Horatious Adolphus "Pat" Kelly (6 August 1944 – 16 July 2019)Perry, Kediesha (2019)
Fraternity bids farewell to singer Pat Kelly
, ''

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 ...

'', 19 August 2019. Retrieved 20 August 2019 was a Jamaican

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 ...

and reggae singer, whose career began in the mid-1960s. He recorded as a solo artist and as a member of the vocal group

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 ...

Biography

The Techniques

Kelly was born in

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the five most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

in 1944. After leaving school, he spent a year studying electronics in

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States, and the seat of Hampden County. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ...

, United States during 1966, gaining a degree in audio electronics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, before returning to Jamaica.Bonitto, Brian (2019)
Aug 17 send-off for singer Pat Kelly
, ''

'', 29 July 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2019 He initially recorded as a solo artist for his former schoolmate, producer Bunny Lee. In 1967, when Slim Smith left

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 ...

, Kelly was brought in to replace him,Hamilton, Andrew
Pat Kelly Biography
, Allmusic. Retrieved 17 August 2019 recording for Duke Reid in the

era when Reid's Treasure Isle studio/label was dominating Jamaican music. Kelly's

falsetto ''Falsetto'' (, ; Italian diminutive of , "false") is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentous ed ...

voice, strongly influenced by the American soul singer

Sam Cooke Samuel Cook (January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964), known professionally as Sam Cooke, was an American singer and songwriter. Considered to be a pioneer and one of the most influential soul artists of all time, Cooke is commonly referred ...

, in combination with Winston Riley and Bruce Ruffin, maintained the success that The Techniques had enjoyed with Smith. The Techniques first record with Kelly, "You Don't Care", adapted from Curtis Mayfield's "You'll Want Me Back", spent six weeks at number one in the Jamaican singles chart, and was followed by further hits.

Solo career

In 1968, Kelly went solo again, working again with Lee, and recording another Mayfield cover, "Little Boy Blue". He also recorded for Phil Pratt.Black, Roy (2019)
Remembering Singer Pat Kelly
, ''

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 ' ...

'', 21 July 2019. Retrieved 17 August 2019 Kelly's "How Long Will It Take" was the biggest-selling Jamaican single of 1969, and was the first Jamaican record to feature a string arrangement, which was overdubbed when it was released in the United Kingdom on the

Palmer Brothers Pama Records is a British record label active during the 1960s and 1970s. Initially focused on soul music, it became one of the major outlets for reggae in the UK. History The label was set up by the Palmer Brothers – Harry, Jeff, and Carl � ...

' ''Gas'' label. An album followed, the Lee "Scratch" Perry-engineered ''Pat Kelley Sings'' (sic), and Kelly was offered a £25,000 contract by Apple Records, which he was unable to accept due to existing contractual commitments. Kelly continued to record, having a big hits for

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

Phil Pratt in 1972 with "Soulful Love" and "Talk About Love", and returning to record with Duke Reid, having another hit with a cover of

John Denver Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor, activist, and humanitarian whose greatest commercial success was as a solo singe ...

's "Sunshine". He fell back on his earlier training, working as an engineer at several studios including Channel One and King Tubby's. He also moved into production, producing his own ''Youth and Youth'' album in 1978, and co-producing (with Holt) John Holt's ''The Impressable John Holt (Disco Mix)'' album in 1979. The late 1970s and early 1980s saw Kelly recording more regularly again, and he continued to record occasionally in the years that followed. In the 1990s he was a member of a reformed Techniques, along with Lloyd Parks and Johnny Johnson. He continued to perform internationally up to 2018. Kelly died on 16 July 2019, aged 74, from complications of kidney disease.Campbell, Howard (2019)
Singer Pat Kelly is dead
, ''

'', 16 July 2019. Retrieved 16 July 2019 He was survived by widow Ingrid, one son (Shawn) and four daughters (Cheryl, Pamela, Padeane, & Terri-Ann). He is buried at Dovecot Memorial Park and Crematory in St. Catherine.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''Pat Kelley Sings'' (1969), Pama * ''Give Love a Try'' (1978), Third World * ''Youth and Youth'' (1978), Live & Love * ''Lonely Man'' (1978), Burning Sounds * ''Lovers Rock'' (1979), Third World (with Johnny Clarke and Hortense Ellis) * ''One Man Stand'' (1979), Third World/Puff * ''So Proud'' (1979), Burning Rockers/Chanan-Jah * ''Cool Breezing'' (197?), Sunshot * ''Wish It Would Rain'' (1980), Joe Gibbs * ''From Both Sides'' (1980), Ita * ''Sunshine'' (1980), KG Imperial * ''Srevol'' (1983), Ethnic Fight UK * ''Pat Kelly and Friends'' (1984), Chanan-Jah * ''One In a Million'' (1984), Sky Note * ''Ordinary Man'' (1987), Body Music * ''Cry For You No More'' (1988), Blue Moon * ''No Further Fears'' (2009), Tad's Record * ''Are You For Real'' (with Los Aggrotones) (2012), Interrogator Records * ''Love Songs'' ( Jackpot, KGLP003).

Compilation albums

* ''The Best of Pat Kelly'' (1983), Vista Sounds * ''Butterflies'', Sonic Sounds * ''Classic Hits of Pat Kelly'' (1995), Rhino * ''Classics'' (199?), Super Power * ''Soulful Love - The Best Of'' (1997), Trojan (Pat Kelly & Friends) * ''The Vintage Series'' (2000), VP * ''Sings Classical Hits Galore'', Striker Lee

References

External links

Pat Kelly at Roots Archives
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Pat 1944 births 2019 deaths Musicians from Kingston, Jamaica Jamaican reggae musicians Afro-Jamaican Deaths from kidney disease Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni