Martin James Ziggy Norman Riley (22 May 1947 – 23 March 2016), better known as Jimmy Riley, was a

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 ...

n singer who in addition to recording solo was also a member of

the Sensations The Sensations were an American doo-wop group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The group formed in 1954 under the name the Cavaliers, soon after changing to the Sensations. The group scored two hits on the US R&B chart in 1956 with ...

and The Uniques and was the father of

Tarrus Riley Omar "Tarrus" Riley (born April 26, 1979, Bronx, New York, United States) is a Jamaican-American reggae singer and member of the Rastafari movement.Kenner, Rob (2009)Reggae Singer With a Legacy, a Following and a Mission. ''New York Times''. 21 ...

.Kenner, Rob (2009)
Reggae Singer With a Legacy, a Following and a Mission
, ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', 21 August 2009, retrieved 31 August 2009

Biography

Martin James Ziggy Norman Riley also known as Jimmy Riley was born in Jonestown,

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley Inter ...

on 22 May 1947.Meschino, Patricia (2016)
Legendary Jamaican Singer Jimmy Riley, 68, Dies In New York
, ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'', 28 March 2016. Retrieved 9 April 2016 Riley grew up in the city's Waterhouse district and attended Kingston Senior School along with

Slim Smith Slim Smith (born Keith Smith; 1948 in Kingston, Jamaica – 1972) was a ska, rocksteady and reggae singer. In their book ''Reggae: The Rough Guide'' (1997), Steve Barrow and Peter Dalton described Smith as "the greatest vocalist to emerge ...

.Katz, David (2003) ''Solid Foundation: an Oral History of Reggae'', Bloomsbury, , p. 87Morgan, Simone (2016)
Devoted to Jimmy
, ''

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 ...

'', 7 April 2016. Retrieved 9 April 2016 When Smith had success in

The Techniques The Techniques were a Jamaican rocksteady vocal group mainly active in the 1960s. History The group was formed by Winston Riley in 1962 while still at school, with the initial line-up also featuring Slim Smith, Franklyn White, and Frederick Wa ...

, Riley hung around with the group hoping to join, but was limited to carrying things for them and helping out with harmonies. He decided to form his own group, The Sensations, along with

Cornell Campbell Cornel Campbell aka Don Cornel or Don Gorgon (born 23 November 1945 in Kingston, Jamaica) is a reggae singer, best known for his trademark falsetto voice, and his recordings at Studio One in the late 1960s and his later work with Bunny Lee i ...

, Buster Riley (brother of The Techniques' Winston Riley), and Aaron "Dego" Davis. The Sensations had a successful audition for producer

Arthur "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 Troj ...

, and the group had mid-1960s success with "Everyday is Just a Holiday" and "Those Guys".Larkin, Colin (1998) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae'', Virgin Books, , p. 251 On leaving the group in 1967, Riley joined Smith and

Lloyd Charmers Lloyd Charmers (born Lloyd Tyrell, 1938 – 27 December 2012, also known as Lloyd Chalmers, Lloyd Terell, or Lloyd Terrell)Ruddock, George (2012), ''Jamaica Gleaner'', 29 December 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2012 was a Jamaican ska and reggae s ...

in the re-formed Uniques, having huge success with songs such as "Watch This Sound" and "My Conversation". When the Uniques split up, Riley initially recorded as a solo artist for

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 ...

before moving away to record independently. He began producing his own recordings and others by artists such as Slim Smith and

Delroy Wilson Delroy George Wilson CD (5 October 1948 – 6 March 1995) Greene, Jo-Ann, " Delroy Wilson Biography, allmusic.com, Macrovision Corporation was a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae singer. Wilson is often regarded as Jamaica's first child s ...

. He had several hits in the 1970s, including "Tell The Youths The Truth", "Nyah Bingi", and "Clean up the Streets", and continued to be successful in the 1980s, working with

Sly & Robbie Sly and Robbie were a prolific Jamaican rhythm section and production duo, associated primarily with the reggae and dub genres. Drummer Sly Dunbar and bassist Robbie Shakespeare teamed up in the mid-1970s after establishing themselves separat ...

