Joseph Benjamin Higgs (3 June 1940 – 18 December 1999) was 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 ...

musician from

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 ...

. In the late 1950s and 1960s he was part of the duo Higgs and Wilson together with Roy Wilson. He was a popular artist in Jamaica for four decades and is also known for his work tutoring younger musicians including

Bob Marley and the Wailers Bob Marley and the Wailers (previously known as The Wailers, and prior to that The Wailing Rudeboys, The Wailing Wailers and The Teenagers) were a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae band. The founding members, in 1963, were Bob Marley (Robert ...

and

Jimmy Cliff James Chambers OM (born 30 July 1944), known professionally as Jimmy Cliff, is a Jamaican ska, rocksteady, reggae and soul musician, multi-instrumentalist, singer, and actor. He is the only living reggae musician to hold the Order of Merit, t ...

Biography

Higgs was instrumental in the foundation of modern Jamaican music, first recording in 1958 for producer and businessman (and later Jamaican Prime Minister)

Edward Seaga Edward Philip George Seaga ( or ; 28 May 1930 – 28 May 2019) was a Jamaican politician. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Jamaica, from 1980 to 1989, and the leader of the Jamaica Labour Party from 1974 to 2005.Foster, Chuck (1999) ''Roots Rock Reggae: an Oral History of Reggae Music from Ska to Dancehall'', Billboard Books, , p. 252-254 He is often called the "Godfather of Reggae". His first release (with Wilson) was "Oh Manny Oh" in 1958, which was one of the first records to be pressed in Jamaica and went on to sell 50,000 copies. Higgs and Wilson also recorded 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 ...

in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The partnership with Wilson dissolved in 1964 when Wilson emigrated to the United States. Higgs then concentrated on a solo career and also worked with

Carlos Malcolm Carlos Malcolm OD (born c. 1934) is a world renowned Jamaican trombonist, percussionist and bandleader who helped cultivate the infamous Jamaican genres of music known as Ska and Reggae. Biography Carlos Malcolm was born in Panama c. 1935Port ...

and the Afro-Jamaican Rhythms, before joining

Lynn Taitt Lynn Taitt (22 June 1934 – 20 January 2010) was a guitarist born in San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago, who later moved to Jamaica and became a pioneer of rocksteady music. Biography Born Nerlynn Taitt, in San Fernando, Trinidad, he got his s ...

's The Soul Brothers as lead vocalist. Higgs mentored young singers in his yard and began working with

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...

in 1959.Pareles, Jon (1999)
Joe Higgs, 59, Reggae Performer; Taught a Generation of Singers
, ''

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 ...

'', 22 December 1999, retrieved 14 November 2009 In fact, it was at one of the informal music lessons Joe Higgs held in Trench Town, that Bob and

Bunny Livingston Neville O'Riley Livingston (10 April 1947 – 2 March 2021), known professionally as Bunny Wailer, was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and percussionist. He was an original member of reggae group The Wailers along with Bob Marley and Peter Tosh ...

met

Peter Tosh Winston Hubert McIntosh, OM (19 October 1944 – 11 September 1987), professionally known as Peter Tosh, was a Jamaican reggae musician. Along with Bob Marley and Bunny Wailer, he was one of the core members of the band the Wailers (1963� ...

.His Story: The Life and Legacy of Bob Marley
", bobmarley.com, retrieved 14 November 2009Thompson, Dave (2002) ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books, , p. 159 Marley acknowledged later on that Higgs had been an influential figure for him, while Higgs described their time together: "I am the one who taught the Wailers the craft, who taught them certain voice technique". It was Higgs who introduced the Wailers to Dodd in 1963.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) ''The Rough Guide to Reggae, 3rd edn.'', Rough Guides, , p. 38 Higgs has also been described as the "Father of Reggae" by

. For a while Higgs toured with Cliff, acting as his bandleader as well as writing songs for Cliff including "Dear Mother", and also performed with

The Wailers ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

on their US tour when

Bunny Wailer Neville O'Riley Livingston (10 April 1947 – 2 March 2021), known professionally as Bunny Wailer, was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and percussionist. He was an original member of reggae group The Wailers along with Bob Marley and Peter Tosh. ...

refused to go on the tour in 1973. Higgs wrote "Steppin' Razor" in 1967 as his entry in the Festival Song Contest, later recorded by Tosh without crediting Higgs. Higgs later won a court case to establish his rights as composer but never received any profits from the song's success. Higgs won the Jamaican Tourist Board Song Competition in 1972 with "Invitation to Jamaica", released as a single on his own Elevation label, and much of his best-known solo work was issued in the 1970s. Singles included "More Slavery" (released on Micron), "Creation" (Ethnic Fight), "Let Us Do Something" (Elevation), and "World Is Upside Down" (Island). His debut album, '' Life of Contradiction'', had been recorded in 1972 for

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 ...

, but as Island boss

Chris Blackwell Christopher Percy Gordon Blackwell (born 22 June 1937) is an English businessman and former record producer, and the founder of Island Records, which has been called "one of Britain's great independent labels". According to the Rock and Roll ...

felt that it would be difficult to market it remained unreleased until 1975, when it was issued by Micron Music,Endelman, Michael (2008)
Joe Higgs ''Life of Contradiction''
, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'', 15 May 2008, retrieved 14 November 2009 and has been described as "a seminally sophisticated work combining reggae, jazz, and rhythm and blues influences to create a new texture that would have a profound effect on the best Jamaican music to follow". As well as The Wailers, Higgs also helped several other singers and groups including

The Wailing Souls The Wailing Souls (originally The Renegades) are a Jamaican reggae vocal group whose origins date back to the 1960s. The group has undergone several line-up changes over the years with Winston "Pipe" Matthews and Lloyd "Bread" McDonald the only c ...

