Tommy Cowan CD (born Thomas Lincoln Cowan, 6 April 1946, Saint Elizabeth, Jamaica) is a producer and singer, initially working in

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 ...

but later concentrating on

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

, who has been involved in the music business since the 1960s.Brooks, Sadeke (2008)
Tommy Cowan, OD? Yes indeed!
", Jamaica Gleaner, 2 November 2008 He is also an ordained Gospel minister and a justice of the peace.

Biography

Cowan entered the music business in the mid-1960s as a member of The Merricoles, a vocal group who won a local talent contest. The group changed their name to The Jamaicans in 1967, and won the Jamaican Song Festival with the

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 ...

-produced "Baba Boom", which also topped the Jamaican chart. More hits followed in the form of "Sing Freedom", "Things You Say You Love", and "Woman Go Home", before the group split up. Cowan then took up a job as Sales & Marketing manager at

Byron Lee Byron Lee ,
''Jamaica Gleaner'', 27 October 2008. born Byron Aloysius St. Elmo Lee ...

's Dynamic Studios, which gave him the experience needed to move into record production, working with artists including Jacob Miller and Inner Circle, Earl Zero, Ray I,

Leroy Smart Leroy Smart (born 1952), is a reggae singer-songwriter and record producer from Kingston, Jamaica. Biography Smart was born in 1952 and orphaned at the age of two. He was raised at Maxfield Park Children's Home and educated at Alpha Boys Scho ...

Ras Michael Michael George Henry OD (born 1943), better known as Ras Michael, is a Jamaican reggae singer and Nyabinghi specialist. He also performs under the name of Dadawah. Biography Henry was born in Saint Mary Parish, Jamaica, where he was raised in ...

The Cimarons The Cimarons are a British reggae band formed in 1967. They were the UK's first self-contained indigenous reggae band. History Jamaican natives, the Cimarons migrated to Britain in 1967 with a lineup consisting of Franklyn Dunn (bass), Carl Lev ...

, Dean Stone, and

Junior Tucker Leslie Tucker, known as Junior Tucker (born 1966 in Trenchtown, Kingston, Jamaica), is a Jamaican reggae singer, who started his career in secular music but who now sings Christian music. His hits included "Happy" and his own composition, "Don ...

. An album of dubs of Cowan's productions from this era, ''Ras Claat Dub'' was issued on the Grounation label. Several other Cowan-produced sets were credited to the Fatman Ridim Section. Cowan also produced

Israel Vibration Israel Vibration are a reggae harmony group, originating from Kingston, Jamaica. Lascelle "Wiss" Bulgin, Albert "Apple Gabriel" Craig, and Cecil "Skelly" Spence all suffered from childhood polio, and went on to be a Jamaican roots reggae grou ...

's ''The Same Song'' and ''Why Worry'' albums and the latter's associated dub set, ''Israel Tafari'', mixed by

King Tubby Osbourne Ruddock (28 January 1941 – 6 February 1989), better known as King Tubby, was a Jamaican sound engineer who greatly influenced the development of dub in the 1960s and 1970s. Tubby's innovative studio work, which saw him elevate the ...

. Cowan became Inner Circle's manager and set up the Top Ranking record label. Cowan also worked as a Master of Ceremonies at Reggae Sunsplash festivals and at the

One Love Peace Concert The One Love Concert (OLPC) was a large concert held on 22 April 1978 at The National Stadium in Kingston, Jamaica. This concert was held during a political civil war in Jamaica between opposing parties Jamaican Labour Party and the People's ...

, organised by

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 ...

. Cowan helped Marley to set up his

Tuff Gong Tuff Gong is the brand name associated with a number of businesses started by Bob Marley and Rita Marley#Children, the Marley family. 'Tuff Gong' comes from Marley's nickname, which was in turn an echo of that given to founder of the Rastafari ...

studio, and Marley invited Cowan to accompany him on his tour of Europe, and then

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...

in 1980, where he compered the Zimbabwe Independence Day Concert in

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of ...

. Back in Jamaica, Cowan with then wife Valerie Chang-Cowan built up his Talent Corporation company, which he had founded in 1975, with artists such as John Holt,

Dobby Dobson Highland Ralph Dobson OD (5 July 1942 – 21 July 2020) was a Jamaican reggae singer and record producer, nicknamed "The Loving Pauper" after one of his best known songs. Biography Dobson began singing while a student at Central Branch Sc ...

