Rupert Lloyd Edwards (born 4 July 1945) 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 and record producer.

Biography

Rupie Edwards was born in Goshen, in

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 ...

.Thompson, Dave (2002) ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books, , pp. 103–105 The family moved to Kingston in 1958, where he sang in talent contests, including those run by

Vere Johns Joseph Vere Everette Johns (28 November 1893–10 September 1966

. He was spotted by producer S.L. Smith, for whom he recorded his debut single, "Guilty Convict" b/w "Just Because", released on Smith's Hi=Lite label nd licensed to

Blue Beat Records Blue Beat Records is an English record label that released Jamaican rhythm and blues (R&B) and ska music in the 1960s and later decades. Its reputation led to the use of the word ''bluebeat'' as a generic term to describe all styles of early Jama ...

in 1962. After recording a few further

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'' ...

, he formed the Ambassadors in 1965 with Paragons singer Junior Menz and guitarist Eric Frater, becoming the Virtues with the addition of

Dobby Dobson Highland Ralph Dobson OD (5 July 1942 – 21 July 2020) was a Jamaican reggae singer and record producer, nicknamed "The Loving Pauper" after one of his best known songs. Biography Dobson began singing while a student at Central Branch Sc ...

.Greene, Jo-Ann
Rupie Edwards Biography
,

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

. Retrieved 26 April 2016 They recorded several singles for

Harry J Harry Zephaniah Johnson (6 July 1945 – 3 April 2013), known by the stage name Harry J, was a Jamaican reggae record producer. Biography Born in Westmoreland Parish, Jamaica, Johnson started to play music with the Virtues as a bass player bef ...

, as well as Edwards' first self-production, "Burning Love", credited to Rupie Edwards and the Virtues. The Virtues broke up in 1968, and Edwards started to focus mainly on his work as a producer, although he continued to release his own records in the late 1960s and early 1970s. By the beginning of the 1970s, he had recorded

artists An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse refers to a practitioner in the visual arts only. However, the ...

The Heptones The Heptones are a Jamaican rocksteady and reggae vocal trio most active in the 1960s and early 1970s. They were one of the more significant trios of that era, and played a major role in the gradual transition between ska and rocksteady into ...

The Mighty Diamonds The Mighty Diamonds were a Jamaican harmony trio, recording roots reggae with a strong Rastafarian influence. The group was formed in 1969 and were best known for their 1976 debut album, '' Right Time'', produced by Joseph Hoo Kim, and the 197 ...

Bob Andy Keith Anderson CD (28 October 1944 – 27 March 2020), better known by the stage name Bob Andy, was a Jamaican reggae vocalist and songwriter. He was widely regarded as one of reggae's most influential songwriters. Early life Anderson was bor ...

Johnny Clarke Johnny Clarke (born 12 January 1955) is a Jamaican reggae musician, best known for his recordings with producer Bunny Lee in the 1970s. Biography Clarke grew up in the Kingston ghetto of Whitfield Town and attended Jamaica College.Joe Higgs Joseph Benjamin Higgs (3 June 1940 – 18 December 1999) was a reggae musician from Jamaica. In the late 1950s and 1960s he was part of the duo Higgs and Wilson together with Roy Wilson. He was a popular artist in Jamaica for four decades and is ...

Gregory Isaacs Gregory Anthony Isaacs OD (15 July 1951 – 25 October 2010)Thompson, p. 127. was a Jamaican reggae musician. Milo Miles, writing in ''The New York Times'', described Isaacs as "the most exquisite vocalist in reggae".Miles, Milo (1992),RECORDI ...

("Lonely Man") and

The Ethiopians The Ethiopians were one of Jamaica's best-loved harmony groups during the late ska, rocksteady and early reggae periods. Responsible for a significant number of hits between the mid-1960s and early 1970s, the group was also one of the first ...

on his own

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

s 'Success' and 'Opportunity', based at his Success record shop in Orange Street, and on the

Trojan Records Trojan Records is a British record label founded in 1968. It specialises in ska, rocksteady, reggae and dub music. The label currently operates under the Sanctuary Records Group. The name ''Trojan'' comes from the Croydon-built Trojan truck ...

sub-labels Big Records and Cactus.Katz, David (2006) ''People Funny Boy: The Genius of Lee 'Scratch' Perry'', Omnibus Press, , p. 80 He also worked with

DJs 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 ...

such as

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 ...

Dennis Alcapone Dennis Alcapone (born Dennis Smith, 6 August 1947, in Clarendon, Jamaica) is a reggae DJ and producer. Career Smith initially trained as a welder and worked for the Jamaica Public Services.Interview with Aad van der Hoek in London, England, ...

and

I-Roy Roy Samuel Reid (28 June 1942 – 27 November 1999), better known as I-Roy, was a Jamaican deejay who had a very prolific career during the 1970s. Biography Born in 1944 in Saint Thomas Parish, Jamaica, Reid graduated from Dinthill Technical C ...

