Leslie Tucker, known as Junior Tucker (born 1966 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 ...

, Kingston, Jamaica), is a Jamaican

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 started his career in secular music but who now sings Christian music. His hits included "Happy" and his own composition, "Don't Test".

Career

His first hit was "Happy", released when he was aged seven years old, and was a No. 1

hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single or simply a hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record' ...

in Jamaica, where he was known as the Jamaican

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

.Jamaica-gleaner.com
/ref> He performed the tune at the

One Love Peace Concert The One Love Concert (OLPC) was a large concert held on 22 April 1978 at The National Stadium in Kingston, Jamaica. This concert was held during a political civil war in Jamaica between opposing parties Jamaican Labour Party and the People's ...

in 1978. He had further hits with his

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 ...

of "

Some Guys Have All The Luck "Some Guys Have All the Luck" is a song written by Jeff Fortgang, which has been a Top 40 hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 twice, first by The Persuaders in 1973 reaching No. 39, then by Rod Stewart in 1984 where it hit No. 10 in the U.S. and N ...

" and, in 1983, recorded the first version of "

Mr. Telephone Man "Mr. Telephone Man" is a song by New Edition, and the second single from their eponymous second album, ''New Edition''. Released as a single, by December 8, 1984, it was being added to the most "Hot Black" radio station playlists. Overview "Mr ...

", a 1984

Top 20 A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include rec ...

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 ...

'' hit for

New Edition New Edition is an American R&B/Pop group from the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 1978 by Bobby Brown. Their name is taken to mean a 'new edition' of the Jackson 5. The group reached its height of popularity in the 198 ...

.Reggae-exports.com
/ref> He then studied

audio engineering Audio most commonly refers to sound, as it is transmitted in signal form. It may also refer to: Sound * Audio signal, an electrical representation of sound *Audio frequency, a frequency in the audio spectrum * Digital audio, representation of sou ...

at the

Institute of Audio Research The Institute of Audio Research (IAR) was an educational institution in New York City. Students of IAR were offered a wide variety of academic programs in the field of music production and audio engineering. Students could choose from courses in ...

in New York City, and following his study began to write his own songs. "Don't Test", one of his first compositions, became an international hit earning him a recording contract with

Virgin Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

in 1989. "Don't Test" peaked at No. 54 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in June 1990. He was released from his Virgin contract in 1991, returning to Jamaica, where he became a

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 ...

act. Tucker also had international success (especially in Australia in 1991) with a reggae cover of the 1980

Benny Mardones Ruben Armand "Benny" Mardones (November 9, 1946 – June 29, 2020) was an American pop/rock singer and songwriter who was best known for his hit single " Into the Night", which hit the top 20 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart twice, in 1980 ( ...

hit " Into the Night". Junior Tucker's version was called "16 (Into The Night)". In 1993, he recorded a No. 1 hit in "Love of a Lifetime", releasing an album of the same name later that year for

VP Records VP Records is an independent Caribbean-owned record label in Queens, New York (state), New York. The label is known for releasing music by notable artists in reggae, dancehall and Soca music, soca. VP Records has offices in New York City, Miami ...

. After the death of his father and birth of his daughter, Tucker went in search of the

meaning of life The meaning of life, or the answer to the question: "What is the meaning of life?", pertains to the significance of living or existence in general. Many other related questions include: "Why are we here?", "What is life all about?", or "What ...

. After asking God to 'let him sleep', he became a

born again Christian Born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelicalism, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is distinctly and sepa ...

, and was baptised. He said that God had led him to move to Florida, where he initially sung at a mostly West Indian church in Broward. He subsequently moved to New Harvest Church in

Clewiston Clewiston is a city in Hendry County, Florida, United States. Its location is northwest of Fort Lauderdale on the Atlantic coastal plain. The population was 7,327 at the 2020 census, up from 7,155 at the 2010 census. The estimated population in 2 ...

, Florida and enrolled on a

correspondence course Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at a school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance. Traditionally, this usually in ...

degree in Ministry. He has recorded several Christian reggae albums including ''Brand New'', ''Ready for the Rapture'', ''Sold Out – Worship from the Islands'' plus ''Victory – Worship from the Islands II''.

Discography

Albums

*''It's a Small, Small World'' (1978),

Top Ranking ''Top Ranking: A Diplo Dub'' is the first mixtape by American musician and singer Santigold (then going by ''Santogold'') and Philadelphia-based DJ Diplo, released on July 15, 2008. Background ''Top Ranking'' features remixes of songs from Sa ...

*''Take a Message'' (1980),

Tuff Gong Records Tuff Gong is the brand name associated with a number of businesses started by Bob Marley and the Marley family. 'Tuff Gong' comes from Marley's nickname, which was in turn an echo of that given to founder of the Rastafari movement, Leonard "T ...

*''Jr. Tucker'' (1983),

Geffen Records Geffen Records is an American record label established by David Geffen and owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M Records imprint. Founded in 1980, Geffen Records has been a part of Interscope Geffen A&M since 1999 and h ...

*''Don't Test'' (1990),

10 Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a worldwi ...

*''Love of a Lifetime'' (1993),

*''True Confession'' (1996), VP Records *''Deep Inside of You'' (1996), Don't Test Productions *''Brand New'' (2000), Soulshine Records *''Secret Lover'' (2009), Jet Star *''Jesus Famous'' (2015)

Singles

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tucker, Junior 1966 births Living people musicians from Kingston, Jamaica Jamaican male singers Jamaican reggae singers Jamaican songwriters Jamaican Christians People from Clewiston, Florida VP Records artists