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U Roy
Ewart Beckford OD (21 September 1942 – 17 February 2021), known by the stage name U-Roy, was a Jamaican vocalist and pioneer of toasting.Jo-Ann GreeneU-Roy Biography, AllMusic. Retrieved 11 April 2013. U-Roy was known for a melodic style of toasting applied with a highly developed sense of timing. Early life Ewart Beckford was born in Jones Town, Saint Andrew Parish, Kingston, Jamaica, on 21 September 1942. He was raised within a religious and musical family; his mother was an organist for the choir at a local Seventh-day Adventist church.Taylor, AngusU-Roy Interview, United Reggae, 20 December 2012. Retrieved 7 April 2013. The sobriquet U-Roy originated from a younger member of his family who found it difficult to pronounce his first name. Beckford attended Denham Town High School in Kingston. As a young man Beckford listened to the music of Louis Prima, James Brown, Ruth Brown, Fats Domino, Rufus Thomas, Smiley Lewis and was especially influenced by the vocal phrasing o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Order Of Distinction
The Order of Distinction (OD) 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'') in 1968. The motto of the Order is "Distinction Through Service". The Order of Distinction is conferred upon citizens of Jamaica who have rendered outstanding and important services to Jamaica, or to distinguished citizens of a country other than Jamaica."National Awards of Jamaica" , Jamaica Information Service, accessed 12 May 2015. The former are made Members of the Order, and the latter are made Honorary Members. The Order has two ranks: the higher class of Commander, and the lower class of Officer. Commanders take place and precedence immediately after Members and Honorary Mem ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Smiley Lewis
Overton Amos Lemons (July 5, 1913 – October 7, 1966), known as Smiley Lewis, was an American New Orleans rhythm and blues singer and guitarist. The music journalist Tony Russell wrote that "Lewis was the unluckiest man in New Orleans. He hit on a formula for slow-rocking, small-band numbers like 'The Bells Are Ringing' and ' I Hear You Knocking' only to have Fats Domino come up behind him with similar music with a more ingratiating delivery. Lewis was practically drowned in Domino's backwash." Life and career Lemons was born in DeQuincy, Louisiana, a rural hamlet near Lake Charles, to Jeffrey and Lillie Mae Lemons. He was the second of three sons. His mother died while he was a child, and later he named a song and several automobiles after her. In his mid-teens, he hopped a slow-moving freight train with some friends, who jumped off when the train began to speed up. Lewis alone remained on the train, getting off when it reached its stop in New Orleans. He found boarding with a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wake The Town
"Wake the Town" is a reggae song recorded by Jamaican toaster U-Roy in 1970. It was U-Roy's first big hit and one of the songs that established U-Roy as the grandfather of the modern deejay phenomenon. It also helped create dancehall style in Jamaica. The recording that led to the single was initiated when John Holt attended a sound system party, and heard U-Roy deejay. Holt convinced U-Roy and producer Duke Reid to hook up, and have U-Roy talk-over some of Reid's Treasure Island rocksteady classics. U-Roy recorded "Wake the Town" (and another hit, "Rule the Nation"), using his talk-over style, from start to finish without any restarts. "Wake the Town" quickly went to number one on Jamaica's pop music charts, along with "Rule the Nation" at number two, and many other deejays began to adopt his style. These two songs, along with "Wear You to the Ball", established U-Roy as a dancehall star and helped create the deejay sound. Dennis Alcapone said of the song, "When U-Roy come with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Duke Reid
Arthur "Duke" Reid CD (21 July 1915 – 1 January 1975) was a Jamaican record producer, DJ and record 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 Trojan, possibly named after the British-made trucks used to transport the equipment. In the 1960s, Reid founded the record label Treasure Isle (named after his liquor store), which produced ska and rocksteady music. He was still active in the early 1970s, working with toaster U-Roy. He died in early 1975 after having suffered from a severe illness for the last year. Biography Reid was born in Portland, Jamaica. After serving ten years as a Jamaican police officer, Reid left the force to help his wife Lucille run the family business, The Treasure Isle Grocery and Liquor Store at 33 Bond Street in Kingston. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Paragons
The Paragons were a ska and rocksteady vocal group from Kingston, Jamaica, initially active in the 1960s. Their most famous track was "The Tide Is High", written by band member John Holt. Career The Paragons were originally Garth "Tyrone" Evans, songwriter Bob Andy, Junior Menz, and Leroy Stamp. In 1964 Stamp was replaced by singer and songwriter John Holt, and Howard Barrett replaced Menz. The early Paragons' sound used the vocal harmonies of Jamaican groups of the early 1960s. Beginning in 1964, they recorded on the Treasure Isle record label with record producer Duke Reid, songs such as "Memories by the Score", "On the Beach", "Only a Smile" and "Wear You to the Ball", which were later covered by UB40, Horace Andy, Dennis Brown, Massive Attack, and others. Other recordings included " Man Next Door" aka "Quiet Place"/"I've Got to Get Away" (1968) and "Happy Go Lucky Girl".O'Brien Chang, Kevin & Chen, Wayne (1998), ''Reggae Routes'', Temple University Press, , p. 41. The P ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Holt (singer)
John Kenneth Holt OD (11 July 1947 – 19 October 2014) was a Jamaican reggae singer who first found fame as a member of The Paragons, before establishing himself as a solo artist. Early life Holt was born in the Greenwich Farm area of Kingston in 1947.Thompson, Dave (2002), ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books, , pp. 117–120. His mother Amy was a nurse.Ustanny, Avia (2004),You Inspired Me", ''Jamaica Gleaner'', 7 November 2004. Retrieved 25 October 2014. By the age of 12, he was a regular entrant in talent contests run at Jamaican theatres by Vere Johns, winning 28 contests, some broadcast live on Radio Jamaica.Larkin, Colin (1998), ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae'', Virgin Books, .Black, Roy (2014)Holt: One Of The Most Enduring Jamaican Singers, ''Jamaica Gleaner'', 23 October 2014. Retrieved 23 October 2014. Career and recognition He recorded his first single in 1963 with "Forever I'll Stay"/"I Cried a Tear" for record producer Leslie Kong, and also recorde ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Tosh
