Stranger Cole, also known as StrangeJah Cole (born Wilburn Theodore Cole, 26 June 1942)Thompson, Dave (2002) ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books, , p. 335 is 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 ...
n singer whose long recording career dates from the early days of
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 walki ...
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
'', 21 December 1988, retrieved 30 August 2009 This success gave him the chance to make his recording debut in 1962, instantly finding success with singles such as "Rough and Tough" and "When You Call My Name" (a duet with
Patsy Todd
Patsy is a given name often used as a diminutive of the feminine given name Patricia or sometimes the masculine name Patrick, or occasionally other names containing the syllable "Pat" (such as Cleopatra, Patience, Patrice, or Patricia). Among I ...
) for producer
Arthur "Duke" Reid
Arthur "Duke" Reid CD (21 July 1915 – 1 January 1975) was a Jamaican record producer, DJ and label owner.
He ran one of the most popular sound systems of the 1950s called Reid's Sound System, whilst Duke himself was known as The Troj ...
.Larkin, Colin (1998) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae'', Virgin Books, , p. 64 Further success followed with singles for Reid through to the mid-1960s, and he also worked with other producers at this time, including
Clement "Coxsone" Dodd
Clement Seymour "Coxsone" Dodd (26 January 1932 – 4 May 2004) was a Jamaican record producer who was influential in the development of ska and reggae in the 1950s, 1960s and beyond.
He was nicknamed "Coxsone" at school due to his talent ...
(a duet with
Ken Boothe
Kenneth George Boothe OD (born 22 March 1948) is a Jamaican vocalist known for his distinctive vibrato and timbre. Boothe achieved an international reputation as one of Jamaica's finest vocalists through a series of crossover hits that appeal ...
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 databa ...
and
Hortense Ellis
Hortense Ellis (18 April 1941 – 19 October 2000) was a reggae musician, and the younger sister of fellow artist Alton Ellis. In the late 1960s and early 1970s he recorded with several producers, including
Bunny Lee
Edward O'Sullivan Lee OD (23 August 1941 – 6 October 2020), better known as Bunny "Striker" Lee, was a Jamaican record producer. He was known as a pioneer of the United Kingdom reggae market, licensing his productions to Trojan Records i ...
,
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 ...
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
. He worked as a machinist in the Tonka Toy factory in Toronto and later opened a record store the first Caribbean shop in Toronto's Kensington Market area His first album, ''"Forward" in the Land of Sunshine'', was released in 1976, with a handful of further albums released over the next ten years, mostly on his own label. In 2006, Cole released his first album in twenty years, ''Morning Train'', a collaboration with
Jah Shaka
Jah Shaka, also known as the Zulu Warrior is a Jamaican reggae/dub sound system operator who has been operating a South East London-based, roots reggae Jamaican sound system since the early 1970s. His name is an amalgamation of the Rastafarian t ...
. Cole is featured in the 2009 documentary ''Rocksteady: The Roots of Reggae'', in which he and other stars of the rocksteady era reunited to record a new album of the same name, released in August 2009.Braun, Liz (2009) A pleasure getting to the roots of reggae , ''
Calgary Sun
The ''Calgary Sun'' is a daily newspaper published in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It is owned by Postmedia. First published in 1980, the tabloid-format daily replaced the long-running tabloid-size newspaper ''The Albertan'' soon after it was ...
'', 28 August 2009, retrieved 30 August 2009
Cole's sons, Squiddly and Marcus, followed him into a music career: Squiddly working as a drummer for artists including
Ziggy Marley
David Nesta "Ziggy" Marley (born 17 October 1968) is a Jamaican singer, songwriter, musician, actor and philanthropist. He is the son of reggae icon Bob Marley and Rita Marley. He led the family band Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers until 20 ...
and
Mutabaruka
Allan Hope (born 1952), better known as Mutabaruka, is a Jamaican Rastafari dub poet, musician, actor, educator, and talk-show host, who developed two of Jamaica's most popular radio programmes, ''The Cutting Edge'' and ''Steppin' Razor''. His ...
; and Marcus Cole (AKA ''KxritoXisen'') producing music for his father.
Discography
Albums
*''"Forward" in the Land of Sunshine'' (1976), Ron Lew
*''The First Ten Years'' (1978), Various Artists, Camelot
*''Capture Land'' (1978), with Chalawa, Green Weenie
*''The Patriot'' (1982), Stranger Cole
*''No More Fussing and Fighting'' (1986), Scorcher
*''Dramatic'' (2003), Stranger Cole & King Banana
*''Bangarang (the Best of)'' (2003),
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 ...
*"Rough and Tough" (1963), Blue Beat
*"Miss Dreamer" (1963), Blue Beat
*"Stranger at the Door" (1963),
Island
An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...
*"Last Love" (1963), Island
*"We Are Rolling" (1963), Island
*"Morning Star" (1963), Island
*"Thick in Love" (1963), R&B (Stranger and
Ken
Ken or KEN may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Ken'' (album), a 2017 album by Canadian indie rock band Destroyer.
* ''Ken'' (film), 1964 Japanese film.
* ''Ken'' (magazine), a large-format political magazine.
* Ken Masters, a main character in ...
