Steely & Clevie was a

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 His ...

dancehall reggae Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The Rou ...

production duo that was composed of members Wycliffe Johnson and Cleveland Browne. The duo worked with artists such as

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 ...

, Gregory Peck ("Poco Man Jam," 1990),

Bounty Killer Rodney Basil Price (born 12 June 1972), known as Bounty Killer, is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall deejay. AllMusic describes him as "one of the most aggressive dancehall stars of the '90s, a street-tough rude boy with an unrepentant flair ...

Elephant Man Joseph Carey Merrick (5 August 1862 – 11 April 1890), often erroneously called John Merrick, was an English man known for having severe deformities. He was first exhibited at a freak show under the stage name "the Elephant Man" and then wen ...

, and

No Doubt No Doubt is an American rock band from Anaheim, California, formed in 1986. For most of their career, the band has consisted of vocalist Gwen Stefani, guitarist Tom Dumont, bassist Tony Kanal, and drummer Adrian Young. Since the mid-1990s, they ...

. Steely debuted as a keyboardist with

Sugar Minott Lincoln Barrington "Sugar" Minott (25 May 1956 – 10 July 2010)Campbell, Howard (2010)Reggae singer Sugar Minott dies at 54, Associated Press, 11 July 2010. Retrieved 12 July 2010Peru, Yasmine (2010)Godfather of Dancehall, Sugar Minott, dead at ...

's Youth Promotion collective in the 1970s, playing the keyboards on Minott's 1978 album, ''Ghetto-ology''. Clevie pioneered the use of drum machines in reggae. Steely and Clevie first played together at

Lee "Scratch" Perry Lee "Scratch" Perry (born Rainford Hugh Perry; 20 March 1936 – 29 August 2021) was a Jamaican record producer, composer and singer noted for his innovative studio techniques and production style. Perry was a pioneer in the 1970s development o ...

's Black Ark Studios during the late 1970s. In 1986, the duo was the house band at King Jammy's Studio, which became the center point of late-1980s reggae, by which time Steely & Clevie were established production leaders with an immense slew of 12-inch and dub singles. The duo formed the Steely & Clevie label in 1987, a year in which reggae

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 ...

s and dub-influenced hip-hop production by Ced Gee and

KRS-One Lawrence "Kris" Parker (born August 20, 1965), better known by his stage names KRS-One (; an abbreviation of "Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone") and Teacha, is an American rapper from New York City. He rose to prominence as part of ...

in the Bronx became prominent. In 1993, Steely and Clevie produced and co-wrote three tracks from

Billy Ocean Leslie Sebastian Charles, (born 21 January 1950), better known by his stage name Billy Ocean, is a British recording artist who had a string of R&B international pop hits in the 1970s and 1980s. He was the most popular British R&B singer-son ...

's eighth studio album '' Time to Move On'', including the single "

Pressure Pressure (symbol: ''p'' or ''P'') is the force applied perpendicular to the surface of an object per unit area over which that force is distributed. Gauge pressure (also spelled ''gage'' pressure)The preferred spelling varies by country and e ...

". In 1994, Steely and Clevie produced a new version of the 1967 track "You Don't Love Me (No No No)" by Dawn Penn for the album ''Steely and Clevie Play Studio One Vintage''. The track was released as a single that same year and became a Billboard Hot 100 hit in the US. In 2004, Steely was charged with dangerous driving after being involved in an accident in which high-school student Shakara Harris was fatally injured. Steely was cleared of all charges in November 2005. On 1 September 2009, Steely died in a hospital in

East Patchogue, New York East Patchogue (, ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Brookhaven in Suffolk County, on the South Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 22,469 at the 2010 census. The CDP is a proximate representati ...

. He had been suffering from pneumonia after having recovered from kidney complications in December 2008. He had surgery for a blood clot in the brain shortly before he died.Kenner, Rob (2009, 5 September)."Obituary of Wycliffe Johnson." ''The New York Times'' Vol. CLVIII, No. 54,790, 6 September 2009, p. 29. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/06/arts/music/06steely.html?scp=1&sq=steely&st=cse on 9/6/09. Clevie continues to produce and record.

References

External links

Wycliffe "Steely" Johnson
��Daily Telegraph obituary * Jamaican reggae musical groups ROIR artists Electronic musicians Jamaican record producers Jamaican musical duos Reggae duos Profile Records artists Musicians from Kingston, Jamaica Record production duos {{Caribbean-band-stub