography
Brown was born in ...
, and keyboardist
Winston Wright
Winston Wright (19431993) was a Jamaican keyboardist. He was a member of Tommy McCook's Supersonics, and acknowledged as Jamaica's master of the Hammond organ. Winston was born in May Pen, Jamaica on September 5, 1943 and died in Kingston, Jamaica ...
. As Harry J All Stars the band had a massive hit in Jamaica and United Kingdom with the instrumental song "The Liquidator" 1969 (and 1980!).
Biography
Gladstone Anderson was born in 1934 in Jones Town, and was taught piano at home by his uncle, the keyboardist and bandleader
Aubrey Adams
Aubrey Wellington Adams (17 June 1920 – 6 August 1990) was a Jamaican pianist and keyboard player who was one of the top bandleaders in Jamaica in the 1950s, and led the Dewdroppers as well as playing with Clue J & His Blues Blasters.
Biograp ...
.
[Katz, p.46][Campbell, Howard (2012)]
Gladstone Anderson: Key player in rocksteady’s genesis
", ''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 ...
'', 1 June 2012, retrieved 2012-06-01 He became a prominent studio pianist in the late 1950s, when he began working 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 ...
.
[Moskowitz, p.12] He worked at Reid's Treasure Isle studio, generally replacing
Jackie Mittoo
Donat Roy Mittoo (3 March 1948 – 16 December 1990), better known as Jackie Mittoo, was a Jamaican-Canadian keyboardist, songwriter and musical director. He was a member of The Skatalites and musical director of the Studio One record label.
...
when
The Skatalites
The Skatalites are a ska band from Jamaica. They played initially between 1963 and 1965, and recorded many of their best known songs in the period, including " Guns of Navarone." They also played on records by Prince Buster and backed many othe ...
recorded there,
[Thompson, p.263] also working for
Clement "Coxsone" Dodd
Clement Seymour "Coxsone" Dodd (26 January 1932 – 4 May 2004) was a Jamaican record producer who was influential in the development of ska and reggae in the 1950s, 1960s and beyond.
He was nicknamed "Coxsone" at school due to his talent a ...
and
Leslie Kong
Leslie Kong (20 December 1933 – 9 August 1971) was an influential Chinese-Jamaican reggae producer.
Career
Leslie and his two older brothers Cecil and Lloyd ran a restaurant, ice cream parlour and record shop called Beverley's in Orange Stre ...
,
and was a member of
Lynn Taitt's group The Jets, playing on many of the key ska and rocksteady recordings, and helping to define the ska sound and the rocksteady beat.
He was even credited with coming up with the name "rock steady", when he used the term to describe
Hopeton Lewis's "Take it Easy", when the recording (that he had played on) was played back.
[Thompson, p.245] He also played on key early rocksteady recordings including
Roy Shirley's "Hold Them", and major hits of the genre including
's "Girl I've Got a Date".
He went on to work with producer
Harry Mudie
Harry A. Mudie (born 1940 in Spanish Town, Jamaica) is a Jamaican record producer.Thompson, Dave (2002) ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books, , p. 315
Biography
Harry Mudie attended the St Jago High School.Larkin, Colin (1998) ''The Vi ...
, leading Gladdy's All Stars, who were also known by different names when working with other producers, including
The Aggrovators
The Aggrovators were a dub/reggae backing band in the 1970s and 1980s, and one of the main session bands of producer Bunny Lee. The line-up varied, with Lee using the name for whichever set of musicians he was using at any time.Larkin, Colin ...
(
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 ...
), Rupie's All Stars (
Rupie Edwards
Rupert Lloyd Edwards (born 4 July 1945) is a Jamaican reggae singer and record producer.
Biography
Rupie Edwards was born in Goshen, in Saint Ann Parish.Thompson, Dave (2002) ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books, , pp. 103–105 The fam ...
), The Crystallites (
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 ...
), and The Dynamites (
Clancy Eccles
Clancy Eccles (9 December 1940 in Dean Pen, St. Mary, Jamaica – 30 June 2005 in Spanish Town, Jamaica)Katz was a Jamaican ska and reggae singer, songwriter, arranger, promoter, record producer and talent scout. Known mostly for his early reg ...
),
[Thompson, p.413] and would later become
the Upsetters
The Upsetters was the name given to the house band for Jamaican reggae producer Lee "Scratch" Perry. The name of the band comes from Perry's nickname of Upsetter, after his song "I Am the Upsetter", a musical dismissal of his former boss Cox ...
when they worked 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 ...
