Emmanuel "Rico" Rodriguez (17 October 1934 – 4 September 2015), also known as Rico, Reco or El Reco, was a Cuban-born 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 w ...
and reggae trombonist. He recorded with producers such as
Karl Pitterson
Karl Pitterson is a Jamaican record producer and sound engineer.
Pitterson began his career in the early 1970s as house engineer with Jamaican studios such as Dynamics, Federal, Randy's, Studio One, Treasure Isle and Aquarius. Over the course of ...
,
Prince Buster
Cecil Bustamente Campbell (24 May 1938 – 8 September 2016), known professionally as Prince Buster, was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and producer. The records he released in the 1960s influenced and shaped the course of Jamaican contemporary ...
, and
Lloyd Daley
Lloyd Daley also known as Lloyd's the Matador (born 12 July 1939, Kingston, Jamaica, died 18 March 2018, Florida, USAAllmusic.com/ref>) was a Jamaican electronic technician, sound system pioneer, studio engineer and reggae producer.
Career
D ...
. He was known as one of the first ska musicians. Beginning in the 1960s, he worked with
The Members
The Members are a British punk band that originated in Camberley, Surrey, England. In the UK, they are best known for their single "The Sound of the Suburbs", reaching No. 12 in 1979, and in Australia, "Radio" which reached No. 5 in 1982.
Care ...
,
The Specials
The Specials, also known as The Special AKA, are an English 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 and Neville Staple on vocals, Lynv ...
,
Jools Holland
Julian Miles Holland, (born 24 January 1958) is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer and television presenter. He was an original member of the band Squeeze and has worked with many artists including Jayne County, Sting, Eric ...
, and
Paul Young
Paul Antony Young (born 17 January 1956) is an English musician, singer and songwriter. Formerly the frontman of the short-lived bands Kat Kool & the Kool Cats, Streetband and Q-Tips, he became a teen idol with his solo success in the 1980s. ...
.
Career
Rodriguez was born in
Havana
Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.
, Cuba, and at an early age moved with his family to
Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispanio ...
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 is ...
'', 22 June 2012; retrieved 24 June 2012. He grew up there in Kingston, and was taught to play the
trombone
The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrat ...
by his slightly older schoolmate
Don Drummond
Don Drummond (12 March 1932Cane-Honeysett, L: ''Don Drummond Memorial Album'', liner notes. Trojan 2009. – 6 May 1969) was a Jamaican ska trombonist and composer. He was one of the original members of The Skatalites, and composed many ...
Rastafarian
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 o ...
and was closely associated musically to the rasta drummer
Count Ossie
Count Ossie, born Oswald Williams (23 April 1926Ancestry.com. Jamaica, Civil Registration Birth, Marriage, and Death Records, 1878-1995 atabase on-line Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. – 18 October 1976Moskowitz, David V. ...
.
In 1961 Rodriguez moved to the UK, where he joined live bands such as
Georgie Fame
Georgie Fame (born Clive Powell; 26 June 1943) is an English R&B and jazz musician. Fame, who had a string of 1960s hits, is still performing, often working with contemporaries such as Alan Price, Van Morrison and Bill Wyman. Fame is the only ...
The 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 ' ...
'', 9 October 2012. and started to play in reggae bands. Rodriguez also began recording with his own band, Rico's All Stars, and later formed the group Rico and the Rudies, recording the 1969 albums ''Blow Your Horn'' and ''Brixton Cat''. In 1976 he recorded the album ''
Man from Wareika
''Man from Wareika'' was the first album recording for Rico Rodriguez led by his own artistic imagination, and his first recording created for album release. It is notable for being the only roots reggae album to be released on Blue Note Records. ...
'' under a contract with
Island Records
Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anothe ...
. In the late 1970s, he recorded a song called Offshore Banking Business with
The Members
The Members are a British punk band that originated in Camberley, Surrey, England. In the UK, they are best known for their single "The Sound of the Suburbs", reaching No. 12 in 1979, and in Australia, "Radio" which reached No. 5 in 1982.
Care ...
and with the arrival of the 2 Tone genre, he played with ska revival bands such as
The Specials
The Specials, also known as The Special AKA, are an English 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 and Neville Staple on vocals, Lynv ...
including their single "
A Message to You, Rudy
"A Message to You Rudy" is a 1967 rocksteady song by Dandy Livingstone. Originally titled "Rudy a Message to You", the song later achieved broader success when, in 1979, a cover version by The Specials reached number 10 in the UK Singles Chart.
...
".
In 1982, he returned to Jamaica to retire from performing professionally; however, in 1987 he returned to tour with the Heart Beat Band, and between 1992 and 1995 he would also play with
Jazz Jamaica
Jazz Jamaica is a British jazz/reggae music group formed by musician Gary Crosby in London formed in 1991.
