The Tennors were 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 ...

rocksteady Rocksteady is a music genre that originated in Jamaica around 1966. A successor of ska and a precursor to reggae, rocksteady was the dominant style of music in Jamaica for nearly two years, performed by many of the artists who helped establish ...

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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 ...

vocal group in the 1960s and '70s. Among the band's hits was "Ride Yu Donkey" in 1968. The song was featured on the soundtrack to the

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

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Broken Flowers ''Broken Flowers'' is a 2005 French-American comedy-drama film written and directed by Jim Jarmusch and produced by Jon Kilik and Stacey Smith. The film focuses on an aging "Don Juan" who embarks on a cross-country journey to track down four of ...

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History

The group was formed in Kingston in the mid-1960s by singer George "Clive" Murphy who formed a duo with Maurice "Professor" Johnson. They called themselves the Tennor Twins. They auditioned a song called "Pressure and Slide" in 1967 while sitting in the back of a

taxicab A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice ...

for arranger

Jackie Mittoo Donat Roy Mittoo (3 March 1948 – 16 December 1990), better known as Jackie Mittoo, was a Jamaican-Canadian keyboardist, songwriter and musical director. He was a member of The Skatalites and musical director of the Studio One record label. ...

of Studio One. Murphy and Johnson were then joined by Norman Davis, and the trio recorded the song backed by Mittoo. This, their first single, was one of the major Jamaican hits for the year 1967,.Moskowitz, David V. (2006) ''Caribbean Popular Music: an Encyclopedia of Reggae, Mento, Ska, Rock Steady, and Dancehall'', Greenwood Press, , p.289 The Tennors then went on to form their own label that grew its own stable of artists. The accidental death of Johnson reduced the trio back to a duo, and Murphy and Davis continued as songwriters. They offered their song, "Ride Yu Donkey", to many artists, but ended up recording it themselves after it was turned down. The song was released in 1968 and was a huge hit. Other songs by the Tennors included "Cleopatra (I've Got to Get You Off My Mind)", "Grandpa", "Massi Massa", "Girl You Hold Me" and "Rub Me Khaki", "Sufferer", "Sign of the Times", "Biff Baff" (aka "Traitor"), "Bow Legged Girl", "Little Things", "Cherry" and "Oh My Baby". The group became a trio again with the addition of

Ronnie Davis Ronnie Davis (1950 – January 25, 2017) was a Jamaican reggae singer who was a member of The Tennors, The Itals, and the group Ronnie Davis & Idren. He lately performed as a solo artist. Biography Born in Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland Parish, ...

in 1968. Other singers who were in the Tennors included Nehemiah Davis, George Dekker, Howard Spencer, and Hilton Wilson. The trio backed singer Jackie Bernard on "Another Scorcher", and moved towards reggae with the song "Reggae Girl". Under

Sonia Pottinger Sonia Eloise Pottinger OD ( Durrant; 21 June 1931 – 3 November 2010)Thompson, Dave (2002) ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books, , p. 316 Treasure Isle 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 Troja ...

producer

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 Troja ...

on the song "Hopeful Village". It was a hit and won the group the Best Performer title at that year's Jamaican Independence Song Festival. The band worked again with Reid in 1973 on "Weather Report", adapted from "

The Only Living Boy In New York "The Only Living Boy in New York" is a song written by Paul Simon and performed by Simon & Garfunkel. It is the eighth track from the duo's fifth and final studio album, '' Bridge over Troubled Water''. The song was also issued as the B-side t ...

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Simon and Garfunkel Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo consisting of the singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music groups of the 1960s, and their biggest hits—including the electric remix of " ...

. After that, the group folded. Murphy emigrated to the United States and started a solo career under the name Clive Tennors. He released a solo album, ''Ride Yu Donkey'', in 1991. In March 2012, after a near 35 year hiatus, The Tennors reunited with George Murphy aka "Clive Tennors", Ronnie Davis. Currently Ronnie Davis works with The Tennors only when officially contracted and

Sadiki Henry Buckley Jr. aka Sadiki previously known as Pancho Kryztal (born 17 November 1971, Kingston, Jamaica), is a Jamaican-American singer, songwriter and producer. Early life He was born Henry Buckley Jr., in Rollington Town, Kingston, Jamaic ...

left the group in 2012. New stereo recordings of the original songs has been released for 2019 and released on Burning Sounds Records which is the early material recorded by The Tennors that has been revisited to create this unique collection. The sixteen classic cuts, curated and recorded under the aegis of heavyweight reggae producer Delroy Williams . Includes a Booklet containing Interview with Clive Tennor

References

External links

* *Greene, Jo Anne, {{DEFAULTSORT:Tennors, The Jamaican reggae musical groups Rocksteady musical groups Island Records artists Trojan Records artists