Winston Francis (born 1943) aka Mr Fix It 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 career began in the 1960s.

Biography

Born in Kingston in 1943, Francis served an apprentice as a printer before relocating to

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

at the age of 16.Larkin, Colin (1998) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae'', Virgin Books, , p. 102-3 He attended music school, and his teacher Chuck Bird arranged for him to perform with the Jackie Gleason Orchestra in front of

Spiro Agnew Spiro Theodore Agnew (November 9, 1918 – September 17, 1996) was the 39th vice president of the United States, serving from 1969 until his resignation in 1973. He is the second vice president to resign the position, the other being John ...

in 1965. He then joined

Carlos Malcolm Carlos Malcolm OD (born c. 1934) is a world renowned Jamaican trombonist, percussionist and bandleader who helped cultivate the infamous Jamaican genres of music known as Ska and Reggae. Biography Carlos Malcolm was born in Panama c. 1935Port ...

's Afro Jamaicans band, with whom he toured the US and the Caribbean. He was also a member of The Sheridans (with Pat Kelly) In the late 1960s he recorded as a solo artist for

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 ...

's Studio One label, with his debut album ''Mr. Fix-It'' released in 1969.Prato, Greg
Winston Francis Biography
,

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 databas ...

, retrieved 2010-12-26 This was followed by a second album, ''California Dreaming'' in 1971, with the title track released as a single and chosen as 'Hit Pick of the Week' for two weeks running by

Tony Blackburn Anthony Kenneth Blackburn (born 29 January 1943) is an English disc jockey, singer and TV presenter. He first achieved fame broadcasting on the pirate stations Radio Caroline and Radio London in the 1960s, before joining the BBC, on the BBC L ...

on his

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

show.Winston Francis
, LKJ Records, retrieved 2010-12-26 The single's B-side, "Too Experienced", featured backing vocals from

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...

and

Bunny Wailer Neville O'Riley Livingston (10 April 1947 – 2 March 2021), known professionally as Bunny Wailer, was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and percussionist. He was an original member of reggae group The Wailers along with Bob Marley and Peter Tosh. ...

. He relocated to the UK that year. He toured the UK club circuit and recorded for

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

in the 1970s. In 1972, Francis recorded "Blue Moon". The song peaked at number 34 in Australia in February 1973. After a period of inactivity, Francis returned to recording in the early 1980s, releases including the

Roy Cousins Roy Anthony Cousins (born 1949 in Kingston, Jamaica) is a Jamaican reggae singer, producer, and record label owner, known for being lead singer and co creator of The Royals, his productions of artists such as Charlie Chaplin, Prince Far I, Sci ...

-produced ''Just Once''. After a break from music when he worked as a youth worker and social worker, he returned in 1987 as a backing vocalist for

The Melodians The Melodians are a rocksteady band formed in the Greenwich Town area of Kingston, Jamaica, in 1963, by Tony Brevett (born 1949, nephew of The Skatalites bassist, Lloyd Brevett), Brent Dowe and Trevor McNaughton.

and began working with Trevor Star and the Skaticians. He continued to record in the 1990s, working with

Dennis Bovell Dennis Bovell (born 22 May 1953Huey, Steve"Dennis Bovell Biography" Allmusic. Retrieved 27 December 2014.) is a Barbados-born reggae guitarist, bass player and record producer, based in England. He was a member of the British reggae band Mat ...

under the name King Cool, and releasing ''Ragga Love'' and ''Sweet Rock Steady'', and guested on Kelly's 1995 album ''Butterflies''. His version of

Ben E King Benjamin Earl King (né Nelson; September 28, 1938 – April 30, 2015) was an American soul and R&B singer and record producer. He is best known as the singer and co-composer of " Stand by Me"—a US Top 10 hit, both in 1961 and later i ...

's " Stand by Me" was a hit in France, selling over 90,000 copies, leading to work 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

John Kpiaye John Ogetti Kpiaye (born 1948) is a reggae session and live guitarist.Larkin, Colin (1998) "John Kpiaye" in ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae'', Virgin Books, , pp. 160-161 He was a member of The Cats who had a No. 48 UK hit with "Swan Lake", a ...

. In 2003 he teamed up with fellow veteran AJ Franklin to record the album ''Stand Firm''. In 2004 he released the medley album ''Feel Good All Over''.Leggett, Steve
''Feel Good All Over'' Review
,

, retrieved 2010-12-26

Discography

*''Mr. Fix-It'' (1969), Coxsone *''California Dreaming'' (1971), Bamboo *''Just Once'' (198?), Tamoki-Wambesi *''Ragga Love'' (199?), Soul Beat *''Sweet Rock Steady'' (1997), LKJ *''Feel Good All Over'' (2004), Jet Star *''Peace, Love & Harmony'' (2007), Soulove ;Compilations: *''Mr. Fix-It/California Dreaming''

as King Cool

*''His Majesty Requests'' (1995), BMG France

Francis & Franklin

*''Stand Firm'' (2003), Definite

DVD

*''Winston Francis Meets Rude Rich and the High Notes'' (2008)

References

External links

*
Winston Francis
at Roots Archives {{DEFAULTSORT:Francis, Winston 1948 births Living people Musicians from Kingston, Jamaica Jamaican reggae singers