Welton Irie (born Welton Dobson, 1961 in

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 ...

), sometimes credited simply as Welton, is a Jamaican

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 ...

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 ...

, best known for his work in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Biography

Welton Irie began his career performing as simply 'Welton' on the ''Sir John the President'' and ''Big John's Stereophonic Sound''

sound systems In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...

(the latter later known as ''Echo Tone Hi Fi''), in 1976, initially heavily influenced by

Ranking Trevor Maxwell Grant (20 January 1960 – 7 August 2012), better known as Ranking Trevor and sometimes as Ranking Superstar, was a Jamaican reggae deejay. Biography Grant began deejaying as a teenager in the 1970s, and began his recording career at the ...

.Larkin, Colin (1998) "The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae", Virgin Books, After building up a sizeable following, he was able to introduce young talent such as

General Echo Earl Anthony Robinson (8 December 1955 – 22 November 1980), better known as General Echo, a.k.a. Ranking Slackness, was one of the first reggae deejays to move away from 'cultural' lyrics towards 'slackness' (risqué or sexually explicit lyri ...

to the sound system. Welton moved on to the ''Gemini'' and ''Virgo'' sound systems and began a partnership with

Lone Ranger The Lone Ranger is a fictional masked former Texas Ranger who fought outlaws in the American Old West with his Native American friend Tonto. The character has been called an enduring icon of American culture. He first appeared in 1933 in ...

, the two beginning their recording careers together as a duo for Studio One, in a similar vein to

Michigan & Smiley Michigan and Smiley are a Jamaican reggae/dancehall duo consisting of Papa Michigan (born Anthony Fairclough) and General Smiley (born Erroll Bennett). They rose to popularity during the first wave of dancehall music in the late 1970s. Career The d ...

with tracks such as "Chase Them Crazy".Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The Rough Guide to Reggae, 3rd edn.", Rough Guides, On Studio One boss

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 ...

's recommendation, he extended his stage name to Welton Irie.Henry, Krista (2006)
Welton the first dancehall 'Irie'
, The Sunday Gleaner, 5 November 2006 The pair's partnership was short-lived with both going on to solo careers. Solo hits soon came with "The Bomb", "Army Life", the Jamaican number one hit "Ballerina" recorded with

Sly & Robbie Sly and Robbie were a prolific Jamaican rhythm section and production duo, associated primarily with the reggae and dub genres. Drummer Sly Dunbar and bassist Robbie Shakespeare teamed up in the mid-1970s after establishing themselves separat ...

, and "Lambs Bread International". His debut album, ''Ghettoman Corner'', was recorded for producer

Glen Brown Glenmore Lloyd Brown (1943 or 1944Campbell-Livingston, Cecelia (2013)Tough Times for Glen Brown", '' Jamaica Observer'', 15 July 2013. Retrieved 26 December 2014Larkin, Colin, ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae'', 1998, Virgin Books, . – 4 ...

and was based on rhythms from

Sylford Walker Sylford Walker (born c. 1955)61 years old in December 2016 – Campbell (2016) is a Jamaican reggae singer who first recorded in the mid-1970s and, with reissues renewing interest in him, returned to recording and performing in the 21st century ...

's ''Lamb's Bread'' album. Walker's album was re-released with the inclusion of six of Irie's deejay versions as ''Lamb's Bread International'' by Blood & Fire in 2000. In the early 1980s he worked with

Henry "Junjo" Lawes Henry "Junjo" Lawes (1960 in Kingston, Jamaica – 13 June 1999 in London, England) was a highly influential Jamaican record producer and a sound engineer. Biography Born in the Waterhouse district of Kingston, Jamaica, Lawes began working ...

' ''Volcano'' sound system, and in 1983 returned to ''Gemini'', touring internationally with

Johnny Ringo John Peters Ringo (May 3, 1850 – July 13, 1882), known as Johnny Ringo, was an American Old West outlaw loosely associated with the Cochise County Cowboys in frontier boomtown Tombstone, Arizona Territory. He took part in the Mason County War ...

and

Squiddly Ranking Squiddly Diddly is an anthropomorphic animated octopus created by Hanna-Barbera, who was featured in his own cartoon segment on '' The Atom Ant/Secret Squirrel Show'' beginning in 1965. Fictional character biography The round-headed, sailor-hatt ...

. In the mid-1980s, with the prevalent style of reggae changing, Irie stopped deejaying and worked as a selector for Gemini. He revived his career in the mid-2000s and began performing live once again.

Albums

*''Ghetto Man Corner'' (1977) Pantomime *''It Feels So Good'' (1980)

Joe Gibbs Joe Jackson Gibbs (born November 25, 1940) is an American auto racing team owner and former professional football coach. In football, he was head coach for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL) from 1981 to 1992, and a ...

*''Reprobate'' (1982) Hitbound *''Army Life'' (1982) Dynamite *''New Style'' (1982) Pioneer International *''Sweetest Ever'' (1983) Rohit *''One & One = Two'' (1995) Jamaican Authentic Classics (with

General Plough A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED O ...

) *''Lamb's Bread International'' (2000) Blood & Fire (with

) *''Live@Chez Heinz, Hannover/April 2007'' (2007)

Appearances on live albums

*''Junjo Presents Aces International'' (1982)

Greensleeves "Greensleeves" is a traditional English folk song. A broadside ballad by the name "A Newe Northen Dittye of ye Ladye Greene Sleves" was registered by Richard Jones at the London Stationer's Company in September 1580,Frank Kidson, ''English Fol ...

*''A Dee Jay Explosion Inna Dance Hall Style'' (1982)

Heartbeat A heartbeat is one cardiac cycle of the heart. Heartbeat, heart beat, heartbeats, and heart beats may refer to: Computing *Heartbeat (computing), a periodic signal to indicate normal operation or to synchronize parts of a system *Heartbeat, clus ...

References

External links

Welton Irie at Roots ArchivesWelton Irie
on Myspace
Welton Irie at ReggaeIDWelton Irie at Last.fm
{{DEFAULTSORT:Irie, Welton 1961 births Jamaican reggae musicians Living people