Tinga Stewart (born Neville Stewart, c.July 3 1950,

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley Inter ...

) 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 ...

singer. Stewart won the Festival Song Contest three times, twice as a singer and once as a songwriter.

Biography

Stewart's career began in the late 1960s, his first single being 1969's "She's Gone", with Ernest Wilson of

The Clarendonians The Clarendonians are a ska and rocksteady vocal group from Jamaica, active initially from the mid- to late 1960s. They reformed in the 1990s and continue to perform live. History The Clarendonians were originally Fitzroy "Ernest" Wilson and Pe ...

. He worked with producer

Derrick Harriott Derrick Clifton Harriott Order of Distinction, OD (born 10 February 1942) is a Jamaican singer and record producer. He was a member of the Jiving Juniors with Herman Sang before embarking on a solo career. He has produced sound recording and re ...

in the early 1970s, with releases such as "Hear That Train", and performed on the PNP bandwagon in 1971, in support of

Michael Manley Michael Norman Manley (10 December 1924 – 6 March 1997) was a Jamaican politician who served as the fourth Prime Minister of Jamaica from 1972 to 1980 and from 1989 to 1992. Manley championed a democratic socialist program, and has been d ...

's election campaign.O' Brien Chang, Kevin & Chen, Wayne (1998) "Reggae Routes: The Story of Jamaican Music", Ian Randle Publishers, Kingston, Jamaica, He sang with The Wildcats,

Byron Lee & the Dragonaires Byron Lee and the Dragonaires (known as Byron Lee's Dragonaires after Lee's death and now The Dragonaires) are a Jamaican ska, calypso and soca band. The band played a crucial pioneering role in bringing Caribbean music to the world. Byron ...

, and The

Boris Gardiner Boris Gardiner (born 13 January 1943) is a Jamaican singer, songwriter and bass guitarist. He was a member of several groups during the 1960s before recording as a solo artist and having hit singles with " Elizabethan Reggae" (in 1970), " I Wann ...

Happening, then went solo and had a local hit in 1973 with "Funny Feeling", and won the 1974 Festival Song Contest with Ernie Smith's "Play de Music", which went on to become a hit in both the Jamaican chart and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

reggae chart.Larkin, Colin (1998) "The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae", Virgin Books, Hamilton, Andrew, "Tinga Stewart Biography", allmusic.com, macrovision Corporation The following year, Tinga wrote "Hooray Festival" with

Willie Lindo Willy or Willie is a masculine, male given name, often a diminutive form of William (given name), William or Wilhelm (name), Wilhelm, and occasionally a nickname. It may refer to: People Given name or nickname * Willie Aames (born 1960), American ...

, the entry sung by his brother

Roman Stewart Roman Stewart, also known as Romeo Stewart and 'Mr. Special' (born 11 May 1957, Kingston, Jamaica, died 25 January 2004, New York City) was a reggae singer.Gopie, Donovan (2004) "Popular reggae singer Roman Stewart dies", Caribbean Net News Ste ...

, which also won.Thompson, Dave (2002) "Reggae & Caribbean Music", Backbeat Books, Henry, Balford (2012)
Tinga feels 'dissed'
, ''

Jamaica Observer ''Jamaica Observer'' is a daily newspaper published in Kingston, Jamaica. The publication is owned by Butch Stewart, who chartered the paper in January 1993 as a competitor to Jamaica's oldest daily paper, ''The Gleaner''. Its founding editor i ...

'', 28 August 2012, retrieved 1 September 2012 This success led to releases in the UK on the Opal label, but the brothers' festival success hampered their early careers, with them being regarded as 'festival singers', and Tinga stated in 2012 "I almost lost my career to Festival. People were characterising me as a Festival song singer once. I couldn't get any shows because of my involvement. It took me 15 albums to fully win back my fan base." Tinga was involved in the mid to late 1970s with the ''Wildflower'' project, with

Lloyd Charmers Lloyd Charmers (born Lloyd Tyrell, 1938 – 27 December 2012, also known as Lloyd Chalmers, Lloyd Terell, or Lloyd Terrell)Ruddock, George (2012), ''Jamaica Gleaner'', 29 December 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2012 was a Jamaican ska and reggae s ...

and Ernie Smith, and worked extensively on the Jamaican hotel circuit, but his career began to take off again in the late 1970s, with singles recorded at

Channel One Studios Channel One is a recording studio in Maxfield Avenue, West Kingston, Jamaica.Campbell, Howard (2014)Making magic at Channel One, ''Jamaica Observer'', 17 July 2014. Retrieved 18 July 2014 The studio was built by the Hoo Kim brothers in 1972, and h ...

