Hopeton Lewis (3 October 1947 – 4 September 2014) was a Jamaican born singer of
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 ...
, an
arranger, and
radio music presenter.
Biography
Lewis was born in
Kingston,
Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
. He sang in church from an early age, and started performing as a youth, forming a singing group called the Regals.
By the mid-1960s, he began recording and had one of the earliest
rocksteady hits with "Take It Easy" in late 1966.
[Larkin, Colin (1998) "The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae", Virgin Books, ][Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The Rough Guide To Reggae", Rough Guides, ] The track was recorded with
Lynn Taitt and the Jets, and is regarded as one of the first rocksteady singles.
[Unsung: Take It Easy with Hopeton Lewis]
, '' Jamaica Observer'', 30 November 2012. Retrieved 1 December 2012 He had several more Jamaican hits in the late 1960s and early 1970s, including the first 'herb' song ever recorded there, "Cool Collie".
He worked 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 ...
as an
arranger and
backing vocalist
A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...
, and won the
Festival Song Contest in 1970 with "Boom Shaka Lacka".
He began working as a singer with
Byron Lee & the Dragonaires
Byron Lee and the Dragonaires (known as Byron Lee's Dragonaires after Lee's death and now The Dragonaires) are a Jamaican ska, calypso and soca band. The band played a crucial pioneering role in bringing Caribbean music to the world. Byron ...
, and in 1971 had a hit with "Grooving Out On Life".
Lewis continued to release
records
A record, recording or records may refer to:
An item or collection of data Computing
* Record (computer science), a data structure
** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity
** Boot sector or boot record, r ...
, but his success after the early 1970s was limited. Lewis released ''This Is Gospel'' in 1996 on his own label, Bay City Music, founded in the 1980s. Much of his later work was in the gospel genre, including ''Reaching Out to Jesus'' (2000).
[ Allmusic.com biography - accessed August 2008/ref>
He lived the later period of his life in ]Brooklyn, New York
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, where he presented a show on Grace Deliverance Radio.[Campbell, Howard (2014)]
Singer Hopeton Lewis is dead
", '' Jamaica Observer'', 5 September 2014. Retrieved 5 September 2014
Lewis died on 4 September 2014 at his home in Brooklyn, aged 66, after suffering kidney failure
Kidney failure, also known as end-stage kidney disease, is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney failure is classified as eit ...
.[Campbell, Howard (2014)]
Hopeton Lewis Grooved on Life
, '' Jamaica Observer'', 7 September 2014. Retrieved 8 September 2014
The Disciples 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 ...
and dub musicians have a record label entitled Boom Shaka Laka, named in honour of, and inspired by Hopeton Lewis' song (as well as by Jah Shaka
Jah Shaka, also known as the Zulu Warrior is a Jamaican reggae/dub sound system operator who has been operating a South East London-based, roots reggae Jamaican sound system since the early 1970s. His name is an amalgamation of the Rastafarian t ...
and reggae culture and history in general). The Disciples also wrote a highly influential roots reggae fanzine called Boom Shaka Laka, also named after the Hopeton Lewis record. The author, Lol Bell-Brown ( who works for Dub Vendor Dub Vendor is a long-standing, and pioneering, London vendor of ska and reggae music, that is now, mainly a London-based, mail order company specialising in Jamaican music. In 2006, ''Time Out'' termed it "the best source of Jamaican music in Europe ...
) named the magazine after the Hopeton Lewis classic song, Boom-Shacka-Lacka. The first issue was released in 1988 and over the four following years the magazine became one of the most important publications to cover, for the time, the current roots scene as well as classic roots records. There were 11 issues released of which all are sought after collectors items.
Albums
*''Take It Easy'' (1968), Merritone
*''Grooving Out On Life'' (1971), Dynamic Sounds/Trojan
Trojan or Trojans may refer to:
* Of or from the ancient city of Troy
* Trojan language, the language of the historical Trojans
Arts and entertainment Music
* ''Les Troyens'' ('The Trojans'), an opera by Berlioz, premiered part 1863, part 189 ...
*''Dynamic Hopeton Lewis'' (1974), Dragon
*''All Night Bubblin (1985), Boss
*''Love, Life and Music'' (1997), Songs 4 Life
*''Reaching Out to Jesus'' (2000), Orchard
*''Caribbean Gospel Jubilee'' (2000), Rockstone
*''Inner Peace'' (2001), Songs 4 Life
*''A Holy Christmas'' (2002), Songs 4 Life
*''Love Life & Music'' (2007), Quartz
*''Hopeton Lewis Sings Home Coming Classics'' (2007), Songs 4 Life
*''Hymns'' (2007), Songs 4 Life
*''This Is Gospel'' (2008), Sun Moon & Stars
*''Worship'' (2008), Songs 4 Life
*''Lay Your Hands on Me Jesus'' (2008), Songs 4 Life
*''Love Ballads Vol. One'' (2008), Rockstone
*''Praise and Worship'' (2008), Songs 4 Life
*''The Inspirational Hopeton Lewis''
*''Country Gospel'' (2008), Songs 4 Life
*''Healing: 42 Years of Music'' (2009), Songs 4 Life
*''All Island Gospel Revival'', Songs 4 Life
*''Voice of Thanksgiving'', Songs 4 Life
*''Song's of Faith'' (2013). Songs 4 Life/VP
*''De Word Through Music'' (2014), Songs 4 Life/VP
;Compilations:
*''Classic Gold Collection'' (1998), Rockstone
*''Take It Easy: Rock Steady Reggae'' (1999), K&K/ VP
*''40 Years: Happy Birthday: Celebrating 40 Years of Music'' (2008), Songs 4 Life
References
External links
Hopeton Lewis at Roots Archives
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Hopeton
1947 births
2014 deaths
Musicians from Kingston, Jamaica
20th-century Jamaican male singers
21st-century Jamaican male singers
Jamaican gospel singers
Jamaican reggae singers
Rocksteady musicians