. His second album, ''Unity Is Power'', was released in 1979 and further singles followed on Cliff's Sunpower label and Bunny Wailer's Solominic imprint. His 1983 single "So It Go", with a lyric critical of the Jamaican government of the day was banned from airplay and led to harassment which would eventually lead to Higgs relocating to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, where he lived for the rest of his life.Moskowitz, David V. (2006) ''Caribbean Popular Music: an Encyclopedia of Reggae, Mento, Ska, Rock Steady, and Dancehall'', Greenwood Press, , pp. 136-137 Two further albums were released in the 1980s, ''Triumph'' (1985) and ''Family'' (1988), and in 1990 he recorded ''

Blackman Know Yourself ''Blackman Know Yourself'' is an album by the Jamaican musician Joe Higgs, released in 1990. He is credited with the Wailers Band. Production The album was produced by Lee Jaffe and Higgs, although there are questions about how much Jaffe was invo ...

'' on which he was backed by the

Wailers Band The Wailers Band are a reggae band formed by Aston Barrett in 1989, one of several spinoffs from Bob Marley and the Wailers. History After the death of Bob Marley in 1981, the Wailers continued, led by Aston Barrett and Junior Marvin. The ban ...

, and includes covers of the Marley/ Lee Perry songs "Small Axe" and "Sun Is Shining". In 1995, his final album was issued, ''Joe and Marcia Together'', a collaboration with his daughter. A majority of Higgs' songs were connected to his impoverished life in

Trenchtown Trench Town (also Trenchtown) is a neighbourhood located in the parish of St. Andrew, part of which is in Kingston, the capital and largest city of Jamaica. In the 1960s, Trench Town was known as the Hollywood of Jamaica. Today Trench Town is t ...

where he grew up. Higgs considered that it was out of the poverty and violence of Kingston's shantytowns such as Trenchtown and Johnstown that the reggae music had grown. Before reggae hit big on the western music scene with Bob Marley, it was understood as a "

ghetto A ghetto, often called ''the'' ghetto, is a part of a city in which members of a minority group live, especially as a result of political, social, legal, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished t ...

music". Higgs was the very first artist out the ghetto music scene to have lyrics which primarily dealt with every day troubles. In his own words:

"Music is a matter of struggle. It's not good that it's known you're from Trenchtown. Reggae is a confrontation of sound. Reggae has to have that basic vibrant sound that is to be heard in the ghetto. It's like playing the drum and bass very loud. Those are the basic sounds. A classical reggae should be accepted in any part of the world. Freedom, that's what it's asking for; acceptance, that's what it needs, and understanding, that's what reggae's saying. You have a certain love come from hard struggle, long suffering. Through pain you guard yourself with that hope of freedom, not to give up...""Marre, Jeremy & Charlton, Hannah (1985) ''Beats of the Heart: Popular Music of the World'', Pluto Press, , p. 161-2

Higgs died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

on 18 December 1999 at Kaiser Hospital in Los Angeles. At the time of his death he was working with

Roger Steffens Roger Steffens (born June 17, 1942) is an American actor, author, lecturer, editor, reggae archivist, photographer and, producer. Six rooms of his home in Los Angeles house reggae archives, which include the world's largest collection of Bob Mar ...

on an official biography, and had been working on a collaboration with Irish artists, including John Alexander Reed and Ronald Padget for the ''Green on Black'' album. He was survived by twelve children, including his daughter Marcia, who is a rapper, and son Peter, a studio guitarist. In 2006, the Joe Higgs Music Awards were established in his honour.Nominees named for Joe Higgs Music Awards
, ''

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 June 2009, retrieved 14 November 2009

Quotations

Fro
memorial website
*"Joe Higgs was a brother amongst the Wailers for years. He was encouragement, and he inspired us and kept us together." -

(1976) *"We looked up to Joe Higgs. He was something like a musical guardian for us. He was a more professional singer, because he was working for years with a fella named Roy Wilson as Higgs & Wilson. They had a lotta hits and they had the knowledge of the harmony techniques, so he taught us he Wailersthem. And he helped in the studio, to work out our different parts." - Bunny Wailer (1980's) *"Joe Higgs helped me understand that music. He taught me many things." -

Discography

*'' Life of Contradiction'' (1975), Micron *''Unity is Power'' (1979),

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 ...

/1 Stop *''Triumph'' (1985), Alligator *''Family'' (1988), Shanachie *''

'' (1990), Shanachie - Joe Higgs with

the Wailers Band The Wailers Band are a reggae band formed by Aston Barrett in 1989, one of several spinoffs from Bob Marley and the Wailers. History After the death of Bob Marley in 1981, the Wailers continued, led by Aston Barrett and Junior Marvin. The ban ...

*''Joe and Marcia Together'' (1995) ;Contributions to other albums: *''

Negril Negril is a small (pop. 6,900) but widely dispersed beach resort and town located in Westmoreland and Hanover parishes at the far western tip of Jamaica, southwest from Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay. Westmoreland is the wes ...

'' (LP, 1975. Micron Music Ltd.) (CD, 2003. 3D Japan), session musician

References

External links

*
Memorial
by Daniel & Seth Nelson
Joe Higgs Music AwardsJoe Higgs – The Godfather of Reggae
{{DEFAULTSORT:Higgs, Joe 1940 births 1999 deaths Musicians from Kingston, Jamaica Jamaican reggae musicians The Wailers members Island Records artists Deaths from cancer in California