)
*"When You Call My Name" (1963), Blue Beat (Stranger & Patsy)
*"Senor & Senorita" (1963), Island (Stranger & Patsy)
*"Happy Go Lucky" (1964), Black Swan (B-side of Theo Beckford's "Take Your Time")
*"Uno Dos Tres" (1964), Black Swan
*"Summer Day" (1964), Black Swan
*"Boy Blue" (1964), Black Swan
*"Til My Dying Days" (1964), Island
*"Goodbye Peggy" (1964), Island
*"Out of Many" (1964), R&B
*"I Want to Go Home" (1964), Black Swan (Stranger & Ken)
*"Hey Little Girl" (1964), Black Swan (Stranger & Patsy)
*"Oh Oh I Need You" (1964), Island (Stranger & Patsy)
*"Tom Dick & Harry" (1964), Island (Stranger & Patsy)
*"Yeah Yeah Baby" (1964), Island (Stranger & Patsy)
*"Miss B" (1964), Island (Stranger & Patsy)
*"I'll Forgive You" (1964), R&B (Stranger & Patsy)
*"Millie Maw" (19??), Dutchess
*"Real Real" (19??), Dutchess
*"Love Thy Neighbour" (1965), Ska-Beat (B-side of
Roland Alphonso
Roland Alphonso OD or Rolando Alphonso "The Chief Musician" (12 January 1931 – 20 November 1998)Thompson, p. 262 was a Jamaican tenor saxophonist, and one of the founding members of the Skatalites.
Biography
Born in Havana, Cuba, Alphonso ...
's "Nuclear Weapon")
*"When the Party Is Over" (1965), Blue Beat
*"Koo Koo Doo" (1965), Island
*"Run Joe" (1965), Island
*"Pussy Cat" (1965), Island
*"Matilda" (1965), Blue Beat (B-side to Buster's All Stars' "Captain Burke")
*"Seven Days" (1965), Island (B-side to Baba Brooks' "Independent Ska" – Stranger & Claudette)
*"We Shall Overcome" (1966), Dr. Bird
*"Drop the Ratchet" (1966), Dr. Bird
*"Loving Wine" (1966), Dr. Bird (B-side of
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 ...
's "Spanish Eyes" – Stranger & Hortense)
*"You Took My Love" (1967), Dr. Bird
*"Tell It To Me" (1967), Dr. Bird (Stranger & Patsy)
*"Down the Trainlines" (1967) Dr. Bird (Stranger & Patsy)
*"Jeboza Macoo" (1968), Island
*"Just Like a River" (1968), Amalgamated (Stranger Cole & Gladstone Anderson)
*"Seeing is Knowing" (1968), Amalgamated (Stranger & Gladdy)
*"Love Me Today" (1968), Island (Stranger & Gladdy)
*"(Over and) Over Again" (1968), Island (Stranger & Gladdy)
*"What Mama Na Want She Get" (1969), Amalgamated
*"Glad You're Living" (1969), Duke
*"Pretty Cottage" (1969), Escort
*"Leana Leana" (1969), Escort
*"Last Flight to Reggae City" (1969) Unity (Stranger Cole & Tommy McCook & the Supersonics)
*"When I Get My Freedom" (1969), Unity
*"If We Should Ever Meet" (1969), Unity (B-side of
Lester Sterling
Lester Sterling OD (born 31 January 1936),Musicians Bio ", Alpha Old Boys Association, retrie ...
's "Bangarang")
*"My Love" (1969), Escort (Stranger & Patsy)
*"Why Did You" (1969), Escort (Stranger & Patsy)
*"Give it To Me" (1969), Camel (B-side of Delroy Wilson's "Sad Mood")
*"You Should Never Have to Come" (1969), Crab (B-side of Ernest Wilson's "Freedom Train")
*"Tomorrow" (1970), Escort (B-side of Lloyd Clarke's "Chicken Thief")
*"Everyday Tomorrow" (1970), Camel
*"Loneliness" (1970), Escort
*"Little Things" (1970), Escort
*"Everything With You" (1970), Escort
*"Pussy" (1970), Escort
*"Lift Your Head Up High" (1970), Gas
*"Come Dance With Me" (1970), Pama
*"Crying Every Night" (1971), Camel
*"Tomorrow" (1971), Clandisc (Stranger & Gladdy)
*"My Application" (1971), Supreme (Stranger & Gladdy)
*"My Confession" (1972), Jackpot
*"The House Where Bombo Lives" (1972), Pama
*"Mail Man" (1972), Tropical
*"Bringing in the Sheaves" (1972), Green Door (Hortense Ellis & Stranger Cole)
*"Mocking Bird" (197?) Count Shelly (Stranger Cole & Hortense)
*"Time is Now" (19??),
Wackies
Wackies is an American independent record label specialized in reggae and dub music. Lloyd Barnes founded the label in 1976, and it is possibly the longest-running American recording studio for reggae.
History
Wackie's is run by Lloyd "Bullw ...
(12")
*"No More Fussing and Fighting" (198?), Roots (12")
*"Don't Play" (2007), Soul of Anbessa (7")
*"Crown Me" (????), Strange Jah (B-side of Baba Brooks' "Baba Brooks Special")