Johnny Ringo (born Bradley Miller, 1961, Jones Town,

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 ...

, died Kingston 1 July 2005) 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 ...

dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The Rou ...

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 ...

active from the late 1970s to the early 1990s.

Biography

Ringo worked in a Kingston record shop, where he met

Welton Irie Welton Irie (born Welton Dobson, 1961 in Jamaica), sometimes credited simply as Welton, is a Jamaican reggae deejay, best known for his work in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Biography Welton Irie began his career performing as simply 'Welton' ...

, the two enjoying a long association since. He worked as an operator on the ''Soul Express'' and ''Rippa-Tone''

sound systems In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...

, before being given the chance to record in the late 1970s, and releasing his first single with "Trouble Never Set Like Rain". His recordings became popular in Jamaica, with slack lyrics proving particularly popular. Two notable examples are "Two Lesbians" and "Push Lady Push". In 1982, he had an international reggae hit with "Dub and Lef", which was followed by further Jamaican hits with tracks such as "Pain a Back", "Nah Fight Over Woman", and "Married for the Opportunity". He also contributed the opening track to the album ''Superstar Yellowman Has Arrived With Toyan'' in 1982. He continued to work on sound systems, ''Lees Unlimited'' and ''Ray Symbolic's Hi Fi'', the latter touring internationally with Ringo,

Squiddly Ranking Squiddly Diddly is an anthropomorphic animated octopus created by Hanna-Barbera, who was featured in his own cartoon segment on '' The Atom Ant/Secret Squirrel Show'' beginning in 1965. Fictional character biography The round-headed, sailor-hatt ...

, and Welton Irie.Henry, Krista (2006)
Welton the first dancehall 'Irie'
,

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 ' ...

, 5 November 2006 He contributed to some of the early live

albums in 1983 and 1984. While touring the UK, he recorded a brace of singles for

Fashion Records Fashion Records is a UK-based record label, publishing reggae music. Founded in summer 1980, Fashion Records is one of the more successful UK-based reggae labels, and one of only a few British reggae labels to release records that were produ ...

, and recorded with

Sugar Minott Lincoln Barrington "Sugar" Minott (25 May 1956 – 10 July 2010)Campbell, Howard (2010)Reggae singer Sugar Minott dies at 54, Associated Press, 11 July 2010. Retrieved 12 July 2010Peru, Yasmine (2010)Godfather of Dancehall, Sugar Minott, dead at ...

. He continued to record until the early 1990s, sometimes credited simply as Ringo. He died in July 2005, after suffering for some time from

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...

addiction.Mama ASID - Remembers Johnny Ringo - I-Original DJ Dancehall Legend
, BadGals Radio

Discography

Albums

*''Sweet Christmas'' (197?) Top Ranking (

Dobby Dobson Highland Ralph Dobson OD (5 July 1942 – 21 July 2020) was a Jamaican reggae singer and record producer, nicknamed "The Loving Pauper" after one of his best known songs. Biography Dobson began singing while a student at Central Branch Sc ...

featuring Ringo) *''Two Coxman'' (1981) Ariola *''Woman a Ginal'' (1981) Top Ranking *''Riding West'' (1982) VP/Jah Guidance *''Johnny Ringo'' (1982) Abissa *''Cool Profile'' (1982) Musical Ambassador *''Eyewitness'' (1982) MC *''Pancoot'' (1982) Hitbound *''Cool Profile'' (1984) Negus Roots *''JA to UK MC Clash'' (1985) Fashion (Johnny Ringo meets Asher Senator) *''Face to Face'' (200?) JA Classics (with Louie Lepkie) *''Dancehall Legend'' (2007) Musical Ambassador

Compilations, guest appearances, etc.

* ''Green Bay Killing'' (1978) Pantomime, features "Green Bay Killing" * ''Vintage Classics'' (197?) Rohit, features "Rub-A-Dub" * ''Roots Reggae Party Vol 1'' (1981) Silver Camel, features "Living For Tomorrow - Keycard Moves" * ''Roots Reggae Party Vol 2'' (1982) Silver Camel, features "Tense Me Tense - Suspended Sentence" * ''Superstar Yellowman Has Arrived With Toyan'' (1982)

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 a ...

, features "I Am Getting Married" * ''Junjo Presents A Live Session With Aces International'' (1982)

Greensleeves "Greensleeves" is a traditional English folk song. A broadside ballad by the name "A Newe Northen Dittye of ye Ladye Greene Sleves" was registered by Richard Jones at the London Stationer's Company in September 1580,Frank Kidson, ''English Fol ...

, features "Ringo" * ''DJ Connection'' (1982) Circle, features "DJ Connection" * ''Junjo Presents Two Big Sound - Live'' (1983) Greensleeves * ''King Stur-Gav Hi Fi Lee Unlimited'' (1983) Live & Learn, features "Special Request" * ''

George Phang George Phang (born 29 March 1956 in Saint Andrew, Kingston) is a Jamaican reggae record producer, famously known for owning the ''Powerhouse'' label. Phang started his reggae label Powerhouse in the early 1980s. His first hits were Little John's ...

& Friends At Skateland Live'' (1984) Power House * ''Black & White Reggae Classics Vol 1'' (198?) Black & White, features "One Time Ringo", "Push Lady Push" *

Johnny Osbourne Johnny Osbourne (born Errol Osbourne, 1948) is one of the most popular Jamaican reggae and dancehall singers of all time, who rose to success in the late 1970s and mid-1980s. His album '' Truths and Rights'' was a roots reggae success, and featu ...

- ''Nightfall Showcase'' (1997) Munich, features "Qua She Take Over" * ''Total Recall Vol 10'' (1998) VP, features "One Time Ringo" * ''When The Dances Were Changing'' (1998)

Pressure Sounds Pressure Sounds is a British DIY record label, specializing in releasing reggae music. Run by Pete Holdsworth, it is one of the most enduring reggae labels in the UK, specializing in reissuing obsolete tunes. It was originally a subsidiary o ...

, features "Working Class", "Working Class (Version)" * ''A Dee-Jay Explosion'' (200?)

Heartbeat A heartbeat is one cardiac cycle of the heart. Heartbeat, heart beat, heartbeats, and heart beats may refer to: Computing *Heartbeat (computing), a periodic signal to indicate normal operation or to synchronize parts of a system *Heartbeat, clus ...

, features "Push Lady Push" * ''DJ's Of The 70s'' Creole, features "Love Me Country", "Sure Time", "Plaid Shirt", "Calypso Fi Granny" * ''Dynamite Series #3'' Tabou, features "Johnny Ringo"

References

External links

Ringo at Roots ArchivesJohnny Ringo at riddimguide
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ringo, Johnny Jamaican reggae musicians 1961 births 2005 deaths musicians from Kingston, Jamaica