Winston Wright (19431993) was 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 keyboardist. He was a member 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 ...
's Supersonics, and acknowledged as Jamaica's master of the
Hammond organ
The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated s ...
. Winston was born in
May Pen
May Pen is the capital and largest town in the parish of Clarendon in Middlesex County, Jamaica. It is located on the Rio Minho river (Jamaica's longest), and is a major market centre for the Parish. The population was 61,548 at the 2011 cens ...
, Jamaica on September 5, 1943 and died in Kingston, Jamaica on March 18,1993.
He attended
Glenmuir High School
Glenmuir High School (GHS) is a Jamaican secondary school located in May Pen, Clarendon Parish, Jamaica. It is among the top performing secondary schools in the country. In 2011 it was among the top 3 preferred schools for students who sat the G ...
where he learned the organ on an old Clavonette Organ. While he was in school, he played with a local group called the Mercury Band based at the Capri Theatre in May Pen, much to his father's ire.
Tommy McCook saw Winston play at this time and he was invited to join the Supersonics, the Treasure Isle house band.
Perhaps Wright's best known work is as the uncredited lead organist on Harry J Allstars' 1969 instrumental hit "
The Liquidator". Along with
Jackie Jackson
Sigmund Esco "Jackie" Jackson (born May 4, 1951) is an American singer best known as a founding member of the Jackson 5, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997. Jackson is the second child of the Jackson family, a ...
, Hux Brown,
Gladstone "Gladdy" Anderson, Dougie Bryan,
Winston Grennan
Winston Grennan (16 September 1944 – 27 October 2000) was a Jamaican drummer, famous for session work from 1962 to 1973 in Jamaica as well as later in New York City through the 1970s and 1980s.
Biography
Career
Grennan's career spanne ...
and Paul Douglas, Winston was a member of a group of top session musicians known as the Dynamites, the Crystalites, the Beverley's All-Stars (or other All-Stars depending, on the producer) that played on countless recording sessions from the late '60s and early '70s.
Wright produced a solo single: "Top Secret", with the B-side "Crazy Rhythm" in 1970.
[Black Music & Jazz Review 1980 - Volume 3 "Winston Wright was the Dynamites' organist, and he also features on recordings by the G.G. All Stars ("African Melody", "Ganga Plane", "Flight 404" and the Folks Bros-inspired "Man From Carolina" are all adequate examples), the Harry J. All ..."]
Having played for
Toots and the Maytals
The Maytals, known from 1972 to 2020 as Toots and the Maytals, are a Jamaican musical group, one of the best known ska and rocksteady vocal groups. The Maytals were formed in the early 1960s and were key figures in popularizing reggae music.
...
from 1968 along with the Dynamites, Winston accompanied Toots with the Dynamites on their numerous tours throughout the 1970s and '80s.
He died of a heart attack in March 18,1993.
Discography
Singles:
*Funny Girl
*Young Folks
*Flight 404
*Double Up
*Five Miles High
*Moon Invader
*Power Pack
*Moonlight Groover
*Mash It Up
*Night Owl
*Killowatt
*Common People Reggae
*Musical Shot
*Mesh Wire
*Groove Me V.2
*Version Flight (Champion)
*The Sleeper
*It's Been A Long Time (Feel It Version)
*Hold On Tight Version 2
*Proud Feeling
*Necktie
*Earthquake
*Ishan Version
*In The Mood
*Redemption Ground
*Soul Pressure
*Crazy Rhythm
*Top Secret
*Stealing Stealing V.2
*Hide & Seek
*Strolling Thru (Strolling In Hyde Park)
*For Our Desire V.2 (Soul Movement)
*That Did It
*Silhouette
*Doctor Upsetter
*Champagne & Wine
*Roll On Version 2
*Revenge (Version 2)
*My Love & I (Version 3)
*Strange Affair
*Want Money
*Example 71
*What Do You So (inst)
*Example
*Heads Or Tails
*Cotton Comes To Harlem
*Sinful Night
*Reuben
*Love Is The Thing
*Love Of The Common People
*You're All I Need
*Sporty
*Peace & Love
*Rebeloution
*Woman Don't You Go Astray
*Larry's Mood
*Salt & Pepper
*Melancholy Rock (Lucifer)
*Besekik Up (Feel Good)
*Skanking Nanny
*Soulful Disco
*Sweet Mouth
With
Herbie Mann
Herbert Jay Solomon (April 16, 1930 – July 1, 2003), known by his stage name Herbie Mann, was an American jazz flute player and important early practitioner of world music. Early in his career, he also played tenor saxophone and clarinet (incl ...
*''
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 ...
'' (Atlantic, 1973)
*''
Surprises'' (Atlantic, 1973
976
Year 976 ( CMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place Byzantine Empire
* January 10 – Emperor John I Tzimiskes dies at Constantinople, after re ...
*''
Reggae II
''Reggae II'' is an album by flautist Herbie Mann recorded in 1973 and released on the Atlantic label in 1976 in New Zealand and Europe.976
Year 976 ( CMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place Byzantine Empire
* January 10 – Emperor John I Tzimiskes dies at Constantinople, after re ...
References
1944 births
1993 deaths
People from Clarendon Parish, Jamaica
Jamaican musicians
{{Jamaica-musician-stub