, and released some

instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to instru ...

versions with his

studio A studio is an artist or worker's workroom. This can be for the purpose of acting, architecture, painting, pottery (ceramics), sculpture, origami, woodworking, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, industrial design ...

band, The Rupie Edwards All Stars. The group included

musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...

s such as

saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

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 ...

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the Standing wave, air column ...

player

Vin Gordon Vin Gordon (a.k.a. Trommie, Don D. Junior or Don Drummond Jr) (born 4 August 1949) is a Jamaican trombone player. Biography Gordon grew up in Jones Town, Kingston, Jamaica as one of eight children. He went to Kingston's Catholic Alpha Boys S ...

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one mem ...

Carlton 'Santa' Davis,

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...

Hux Brown Lynford "Hux" Brown (4 December 1944 – 18 June 2020) was a Jamaican guitarist who featured on many successful rocksteady and reggae records in the 1960s and 1970s, and was later a member of Toots and the Maytals. Biography Brown was born in ...

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

Gladstone Anderson,

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a Bass (instrument), bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboar ...

Clifton 'Jackie' Jackson and

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...

Winston Wright. In 1974, he released an

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

(''Yamaha Skank'') containing solely of tracks based on the Uniques' "My Conversation" riddim, credited as the first single-riddim album. In 1974 and 1975, he scored hits 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 ...

with "Ire Feelings" and "Leggo Skanga". Both tracks were based on the same

riddim Riddim is the Jamaican Patois pronunciation of the English word "rhythm". In the context of reggae and dancehall, it refers to the instrumental accompaniment to a song and is synonymous with the rhythm section. Jamaican music genres that use the ...

, first used for

Johnny Clarke Johnny Clarke (born 12 January 1955) is a Jamaican reggae musician, best known for his recordings with producer Bunny Lee in the 1970s. Biography Clarke grew up in the Kingston ghetto of Whitfield Town and attended Jamaica College. Another one-riddim album based on these tracks, ''Ire Feelings - Chapter and Version'', was released by Trojan in 1990. After these successes, Edwards moved to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, and since then has continued producing and recording, working with artists such as

Jah Woosh Neville Beckford (1952 – 21 February 2011), better known as Jah Woosh, was a Jamaican reggae deejay and record producer, primarily known for his work in the 1970s. Biography Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Beckford served an apprenticeship as a m ...

, Gladstone Anderson,

Errol Dunkley Errol Dunkley (born 6 February 1951), sometimes spelled Erroll Dunkley, is a Jamaican reggae musician, born in Kingston, Jamaica, Kingston, Jamaica in 1951. Biography Dunkley's recording career began in 1965, when he was 14, with "Gypsy" (a d ...

, Dobby Dobson, and Shorty the President, and releasing a series of ''Dub Basket'' albums culled from his earlier productions. He now mainly records

Gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music, and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is com ...

.Bradley, Lloyd (2001) ''Bass Culture: When Reggae Was King'', Penguin,

Discography

Albums

*''Yamaha Skank'' (1974), Success *''Ire Feelings'' (1975), Cactus *''Jamaica Serenade'' (1976), Cactus *''Conversation Stylee'' (1980), Tad's *''Lovers Roots'' (198?), Success - split with

*''Pleasure and Pain'' (1987), Success *''Sweet Gospel Volume Four'', Rupie Edwards *''Bible Music Citation'' (2007), Success

Compilations

*Various Artists - ''Rupie's Gems - 1972-1974'' (1974), Cactus *Various Artists - ''Yamaha Skank'' (1974), Success *Rupie Edwards & Various Artists - ''Hit Picks'' (1974), Horse *Rupie Edwards All Stars - ''Dub Basket'' (1975), Cactus - also issued as ''Dub Classic'' (1977), Success *Rupie Edwards All Stars - ''Dub Basket Chapter 2'' (1976), Cactus *Various Artists - ''Rupie's Gems Volume 2'' (1976), Cactus *''Hit Picks Volume 1'' (1977), Success *Various Artists - ''Ire Feelings, Chapter & Version 1973-1975'' (1990),

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 ...

*Rupie Edwards & Friends - ''Let There Be Version'' (1990), Trojan *Rupie Edwards All Stars & Various Artists - ''Pure Gold'' - Success *Various Artists - ''House of Lovers'' *Various Artists - ''Rupie's Scorchers'' - 1969-1971 - Trybute (2002) *''Success Archives vols. 1-8'' (2006-2007), Success *''Best of Sweet Gospel, Reggae And Soul - Vols. 1 - 7'' (2006), Success *''Rupie Edwards Presents Success Archives - From Kingston Jamaica to London UK'' (2013), Rupie Edwards

References

External links

Rupie Edwards Discography
from Roots Archives {{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Rupie 1945 births Living people Jamaican record producers Jamaican reggae musicians Jamaican songwriters People from Saint Ann Parish Trojan Records artists