Ranking Joe Little Joe (born Joseph Jackson, 1 July 1959, Kingston, Jamaica) is 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 ...

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 ...

who rose to prominence in the 1970s and had continuing success in the 1980s.

Biography

Jackson was initially inspired towards a musical career by his father, who operated a sound system.Interview with Ranking Joe, April 2005
/ref> He attended secondary school with

Winston McAnuff Winston McAnuff, also known under the stage name Electric Dread (born 1957) is a Jamaican singer and composer of reggae and dub music. Life and career McAnuff was born in Manchester Parish, JamaicaCampbell-Livingston, Cecelia (2013)A New Day fo ...

U Brown Huford Brown (born 8 June 1956, Kingston, Jamaica), better known by the stage name U Brown, is a reggae deejay who released eleven albums between 1976 and 1984. Biography Brown grew up in Bond Street in Kingston, living two doors away from Du ...

and

Earl Sixteen Earl Sixteen (b. Earl John Daley, 9 May 1958, Kingston, Jamaica)Gregory, Andy (2002) ''International Who's Who in Popular Music 2002'', Europa, , p. 152 is a reggae singer whose career began in the mid-1970s. Biography Daley grew up in Waltham ...

, and they would perform concerts. After starting out by toasting on the ''Smith The Weapon'' sound system, Jackson progressed to the ''El Paso'' sound system, where he performed under the name Little Joe (inspired by the character from '' Bonanza''), inspired greatly by

U-Roy Ewart Beckford OD (21 September 1942 – 17 February 2021), known by the stage name U-Roy, was a Jamaican vocalist and pioneer of toasting.Jo-Ann GreeneU-Roy Biography, AllMusic. Retrieved 11 April 2013. U-Roy was known for a melodic style ...

.Larkin, Colin:"The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae", 1998, Virgin Books, He first recorded for Coxsone Dodd's Studio One in 1974, releasing "Gun Court". Initially unsuccessful as a recording artist, he studied

electronics The field of electronics is a branch of physics and electrical engineering that deals with the emission, behaviour and effects of electrons using electronic devices. Electronics uses active devices to control electron flow by amplification ...

before returning to recording in the mid-1970s with greater success, having a hit with "Honda 750", which was followed by singles such as "Psalm 54", "Natty Don't Make War" and the '' Bionic Man''-tribute "Steve Austin". "Stop Your Coming and Come" provided the first deejay hit for

Sly & Robbie Sly and Robbie were a prolific Jamaican rhythm section and production duo, associated primarily with the reggae and dub genres. Drummer Sly Dunbar and bassist Robbie Shakespeare teamed up in the mid-1970s after establishing themselves separ ...

's ''Taxi'' label.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter:"The Rough Guide to Reggae 3rd edn.", 2004, Rough Guides, In the latter half of the 1970s he released three albums and also returned to sound system work with

's ''King Sturgav'' setup. His big break in international terms came in 1980, when the ''Ray Symbolic Hi Fi'' sound system, with which he was then the resident deejay, toured the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, raising his profile and helping his ''Weakheart Fadeaway'' become a major seller for

Greensleeves Records Greensleeves Records & Publishing, shortened to ''Greensleeves Records'', is a record label specializing in dancehall and reggae music. The company was founded by Chris Cracknell and Chris Sedgwick. Based in Britain, Greensleeves Records sta ...

. A string of further albums followed in the early 1980s, which saw Joe move away from the "cultural" chants of his early work towards the "

slackness Slackness refers to vulgarity in West Indian culture, behavior, and music. It also refers to a subgenre of dancehall music with straightforward sexual lyrics performed live or recorded. Its form and pronunciation varies throughout the Caribbean. ...

" that had become popular. Ray Symbolic's death interrupted Joe's career, but he returned as a producer, with dubs of his productions released on the

King Tubby Osbourne Ruddock (28 January 1941 – 6 February 1989), better known as King Tubby, was a Jamaican sound engineer who greatly influenced the development of dub in the 1960s and 1970s. Tubby's innovative studio work, which saw him elevate the ...

albums ''Original King Key Dub'' and ''Dangerous Dub''. He later moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, setting up a record label, also named Ranking Joe, which provided an outlet for his productions. He proved to be a major influence on one of the most successful deejays of the early 1980s,

Eek-A-Mouse Eek-A-Mouse (born Ripton Joseph Hylton, 19 November 1957) is a Jamaican reggae musician. He is one of the earliest artists to be described as a " singjay".Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The Rough Guide To Reggae, 3rd edn.", Rough Guides, ...

Albums

*''The Best of Ranking Joe'' (1977) TR International/State Line *''Weakheart Fadeaway'' (1978)

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 Fo ...

*''Round The World'' (1978) Nationwide/Student *''Dub It In a Dance'' (1980)

Trojan Trojan or Trojans may refer to: * Of or from the ancient city of Troy * Trojan language, the language of the historical Trojans Arts and entertainment Music * ''Les Troyens'' ('The Trojans'), an opera by Berlioz, premiered part 1863, part 189 ...

*''Natty Superstar'' (1980)

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 ...

*''Saturday Night Jamdown Style'' (1980) Greensleeves/Jah Guidance *''Shaolin Temple'' (1980) Sharp Axe *''Showcase'' (1981) Tad's *''Disco Skate'' (1981) Copasetic *''Tribute to John Lennon'' (1981) Tad's *''Armageddon'' (1982) Kingdom *''Rebel DJ'' (1982) Jam Rock *''Check It Out'' (1983) Vista *''Fast Forward To Africa'' (1996) Ariwa *''Man and His Music (Mr Finnigan)'' (1997) Jasrac (compilation) *''Armageddon Time'' (2000) M10 (compilation) *''3 The Roots Way'' (2002) Krescendo (with

and

Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God th ...

) *''Zion High'' (2003) Blood & Fire (Ranking Joe with

Black Uhuru Black Uhuru is a Jamaican reggae group formed in 1972, initially as Uhuru ( Swahili for 'freedom'). The group has undergone several line-up changes over the years, with Derrick "Duckie" Simpson as the mainstay. They had their most successful per ...

and

Dennis Brown Dennis Emmanuel Brown CD (1 February 1957 – 1 July 1999) was a Jamaican reggae singer. During his prolific career, which began in the late 1960s when he was aged eleven, he recorded more than 75 albums and was one of the major stars of lo ...

) (compilation) *''Ghetto People'' (2004)

Culture Press Culture Press is an independent record label from UK specialized in Jamaican music. LP Discography *VSLP5000 - Bob Marley - Interviews *VSLP5001 - Clint Eastwood - The Best Of Clint Eastwood - 1984 *VSLP5002 - Dillinger - Blackboard Jungle - ...

*''World In Trouble'' (2006) M *''World In Dub'' (2006) M

References

External links

Ranking Joe at Roots ArchivesRanking Joe biography, photos, etc.Discography at Discogs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ranking Joe 1959 births Jamaican reggae musicians Living people Musicians from Kingston, Jamaica Greensleeves Records artists Trojan Records artists