George Nooks, Prince Mohamed, Prince Mohammed, or George Knooks (born c. 1958 in Kingston, Jamaica) 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 who initially found fame as a

deejay A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile D ...

Biography

Nooks started his musical career in the youth choir at his church, and moved on to perform at school concerts and talent shows. After first recording professionally in 1974, Nooks first found success performing under the name Prince Mohamed, as a deejay on

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 ...

tracks for producer

Joe Gibbs Joe Jackson Gibbs (born November 25, 1940) is an American auto racing team owner and former professional football coach. In football, he was head coach for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL) from 1981 to 1992, and ...

, notably on

Dennis Brown Dennis Emmanuel Brown CD (1 February 1957 – 1 July 1999) was a Jamaican reggae singer. During his prolific career, which began in the late 1960s when he was aged eleven, he recorded more than 75 albums and was one of the major stars of lo ...

's 1978 hit "Money in my Pocket", and "How Could I Leave", as well as "Light Up Your Spliff" for producer Prince Tony Robinson.Larkin, Colin (1998) "The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae", Virgin Books, He moved on to work with other producers such as

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 ...

and Bunny Riley. His first album, a joint effort with

General Echo Earl Anthony Robinson (8 December 1955 – 22 November 1980), better known as General Echo, a.k.a. Ranking Slackness, was one of the first reggae deejays to move away from 'cultural' lyrics towards ' slackness' (risqué or sexually explicit lyri ...

, ''People Are You Ready'', was released on the

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the stud ...

subsidiary Ballistic in 1978. This was followed by ''African Roots'', recorded the following year for producer

Linval Thompson Leval Alphonso Thompson (born 12 October 1954, Kingston, Jamaica), also known as Linval Thompson, is a Jamaican reggae and dub musician and record producer. Biography Thompson was raised in Kingston, Jamaica, but spent time with his mother in ...

. He had a hit in Jamaica with "Forty Legs Dread", and the increasing violence in Kingston prompted Nooks to record a version of

Little Roy Little Roy (born Earl Lowe in Witfield Town, Kingston, Jamaica) is a Jamaican reggae artist.Bush, NathanLittle Roy Biography, AllMusic, retrieved 2011-02-14 Biography Little Roy began his career at the age of 12 years in 1965 recording a few ...

's "Tribal War", now singing rather than deejaying, and released under his real name, which he followed with a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

Errol Dunkley Errol Dunkley (born 6 February 1951), sometimes spelled Erroll Dunkley, is a Jamaican reggae musician, born in Kingston, Jamaica, Kingston, Jamaica in 1951. Biography Dunkley's recording career began in 1965, when he was 14, with "Gypsy" (a d ...

's "Darling Ooh". Nooks would subsequently concentrate on his singing, releasing the ''Today'' album in 1981, although he reverted to Prince Mohamed in 1982 for an album with

June Lodge J.C. Lodge, (born June Carol Lodge, 1 December 1958, London, England), is a British-Jamaican reggae singer, actress, fine artist and teacher. Her breakthrough hit " Someone Loves You, Honey" became the best-selling single of 1982 in the Netherl ...

. His singing gained comparisons with

, who he would later pay tribute to with a double album of Brown covers. His 1996 single "Real Man" reached number 55 on the ''Billboard'' R&B Singles Sales chart. In 1997 Nooks released his first album in 15 years, a self-titled collection resulting in three

Tamika Reggae Music Tamika is a female given name. It is considered to be an African-American name in the United States. Notable people with this name include: * Tamika Catchings, American basketball player * Tamika D. Mallory, American activist * Tamika Domrow, Au ...

awards,Bush, John,

allmusic biography 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 ...

allmusic.com, Macrovision Corporation but since 1997 he has been quite prolific, releasing a string of solo albums, as well as albums shared with

Glen Washington Glenroy Washington (born 17 July 1957), is a Jamaican reggae/ soca singer-songwriter, drummer and record producer. Washington made his first hit record "Rockers Not Crackers" in 1978 for the Joe Gibbs Record label; but he did not grace the charts ...