Winston Hubert McIntosh (19 October 1944 – 11 September 1987), professionally known as Peter Tosh, was a Jamaican reggae musician. Along with Bob Marley and Bunny Wailer, he was one of the core members of the band Bob Marley and the Wailers, the Wailers (1963–1976), after which he established himself as a successful solo artist and a promoter of Rastafari. He was murdered in 1987 during a home invasion. Early life Tosh was born Winston Hubert McIntosh on 19 October 1944 in Westmoreland Parish, Westmoreland, the westernmost parish of Jamaica. He was abandoned by his parents and "shuffled among relatives". When McIntosh was fifteen, his aunt died and he moved to Trenchtown in Kingston, Jamaica. He was educated in Bluefields, Jamaica, Bluefields up to age 17, then moved to Kingston to live with his aunt. He began an apprenticeship as a welder. He first learned guitar after watching a man in the country play a song that captivated him. He watched the man play the same so ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lee "Scratch" Perry
Lee "Scratch" Perry (born Rainford Hugh Perry; 20 March 1936 – 29 August 2021) was a Jamaican record producer, songwriter and singer noted for his innovative studio techniques and production style. Perry was a pioneer in the 1970s development of dub music with his early adoption of remixing and studio effects to create new instrumental or vocal versions of existing reggae tracks. He worked with and produced for a wide variety of artists, including Bob Marley and Bob Marley and the Wailers, the Wailers, Junior Murvin, the Congos, Max Romeo, Adrian Sherwood, Beastie Boys, Ari Up, the Clash, the Orb, and many others. Early life Rainford Hugh Perry was born on 20 March 1936 in Kendal, Jamaica, in the parish of Hanover Parish, Hanover, the third child of Ina Davis and Henry Perry. His mother had strong African traditions originating from her Yoruba people, Yoruba ancestry that she passed on to her son. His parents were both laborers, but his father later became a professional danc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Keith Hudson
Keith Hudson (18 March 1946 – 14 November 1984),Thompson, p.311 was a Jamaican reggae artist and record producer. He is known for his influence on the dub movement. Biography Raised in a musical family, Hudson attended Boys Town School in Kingston, where he organized school concerts with schoolmates including Bob Marley, Delroy Wilson, and Ken Boothe.Larkin, p.128 He was an ardent follower of Coxsone Dodd's ''Downbeat'' sound system and was soon hanging out with musicians such as Don Drummond, carrying his trombone into sessions at Dodd's Brentford Road studio when he was around fourteen. His first release circa 1969 was "Shades of Hudson" by DJ Dennis Alcapone on his own Inbidimts label, using a rocksteady track that had been recorded a few years before. After leaving school he served an apprenticeship in dentistry, and used these skills to raise money for recording sessions. In the same year he obtained some Termites and Carl Bryan rocksteady rhythms from Olympic Recor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
King Tubby
Osbourne Ruddock (28 January 1941 – 6 February 1989), better known as King Tubby, was a Jamaican sound engineer who influenced the development of dub music in the 1960s and 1970s. Tubby's studio work, in which as a mixing engineer he achieved creative fame previously only reserved for composers and musicians, was influential across many genres of popular music. He is often cited as the inventor of the concept of the remix that later became ubiquitous in dance and electronic music production. Singer Mikey Dread stated, "King Tubby truly understood sound in a scientific sense. He knew how the circuits worked and what the electrons did. That's why he could do what he did". Career In the late 1950s, Jamaican sound systems were becoming popular in Kingston and were developing into enterprising businesses. A radio repairman, Tubby found frequent work for the sound systems, as the tropical weather of the Caribbean island (often combined with sabotage by rival sound system owners ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
King Stitt
Winston Sparkes (17 September 1940 – 31 January 2012), better known as King Stitt, was a Jamaican pioneer DJ. Biography He earned the nickname as a boy because of his stuttering and decided to use it as his stage name. Stitt began deejaying on Clement Dodd's ''Sir Coxsone's Downbeat'' Sound System in 1956. Count Machuki, the original Jamaican deejay, noticed him for his dancing and offered him to try his hand on the mic. Stitt soon built his own deejay set, occasionally replacing him and eventually becoming one of the most popular deejays on the island's dances. He became King Stitt when he was crowned "king of the deejays" in 1963, in the heyday of ska. Following the folding of Sir Coxsone's Downbeat's sound system around 1968 (as Coxsone preferred to concentrate on recordings), Stitt found himself working as a mason in Ocho Rios. He had been deejaying at the mic for over ten years when he was first recorded over brand new reggae rhythms in 1969, creating some of the fir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sir 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 as a cricketer (his friends compared him to Alec Coxon, a member of the 1940s Yorkshire County Cricket Club team). Biography The Kingston-born Dodd used to play records to the customers in his parents' shop. During a spell in the American South he became familiar with the rhythm and blues music popular there at the time. In 1954, back in Jamaica, he set up the Downbeat Sound System, being the owner of an amplifier, a turntable, and some US records, which he would import from New Orleans and Miami. With the success of his sound system, and in a competitive environment, Dodd would make trips through the US looking for new tunes to attract the Jamaican public. While he did, his mother Doris Darlington would run the sound system and play ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