.
He had success as a singer in the late 1960s working with
Stranger Cole as Stranger and Gladdy, including the singles "Just Like a River" and "Seeing is Knowing".
[Larkin, p.64][Larkin, p.89] His debut album, ''It May Sound Silly'', was released in 1972, and became a best-seller in Jamaica.
[Barrow & Dalton, p.112] Anderson continued to work with Mudie, working on the late 1970s
dub album series ''Harry Mudie Meet King Tubby's In Dub Conference''. A second solo album was released in 1977, ''Glady Unlimited'', again produced by Mudie. Anderson released a vocal album in 1982, ''Sings Songs For Today and Tomorrow''. Anderson was also one of several keyboard players to play in the
Roots Radics
The Roots Radics Band was formed in 1978 by bass player Errol "Flabba" Holt, guitarist Eric "Bingy Bunny" Lamont and drummer Lincoln "Style" Scott. They were joined by many musicians, including guitarist Noel "Sowell" Bailey, Dwight Pinkney ...
.
[Foster, p.289]
Anderson also worked as a producer, his
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 ...
recordings appearing on the Rite Sound label.
[Leggett]
Anderson's song "Mad Mad Ivy" was sampled for
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...
's song "Already Home" for ''
The Blueprint 3
''The Blueprint 3'' is the eleventh studio album by American rapper Jay-Z, released September 8, 2009, on Roc Nation, through distribution from Asylum Records and Atlantic Records. It is the third album in the ''Blueprint'' series, preceded by '' ...
''.
Gladstone Anderson died on 3 December 2015, aged 81.
[Campbell, Howard (2015)]
Musician Gladdy Anderson dies
", ''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 ...
'', 10 December 2015. Retrieved 11 December 2015
Discography
*''Glad Sounds'' (1968), Bigshot (Gladdy with
Lynn Taitt & the Jets)
*''It May Sound Silly'' (1972), Moodisc/Ashanti
*''Glady Unlimited'' (1977), Moodisc
*''Sings Songs For Today and Tomorrow'' (1982), Jahmani
*''Radical Dub Session'' (1982), Solid Groove - credited to The Roots Radics Featuring Gladstone Anderson
*''Don't Look Back'' (1985) Overheat
*''Caribbean Breeze'' (1989) Overheat
*''Get Closer'' (1989) NEC Avenue
*''Peace Pipe Dub'' (1993) Seven Leaves
*''Piano In Harmony'' (1994) Overheat
*''Gladdy's Double Score''(2010) Overheat
;Compilations:
*''Forever Dub vol 1'' (1994) Roots
With
Herbie Mann
Herbert Jay Solomon (April 16, 1930 – July 1, 2003), known by his stage name Herbie Mann, was an American jazz flute player and important early practitioner of world music. Early in his career, he also played tenor saxophone and clarinet (incl ...
*''
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 ...
'' (Atlantic, 1973)
*''
Surprises'' (Atlantic, 1973
976
Year 976 ( CMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place Byzantine Empire
* January 10 – Emperor John I Tzimiskes dies at Constantinople, after re ...
*''
Reggae II
''Reggae II'' is an album by flautist Herbie Mann recorded in 1973 and released on the Atlantic label in 1976 in New Zealand and Europe.976
Year 976 ( CMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place Byzantine Empire
* January 10 – Emperor John I Tzimiskes dies at Constantinople, after re ...
Notes
References
*Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) ''The Rough Guide to Reggae, 3rd edn.'',
Rough Guides
Rough Guides Ltd is a British travel guide book and reference publisher, which has been owned by APA Publications since November 2017. In addition to publishing guidebooks, the company also provides a tailor-made trips service based on customer ...
,
*Foster, Chuck (1999) ''Roots Rock Reggae: an Oral History of Reggae Music from Ska to Dancehall'', Billboard Books,
*Katz, David (2000) ''People Funny Boy: The Genius of Lee "Scratch" Perry'', Payback Press,
*Larkin, Colin (1998) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae'', Virgin Books,
*Leggett, Steve "
Gladstone Anderson Biography, ''
Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
'', Macrovision Corporation
*Moskowitz, David V. (2006) ''Caribbean Music: an Encyclopedia of Reggae, Mento, Ska, Rock Steady, and Dancehall'', Greenwood Press,
*Thompson, Dave (2002) ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books,
External links
Gladstone Andersonat Roots Archives
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Gladstone
1934 births
2015 deaths
Jamaican reggae musicians
Musicians from Kingston, Jamaica
Rocksteady musicians