's Taxi productions. In 1983, Riley topped the UK reggae chart with his version of

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo ar ...

's "

Sexual Healing "Sexual Healing" is a song recorded by American singer Marvin Gaye from his seventeenth and final studio album, '' Midnight Love'' (1982). It was his first single since his exit from his long-term record label Motown earlier in the year, followi ...

".Leggett, Steve " Jimmy Riley 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 ...

In the late 1980s, Riley moved to

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

, and put his career on hold, but returned to Jamaica in the early 1990s. Riley's son Tarrus followed him into music and the success of Tarrus gave a boost to Jimmy's career.Evans, Teino (2007)
Son’s success boosts Jimmy Riley
, ''

Jamaica Gleaner ''The Gleaner'' is an English-language, morning daily newspaper founded by two brothers, Jacob and Joshua de Cordova on 13 September 1834 in Kingston, Jamaica. Originally called the ''Daily Gleaner'', the name was changed on 7 December 1992 to ' ...

'', 22 July 2007, retrieved 31 August 2009 They performed together several times, headlining a number of festivals including the Ocho Rios Seafood Festival in 2007. Jimmy Riley's album release in 2008 ''Sly and Robbie Presents Jimmy Riley: Pull Up Selector'' saw him again working with Sly & Robbie, and features Tarrus on the title track, which was also released as a single in 2008. In September 2013 he released the album ''Contradiction'', that featured guest appearances from his son Tarrus,

Sizzla Miguel Orlando Collins (born 17 April 1976), known by his stage name Sizzla Kalonji or Sizzla, is a Jamaican reggae musician. He is one of the most commercially and critically successful contemporary reggae artists and is noted for his high num ...

, and

Fantan Mojah Owen Moncrieffe (born 5 August 1976) known professionally as Fantan Mojah is a Jamaican reggae singer. Biography Fantan Mojah was born in White Hill, St Elizabeth Parish, Jamaica. To gain experience, he took a job working with a traveling Soun ...

. He died on the morning of 23 March 2016 in New York from cancer, aged 68.Henry, Balford (2016)
Reggae artiste Jimmy Riley dies at 61
, ''

'', 23 March 2016. Retrieved 23 March 2016

Discography

*''Tell The Youths The Truth'' (1978),

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 ...

*''Majority Rule'' (1978), Burning Sounds *''Makossa International Records Presents Jimmy Riley'' (1978), Makossa International *''The Jimmy Riley Showcase'' (1978), Burning Sounds/Yes/Makossa International *''Rydim Driven'' (1981), Taxi aka ''Love & Devotion'' (2000),

Rhino A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...

*''Put The People First'' (1982), Shanachie *''Magic'' (1984), Imp *''World for Everyone'' (1985) *''Love Fa Real'' (1995), *''Attention'' (1996), Abraham *''Rock On'' (1998), Charm *''Someone Like You'' (1998), Nyam Up *''Love Canticle'' (2000), Charm *''Jimmy Riley Now'' (2001), Jet Star *''Sly and Robbie Presents Jimmy Riley: Pull Up Selector'' (2009), Taxi *''Contradiction'' (2013) VP ;Compilations: *''20 Classic Hits'' (1993), Sonic Sounds *''Live It To Know It'' (2015), Self productions, Protest Songs & Dub Plates 1975 – 1985: Pressure Sounds

References

External links

Jimmy Riley
on Myspace
Jimmy Riley
at Roots Archives {{DEFAULTSORT:Riley, Jimmy 1947 births 2016 deaths Jamaican male singers Jamaican reggae singers Musicians from Kingston, Jamaica Island Records artists Trojan Records artists Deaths from cancer in New York (state) The Uniques (Jamaican group) members The Sensations (Jamaican group) members