History
In 1991, inspired by the rhythms of traditional Jamaican music and the largely improvisational nature of jazz, Gary Crosby — o ...
, as well as with
Linton Kwesi Johnson
Linton Kwesi Johnson (born 24 August 1952), also known as LKJ, is a Jamaica-born, British-based dub poet and activist. In 2002 he became the second living poet, and the only black one, to be published in the Penguin Modern Classics series. His ...
during this era.
In 1995 Island Records released the album '' Roots to the Bone'', an updated version of Rodriguez's earlier work ''Man from Wareika''. From 1996, among other engagements, he played with
Jools Holland
Julian Miles Holland, (born 24 January 1958) is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer and television presenter. He was an original member of the band Squeeze and has worked with many artists including Jayne County, Sting, Eric ...
's Rhythm and Blues Orchestra and also performed at various ska
festivals
A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival co ...
throughout Europe with his own band. He retired from performing with Jools Holland in 2012.
He was appointed a
Member of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(MBE) in the
2007 New Year Honours
The New Year Honours 2007 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrati ...
, for services to music. In October 2012 he was awarded the Silver
Musgrave Medal
The Musgrave Medal is an annual award by the Institute of Jamaica in recognition of achievement in art, science, and literature.Webster, Valerie J. (2000), ''Awards, Honors & Prizes, Volume 2'', Gale Group, , p. 447. Originally conceived in 1889 ...
On 4 September 2015, following a short illness in a London hospital, Rodriguez died aged 80. A tribute to him by Youthsayers alongside
Jerry Dammers
Jeremy David Hounsell Dammers GCOT (born 22 May 1955) is a British musician who was a founder, keyboard player and primary songwriter of the Coventry-based ska band The Specials (also known as The Special A.K.A.) and later The Spatial AKA Orche ...
was performed at the Lambeth Country Show, 2016 to a crowd of 80,000.
Discography
* ''Reco in Reggae Land (Paying Tribute to
Don Drummond
Don Drummond (12 March 1932Cane-Honeysett, L: ''Don Drummond Memorial Album'', liner notes. Trojan 2009. – 6 May 1969) was a Jamaican ska trombonist and composer. He was one of the original members of The Skatalites, and composed many ...
)'',
Pama Records
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 � ...
(1969)
* ''
Man from Wareika
''Man from Wareika'' was the first album recording for Rico Rodriguez led by his own artistic imagination, and his first recording created for album release. It is notable for being the only roots reggae album to be released on Blue Note Records. ...
'',
Island Records
Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anothe ...
(1976)
* ''Wareika Dub'', Ghetto Rockers (1977)
* ''That Man Is Forward'',
2 Tone Records
2 Tone Records was an English independent record label that mostly released ska and reggae-influenced music with a punk rock and pop music overtone. It was founded by Jerry Dammers of the Specials and backed by Chrysalis Records.
History ...
(1981)
* ''Jama Rico'',
2 Tone Records
2 Tone Records was an English independent record label that mostly released ska and reggae-influenced music with a punk rock and pop music overtone. It was founded by Jerry Dammers of the Specials and backed by Chrysalis Records.
History ...
(1982)
* ''Rising in the East'', Jove Music (1994)
* ''Return from Wareika Hill'', Alpha Enterprise (1994)
* ''You Must Be Crazy'' (live, as Rico & His Band), Grover Records (1994)
* ''Wonderful World'', Quattro, (1995)
* ''Get Up Your Foot'', (as Rico & His Band), Grover Records, (2000)
* ''Going West'', (as Rico & Friends), Creole Records (2002)
* ''Togetherness'', (as Rico Rodriguez & Roots to the Bone Band), Subterannia Discos (2005)
* ''Japa-Rico - Rico Rodriguez Meets Japan'',
Sony Music
Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment ...
(2006)
* ''Wareika Vibes'', Jamdown (2006)
See also
*
List of reggae musicians
This is a list of reggae musicians. This includes artists who have either been very important to the genre or have had a considerable amount of exposure (such as in the case of one that has been on a major label). Bands are listed by the first let ...
*
List of ska musicians
This is a list of notable bands and musicians who performed primarily ska or ska-influenced music for a significant portion of their careers.
Original (starting in late 1950s)
* Aubrey Adams
*Laurel Aitken
*Roland Alphonso
* Theophilus Beckford
...
Ska jazz
Ska jazz is a music genre derived by fusing the melodic content of jazz with the rhythmic and harmonic content of early Jamaican Music introduced by the "Fathers of Ska" in the late 1950s. The ska-jazz movement began during the 1990s in New York a ...