Everton Hardweare (born 23 November 1967), better known by his stage name Singing Melody, 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 ...
artist from Kingston, Jamaica. He is known for his abilities as a vocalist, his production work and for combining aspects of reggae and R&B in his own releases.
Biography
Everton Hardweare grew up in Kingston, Jamaica. In the 1980s, he met well-known
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 ...
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 ...
. Tubby produced his first single, "Tie Me," which was released on
Firehouse
__NOTOC__
A fire station (also called a fire house, fire hall, firemen's hall, or engine house) is a structure or other area for storing firefighting apparatuses such as fire engines and related vehicles, personal protective equipment, fire h ...
in 1987. He then caught the attention of production duo
Steely & Clevie
Steely & Clevie was a Jamaican dancehall reggae production duo that was composed of members Wycliffe Johnson and Cleveland Browne. The duo worked with artists such as the Specials, Gregory Peck ("Poco Man Jam," 1990), Bounty Killer, Elephant Ma ...
Surface
A surface, as the term is most generally used, is the outermost or uppermost layer of a physical object or space. It is the portion or region of the object that can first be perceived by an observer using the senses of sight and touch, and is ...
.
In 1990, Melody recorded the
Japanese language
is spoken natively by about 128 million people, primarily by Japanese people and primarily in Japan, the only country where it is the national language. Japanese belongs to the Japonic or Japanese- Ryukyuan language family. There have been ...
single "Sayonara Tokyo" for Sony Music Japan, and was subsequently booked to perform at a concert in Japan. Based on the success of the single and concert, Melody signed with Parish Records and released his first LP, titled ''Original'', in 1992, which was distributed by the
Queens
Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
-based record label
VP Records
VP Records is an independent Caribbean-owned record label in Queens, New York. The label is known for releasing music by notable artists in reggae, dancehall and soca. VP Records has offices in New York City, Miami, London, Kingston, Tokyo, ...
.
Singing Melody found widespread success with his sophomore LP ''Sweeter'', which was released by VP Records in 1999. The single "Want You Back" reached #1 on the ''Jamaica Star''s reggae/ dancehall chart, and the music video for the song reached the #2 position on the MTV2 playlist. The song also won "Song of the Year" at the 1999
Reggae/Soca Music Awards
The Reggae/Soca Music Awards were first presented in 1994 by its founder Winsome 'Lady C' Charlton at The Bailey Concert Hall in Davie, South Florida. The Awards became a reality after years of deliberation, pondering and due to the lack of recog ...
. Melody also won the "Best Male Vocalist International" award at the 12th annual Tamika Reggae Awards.
In the 2000s, he began producing tracks for artists including
Morgan Heritage
Morgan Heritage is a Grammy-winning Jamaican reggae band formed in 1994 by five children of reggae artist Denroy Morgan, namely Peter "Peetah" Morgan, Una Morgan, Roy "Gramps" Morgan, Nakhamyah "Lukes" Morgan, and Memmalatel "Mr. Mojo" Morgan. ...
Turbulence
In fluid dynamics, turbulence or turbulent flow is fluid motion characterized by chaotic changes in pressure and flow velocity. It is in contrast to a laminar flow, which occurs when a fluid flows in parallel layers, with no disruption between ...
. He started his own label, S.H.E.M. Music Productions, and helped promote the annual Kingston reggae concert "Symphony Under the Stars." In 2002, Singing Melody released his third LP, ''Expressions'', on VP Records.
Singing Melody released his fourth LP, '' They Call Me Mr. Melody'', on 17 January 2012. It will be released on S.H.E.M. Music/Fat Eyes and distributed by VP Records. The first single from the album is "Collide", a cover of the Howie Day song of the same name. The single reached the #1 position on the Top 20 music chart for Aruba. The album includes productions from Donovan Germain, Tony "CD" Kelly, Lynford "Fatta" Marshall, and others.
L.U.S.T.
In the 2000s, Singing Melody formed the reggae group L.U.S.T with
Lukie D
Lukie D (born Michael Kennedy, 1972, Cockburn Pen, Jamaica) is a dancehall singer and deejay. He is known for his singing and powerful vocal range and soulful voice rather than toasting style, which fits with the prominent theme of love in his ...
,
Thriller U
Eustace Hamilton (born 14 August 1969), better known as Thriller U, is a Jamaican reggae singer-songwriter.