Roland Burrell Roland (; frk, *Hrōþiland; lat-med, Hruodlandus or ''Rotholandus''; it, Orlando or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the ...

Singing Melody Everton Hardweare (born 23 November 1967), better known by his stage name Singing Melody, is a reggae artist from Kingston, Jamaica. He is known for his abilities as a vocalist, his production work and for combining aspects of reggae and R&B ...

and

Lukie D Lukie D (born Michael Kennedy, 1972, Cockburn Pen, Jamaica) is a dancehall singer and deejay. He is known for his singing and powerful vocal range and soulful voice rather than toasting style, which fits with the prominent theme of love in his ...

. Since the death of his grandmother in 2001, Nooks has primarily recorded

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

material. His 2016 album ''Ride Out Your Storm'' reached number 4 on the ''Billboard'' Reggae Albums chart, and number 22 on the Gospel chart.Campbell, Howard (2016)
George Nooks riding Billboard’s charts
, '' Jamaica Observer'', 9 August 2016. Retrieved 20 August 2016 Nooks also works as a producer, and has run his own Total Records label since the early 1990s.

Albums

Prince Mohamed

*''People Are You Ready'' (1978) Ballistic (with General Echo) *''African Roots'' (1979) Burning Rockers *''No One Remember Africa'' (1979) GG's *''Bubbling'' Techniques *''Inna Him Head'' (1980) Joe Gibbs *''

Someone Loves You Honey "Someone Loves You Honey" is a song written by Don Devaney, originally released by American country music singer Johnny Rodriguez in 1974 on his fourth album, ''Songs About Ladies and Love''. It was recorded by American country music artist Charl ...

'' (1982) Joe Gibbs/

Ariola Ariola (also known as Ariola Records, Ariola-Eurodisc and BMG Ariola) is a German record label. In the late 1980s, it was a subsidiary label of the Bertelsmann Music Group, which in turn has become a part of the international media conglomerat ...

(

featuring Prince Mohamed)

George Nooks

*''Today'' (1981) Jimpy's *''One of a Kind'' (1990), Mr. Doo *''George Nooks'' (1997) Correct *''This One's For You'' (1999) VP *''Standing By'' (2001) VP *''Damage'' (2001) Charm *''Toe 2 Toe vol. 2'' (2002) Jet Star (George Nooks &

) *''Better Days'' (2002) Jet Star *''Created by the Father'' (2002)

Cactus A cactus (, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae, a family comprising about 127 genera with some 1750 known species of the order Caryophyllales. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, from the Ancient Gree ...

(with

) *''No Power on Earth'' (2002) Jet Star *''Singers'' (2003) Brick Wall (

, and George Nooks) *''Don't Give Up'' (2004) Jet Star *''Jet Star Reggae Max'' (2004) Jet Star *''One 2 One Volume 2'' (2004) High Power Music, VP Records, (with

Gregory Isaacs Gregory Anthony Isaacs OD (15 July 1951 – 25 October 2010)Thompson, p. 127. was a Jamaican reggae musician. Milo Miles, writing in ''The New York Times'', described Isaacs as "the most exquisite vocalist in reggae".Miles, Milo (1992),RECORDI ...

) *''Giving Thanks'' (2005) *''George Nooks Sings Dennis Brown: The Voice Lives On'' (2006) *''Come a Long Way'' (2006) Cousins *''So Excited'' (2007) Tafari *''Diamond Series'' (2008) Tad's/Total *''Broken Vessel'' (2012), Tad's International *''Ride Out Your Storm'' (2016), Tad's International *''For You'' (2018), VP

DVDs

*''God is Standing By'' (2005) Jet Star (with Sanchez)

References

External links

George Nooks
on Myspace
George Nooks at Roots ArchivesGeorge Nooks at ReggaeID
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nooks, George Jamaican reggae musicians Musicians from Kingston, Jamaica Living people Year of birth missing (living people) VP Records artists