Ruddy Thomas Ruddy Thomas (12 July 1951 – 10 June 2006) was a Jamaican reggae singer, musician, and recording engineer, who had his greatest successes as a singer in the late 1970s and early 1980s with lovers rock songs. Biography Thomas worked for produ ...

Toots Hibbert Frederick Nathaniel Hibbert, (8 December 1942 – 11 September 2020), better known as Toots Hibbert, was a Jamaican singer and songwriter who was the lead vocalist for the reggae and ska band Toots and the Maytals. A reggae pioneer, he perfor ...

, Ernie Smith, Scotty, Jack Radics, and Cowan's second wife Carlene Davis. In 1982, he released an album, ''The King's Music'', credited to Tommy Cowan & Thunder, and featuring musicians such as

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

Robbie Lyn Robert "Robbie" Bernard Lyn is a Jamaican session musician who plays piano, keyboard and synthesiser. Biography Robbie Lyn is a popular Jamaican session musician, who has played with various session/backing bands including Now Generation, Soun ...

Lloyd Parks Lloyd Parks (born 26 May 1949) is a Jamaican reggae vocalist and bass player who has recorded and performed as a solo artist as well as part of Skin, Flesh & Bones, The Revolutionaries, The Professionals, and We the People Band.Larkin, Colin: ...

, Bongo Herman, and

Dean Fraser Dean Ivanhoe Fraser (sometimes appearing as Dean Frazer) (born 4 August 1957) Allmusic.com biography by Sandra Brennan/ref> is a Jamaican saxophonist who has contributed to hundreds of reggae recordings since the mid-1970s. He was awarded the Mu ...

, with backing vocals from his wife Carlene Davis, and

Beres Hammond Beres Hammond OJ (born Hugh Beresford Hammond; 28 August 1955, in Annotto Bay, Saint Mary, Jamaica)Moskowitz, David V. (2006) ''Caribbean Popular Music: an Encyclopedia of Reggae, Mento, Ska, Rock Steady, and Dancehall'', Greenwood Press, , p. ...

. Previously a

Rastafarian Rastafari, sometimes called Rastafarianism, is a religion that developed in Jamaica during the 1930s. It is classified as both a new religious movement and a social movement by scholars of religion. There is no central authority in control ...

, Cowan converted to Christianity in 1996. In 1998 Tommy, together with his wife Carlene, began Vessel Ministries and today they both operate the Judah Recording Studio and the Glory Music record label, concentrating on Gospel music.Reid, Tyrone S. (2007)
Tommy and Carlene: A Gospel Affair
,

Sunday Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

, 2 September 2007 Cowan is also the producer of Jamaica's largest Christian music festival, Fun in the Son. This event was awarded "Gospel Event of the Year in 2014 by the Love Gospel International Awards, Bronx, New York /Kingston, Jamaica. In 2006, Pressure Sounds issued a compilation of Cowan's productions, ''Life Goes in Circles (Sounds From The Talent Corporation 1974 to 1979)''. In June 2013, Cowan was sworn in as a Justice of the Peace.Henry, Balford (2013)
Tony Rebel, Tommy Cowan sworn in as JPs
, '' Jamaica Observer'', 22 June 2013. Retrieved 30 June 2013

Awards

Cowan has received various musical accolades from organisations such as the Jamaica Federation of Musicians, Rockers Awards, the JAMI Awards, and Martin's International Reggae & World Music Awards. He received the Rocksteady Union Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to Jamaican music, and both the Mega Jamz Award and Maja awards for Gospel Promoter of the Year in 2007. He and his wife, Carlene Davis was officially inducted into the Gospel Hall Of Fame in 2015 by The Jamaica GHF president and Founder Bishop Dr. J.O Baker in Kingston, Jamaica. He was also awarded an

Honorary Doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

of Divinity from the Trinity Theological Seminary of South Florida for his work in the Gospel, and he is also ordained as a Gospel minister. In October 2007, Cowan was awarded the

Order of Distinction The Order of Distinction is a national order in the Jamaican honours system. It is the sixth in order of precedence of the Orders of Societies of Honour, which were instituted by an Act of Parliament (''The National Honours and Awards Act'') ...

(Commander Class) by the Jamaican Government.

Albums

*''The King's Music'' (1982) MIC (Tommy Cowan & Thunder)

References

External links

Tommy Cowan at Roots Archives

Tommy Cowan productions at ReggaeID

Tommy Cowan at discogs.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cowan, Tommy 1946 births Jamaican record producers Living people Converts to Christianity Jamaican reggae musicians Jamaican gospel singers People from Saint Elizabeth Parish Commanders of the Order of Distinction Jamaican justices of the peace