Justin Hinds (7 May 1942 – 16 March 2005) was a Jamaican
ska
Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...
vocalist, with his backing singers the Dominoes.
He is best known for his work with
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 ...
's Treasure Isle Records, where his most notable song, "Carry Go Bring Come" recorded in late 1963, went to
number one
Number One most commonly refers to:
* 1 (number)
Number One, No. 1, or #1 may also refer to:
Music Albums
* ''Number 1'' (Big Bang album), and the title song
* ''No. 1'' (BoA album), and the title song
* ''No.1'' (EP), by CLC
* ''n.1 ...
in Jamaica. He recorded seventy
singles
Singles are people not in a committed relationship.
Singles may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series
* ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe
* ''Singles'' ...
between 1964 and 1966, and was the most popular artist on the record label.
Biography
Hinds was born in Steertown,
Saint Ann Parish
Saint Ann is the largest parish in Jamaica. It is situated on the north coast of the island, in the county of Middlesex, roughly halfway between the eastern and western ends of the island. It is often called "the Garden Parish of Jamaica" on ac ...
, Jamaica. He started his musical career singing in bars and on the beach in Ochos Rios. Hinds moved to
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 ...
where he became influenced by
Rastafari
Rastafari, sometimes called Rastafarianism, is a religion that developed in Jamaica during the 1930s. It is classified as both a new religious movement and a social movement by scholars of religion. There is no central authority in control of ...
. He was turned down by
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 ...
's label, but signed with Treasure Isle Records. By this stage, the Dominoes consisting of Dennis Sinclair and Junior Dixon had become his backing vocalists.
Work with Duke Reid
His first recording with Duke Reid was "Carry Go Bring Come", made in late 1963 in one take. It became a big hit topping the Jamaican
chart
A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tabu ...
for two months, just before
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 ...
got their big hit with "Simmer Down". "Carry Go Bring Come" was
covered
Cover or covers may refer to:
Packaging
* Another name for a lid
* Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package
* Album cover, the front of the packaging
* Book cover or magazine cover
** Book design
** Back cover copy, part of co ...
by the British ska band
The Selecter
The Selecter are an English 2 tone ska revival band, formed in Coventry, England, in 1979.
The Selecter featured a diverse line-up, both in terms of race and gender, initially consisting of Arthur 'Gaps' Hendrickson and Pauline Black on lead vo ...
on their 1980 album ''
Too Much Pressure
''Too Much Pressure'' is the debut studio album by English Two-tone (music genre), 2 tone ska revival band the Selecter. After the band's official formation in 1979 in Coventry, following the release of a song entitled "The Selecter" by an unoffi ...
,'' and by
Desmond Dekker
Desmond Dekker (16 July 1941 – 25 May 2006) was a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae singer-songwriter and musician. Together with his backing group The Aces (consisting of Wilson James and Easton Barrington Howard), he had one of the earlie ...
and
The Specials
The Specials, also known as The Special AKA, are an English Two-tone (music genre), 2 tone and ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry. After some early changes, the first stable lineup of the group consisted of Terry Hall (singer), Terr ...
on ''King of Kings''.
Hinds was one of the biggest acts in Jamaican music during the 1960s. Over the next couple of years, he releasee singles including "King Samuel", "Jump Out of the Frying Pan", "The Ark" and "Rub Up Push Up". He also released "Carry Go Bring Come" in 1963 in conjunction with Jonathan Bevan, an English-born Jamaican national, a successful collaboration which drew much admiration amongst Jamaican music producers. The track was described by esteemed Ghanaian music aficionado Zahid Chohan as "simply wonderful; belongs in any reggae fan's collection". He also worked with
Tommy McCook
Tommy McCook (3 March 1927 – 5 May 1998) was a Jamaican saxophonist. A founding member of The Skatalites, he also directed The Supersonics for Duke Reid, and backed many sessions for Bunny Lee or with The Revolutionaries at Channel One S ...
and The Supersonics.
In 1966, he became active in
rocksteady
Rocksteady is a music genre that originated in Jamaica around 1966. A successor of ska and a precursor to reggae, rocksteady was the dominant style of music in Jamaica for nearly two years, performed by many of the artists who helped establish ...
, a predecessor of
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 ...
. He had several more hits in Jamaica including "The Higher the Monkey Climbs", "No Good Rudie", "On a Saturday Night", "Here I Stand" and "Save a Bread". Hinds parted company with Reid in 1972 as an artist, but was present when he died a few years later.
Justin Hinds was an example for his younger cousin,
Horace Andy
Horace Andy (born Horace Hinds, 19 February 1951) is a Jamaican roots reggae songwriter and singer, known for his distinctive vocals and hit songs such as "Government Land", as well as "Angel", "Spying Glass" and "Five Man Army" with English tri ...
, who became a reggae and trip-hop musician.
Subsequent work
Hinds then worked with
Jack Ruby
Jack Leon Ruby (born Jacob Leon Rubenstein; April 25, 1911January 3, 1967) was an American nightclub owner and alleged associate of the Chicago Outfit who murdered Lee Harvey Oswald on November 24, 1963, two days after Oswald was accused of th ...
which resulted in the 1976 album ''Jezebel''.Moskowitz, David V. (2006) ''Caribbean Popular Music: an Encyclopedia of Reggae, Mento, Ska, Rock Steady, and Dancehall'', Greenwood Press, , p. 139 Reviewing it in '' Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies'' (1981),
Robert Christgau
Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...
wrote: "Homey lyrics (' Jah-jah will spank you') and artful instrumental touches—I like the gentle calypso-styled horns and decorative guitar licks—may mean this is a great reggae album. But they may mean it's only a subtle one, and in such an understated genre subtlety risks extinction."
Hinds' work with
Sonia Pottinger
Sonia Eloise Pottinger OD ( Durrant; 21 June 1931 – 3 November 2010)Thompson, Dave (2002) ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books, , p. 316 After the release of ''Travel with Love'' recorded at
Tuff Gong Studios
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 " ...
in 1984, Hinds became less active. His final studio album ''Know Jah Better'' was released in 1992, but he worked on ''
Wingless Angels
''Wingless Angels'' is an album released in 1975 and it is the eighth album by folk musician John Stewart, former member of the Kingston Trio.
Track listing
All compositions by John Stewart except where noted.
Side one
# "Hung on the Heart ...
'' with other Jamaican musicians, which was produced by
Keith Richards
Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...
in the early 1990s. In 1997, he toured the US for the first time and he released a couple of live albums in the early 2000s, including one recorded at the
Finger Lakes GrassRoots Festival of Music and Dance
Started in 1991, the Finger Lakes GrassRoots Festival of Music and Dance is an annual festival held the second-to-last weekend of July in Trumansburg, New York
Trumansburg is a village in Tompkins County, New York, United States. The population ...
in
Trumansburg
Trumansburg is a village in Tompkins County, New York, United States. The population was 1,797 at the 2010 census. The name incorporates a misspelling of the surname of the founder, Abner Treman. The Tremans spelled their surname several differe ...
, New York backed by John Brown's Body.
On 23 September 2010, a new posthumous album, ''Wingless Angels II'', was released with "Oh What a Joy, What a Comfort", having guitar work by
Keith Richards
Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...
plus the Jamaican Nyabinghi Drummers.
Death
Hinds died of lung cancer in March 2005, at the age of 62.