, including "Dry Up Your Tears" and "

Rainy Night In Georgia "Rainy Night in Georgia" is a song written by Tony Joe White in 1967 and popularized by R&B vocalist Brook Benton in 1970. It was originally released by White on his 1969 album, '' Continued'', on Monument Records, shortly before Benton's hit si ...

", and winning the Festival Song Contest again in 1981 with "Nuh Wey Nuh Better Dan Yard", and the same year being voted the most popular reggae artist in Jamaica. Two albums followed on John Carroll's ''Calabash'' label. Singles such as "Gypsy Rasta", "Key To Your Heart", and a version of "

Red Red Wine "Red Red Wine" is a song originally written, performed and recorded by American singer Neil Diamond in 1967 that appears on his second studio album, '' Just for You''. The lyrics are written from the perspective of a person who finds that drinki ...

", were followed by what is often considered the first genuine

combination In mathematics, a combination is a selection of items from a set that has distinct members, such that the order of selection does not matter (unlike permutations). For example, given three fruits, say an apple, an orange and a pear, there are th ...

single, "Take Time To Know" recorded with the

deejay 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 D ...

Ninjaman Desmond John Ballentine (born January 24, 1966), better known as Ninjaman, and sometimes as Don Gorgon is a Jamaican dancehall deejay and actor, known for his controversial and pro-gun lyrics and his stuttering and melodramatic style. In 2017, he ...

. The combination singles continued with "Knock Out Batty" (with Tinga Love) and "I Wanna Take You Home" (with Little Twitch), with the album ''Tinga Stewart with the Dancehall DJs'' following. Stewart took part in the ''

Reggae Sunsplash Reggae Sunsplash is a reggae music festival first staged in 1978 in the northern part of Jamaica. In 1985 it expanded with the addition of an international touring festival. The festival ran annually until 1996, with a final event in 1998, befo ...

'' world tour in 1989, touring

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. He continued to record in the 1990s and 2000s, having now released over 200 singles, and has toured the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, and

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, as well as working as a producer.

Albums

*''I Feel The Music'' (1981) Calabash *''

Key to Your Heart Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (ma ...

'' (1984) Calabash/Londisc *''Respect Me'' (1989) *''With the Dancehall DJs'' (1993)

RAS Ras or RAS may refer to: Arts and media * RAS Records Real Authentic Sound, a reggae record label * Rundfunk Anstalt Südtirol, a south Tyrolese public broadcasting service * Rás 1, an Icelandic radio station * Rás 2, an Icelandic radio stati ...

*''Aware of Love'' (1994) VP *'' No Drugs'' (1988) Jammy's *''Without Love'' (1998) Rhino *''Under Your Spell'' Hopekatina *'' From the Archives'' *''Ninja & Tinga alongside the Dancehall Greats'' *''Brother to Brother'' with Roman Stewart *''Break Down the Barrier'' with Roman Stewart *''Returns with the Dancehall DJs'' (1998) Nyam Up *''Unforgettable'' (2000) VP *'' Ready to Groove'' (2004)

Video releases

Stewart appears on the following concert videos: *''Reggae Sunsplash Dancehall '88 '' (1988)

Charly ''Charly'' (marketed and stylized as ''CHAЯLY'') is a 1968 American drama film directed and produced by Ralph Nelson and written by Stirling Silliphant. It is based on ''Flowers for Algernon'', a science-fiction short story (1958) and subseque ...

(VHS) *''Western Consciousness Part Two'' (2005) Jet Star (DVD) *''Vintage Reggae Bash - Brooklyn 1983'' (2007) Plastic Head (DVD)

References

External links

Tinga Stewart at Roots ArchivesTinga Stewart at ReggaeIDTinga Stewart
on Myspace {{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Tinga Jamaican reggae musicians Living people Musicians from Kingston, Jamaica Year of birth missing (living people) VP Records artists Rhino Records artists