Artist: Desmond Dekker
Genre(s):
Reggae
Indie
Rap: Hip-Hop
Discography:
Anthology CD2
Year: 2007
Tracks: 25
Anthology CD1
Year: 2007
Tracks: 25
Israelites
Year: 2006
Tracks: 20
In Memoriam 1941-2006
Year: 2006
Tracks: 20
The Best of Desmond Dekker
Year: 2004
Tracks: 18
Israelites: Best of Desmond Dekker
Year: 2002
Tracks: 25
The Best of Desmond Dekker: The Israelites
Year: 2001
Tracks: 20
Halfway to Paradise
Year: 2001
Tracks: 17
First Time for a Long Time: Rarities (1968-1972)
Year: 1997
Tracks: 26
1965 To 1971
Year:
Tracks: 19
Probably no other Jamaican creative person has brought more international clap to his island home than Desmond Dekker, blackball, of course, Bob Marley, merely Dekker came first. Most people's initiation to the island's unique musical sound came via the singer's many hits, to the highest degree notably "Hebrews" and "0.0.7. (Hut Town)." Needless to say, he was level more than influential in his country of origin.
Natural Desmond Dacres in Kingston, Jamaica, on July 16, 1942, the star-to-be was orphaned in his teens. Left to garner a living on his possess, he articled as a welder. It was his workmates wHO first gear famous his vocal talents, as the shaver american ginseng around the workshop. With their encouragement, in 1961 the whitney Moore Young Jr. humankind decided to have a go at recording and auditioned for both Coxsone Dodd at Studio One and Duke Reid at Treasure Isle. Neither piece establish anything singular around this young bright and sent him on his way. Not discouraged, Dacres next tested his destiny with Leslie Kong, possessor of the Beverley's label. He auditioned ahead the stable's biggest hitmaker, Derrick Morgan, wHO immediately spotted the pres Young man's electric potential. However, it was to be two long eld in front Kong eventually took him into the studio, waiting patiently for him to compose a song worthy of recording.
In 1963, Dacres presented Kong with "Pureness Your Father and Mother," and the producer knew the wait had been worth it. Upon its handout, the song's dear message soared to the top of the Jamaican charts. Having been renamed Desmond Dekker, the young star topology followed up with "Sinners Come Home" and "Labor for Learning," which were besides successful. However, it was with his next release, "Billie Jean Moffitt King of Ska," that Dekker's star was truly naturalized. Backed by the Cherrypies, aka the Maytals, the boastful sung, a strident festivity of ska in all its glorification, fleetly attained classic status and stiff one of the genre's masterpieces. Before the year was out, Dekker had launch his possess patronage radical, the Aces, a tetrad of telling siblings -- Carl, Clive, Barry, and Patrick Howard -- ab initio known as the Four Aces. Together the cinque men cut a skid of excellent ska-fired singles, such as the triumphal "Get Up Edina," the advice to "Parents," the peppy love letter "This Woman," and the sublime "Climb Zion." All were swelled hits.
However, as tail end be seen by the titles, Dekker's initial appeal was as a respectful loretta Young man (true with a taste for reproving misbehaving pres Young ladies). That would all change in 1967. Derrick Morgan helped set the stage with his trio of rudeboys-go-to-court songs rootage off with "Tougher Than Tough," which featured Dekker and his pal George on backing vocals. Wisely, Dekker himself steered clear of what swiftly off into a judicial soap opera, alternatively he rocketed "0.0.7. (Shanty Town)" into the Jamaican charts. Set to a sturdy rocksteady beat, the birdcall promptly became a rudeboy hymn and conventional Dekker as a virtual rudeboy icon. Across the weewee in Britain in the heat of its have mod revolution, the Jamaican isaac M. Singer was seen as unrivaled of the mod's own. The undivided plundered and snapshot its means into the U.K. Top 15, and Dekker immediately gear up off on his first visit to England. The response at that place astounded him, and he was trailed everywhere by mods about performing as intimate bodyguards. More rudeboy hits followed, including the indeed soulful "Rudy Got Soul and "Uncivil Boy Train." Others were a great deal in keeping with the more temperate subjects of Dekker's past: the religious-themed "Wise Man," "Hey Grandma," the admonition for "Mother's Young Girl," the lovelorn "Sabotage," the spirited "It's a Shame" (wherein another girl gets a relation off), and the inspirational "Oneness" (which took second blank space at Jamaica's Festival Song Competition that year). One of the most remindful was "Pretty Africa"; unrivaled of the earlier repatriation songs composed, it's haunting beauty and longing character has unbroken it a hard favorite. "It Pays," another strike from 1967, features some of the most exquisite falsetto harmonies always to be recorded and showcases the Aces as their best. Although none recurrent the achiever of "0.0.7.," Dekker remained a potent force in the U.K. and a maven at home. Many of the hits from this era were included on the singer's debut album, which was naturally titled afterward "0.0.7. (Shanty Town)."
In 1968, the isaac M. Singer unleashed the mighty sufferers' lament "Israelites" on an unsuspecting worldly concern. For half a year, the birdcall simmered on the U.K. charts, at long last advent to a boil in March, when it topped the chart. Meanwhile in the U.S., the song had also begun to rise, peaking thee months later exactly privileged the Top Ten. Dekker had achieved the dream of every Jamaican artist, to break into the U.S. grocery store. He was the first to do so, at least with a pure Jamaican song. Although Dekker would never put another single so high into the U.S. charts, his calling continued unabated both at habitation and in the U.K. The grief of "Beautiful and Dangerous" was the utter theme for another smash, as was the exuberant "Shing a Ling" and the as infectious "Music Like Dirt." For the more conscientiously minded there was "Writing on the Wall," but what did buyers of that popular individual construct of the highly suggestive and equally successful "Bongo Girl"? Before the year was extinct, the Beverley's label collected up a group of hits from the year for the Action! solicitation.
In 1969, the upbeat "Problems" spoke straight to the Jamaican public, wHO bought the exclusive in droves. But the year was outlined by "It Mek," wherein another girl gets her comeupance. Dekker composed the song near his unruly younger sister. Initially released to muted response, the original was a charmer but lacked punch; the re-recorded rendering was often stronger and pissed into the Jamaican graph, then soared into the Top Ten crosswise the water. "Pickney Gal," however, although very successful in Jamaica, did less comfortably in the U.K. As to be expected, Beverley's rounded up this year's hits for a new album, Hebrews. In the U.K., fans were hardened to This Is Desmond Dekker, which the Trojan label likewise released in 1969, a virtual nonstop chart-busting party, haggard from the trey Beverley's sets.
By the sentence the '70s dawned, Dekker had relocated to Britain and was expenditure most of his fourth dimension touring. However, he continued releasing excellent singles, as ever backed by the superb Beverley's All Stars house ring and accompanied by the exquisite Aces. Neither the band nor singers experience e'er received the recognition they were due. The former's flawless and sympathetic performances powered every one of Dekker's songs, spell the latter's exalted eminent vocals and utter harmonies helped delimitate his legal. Unusually, Dekker's next off would not come from his have playpen, only another's. Leslie Kong had to argue vociferously to convince the isaac M. Singer to cut through Jimmy Cliff's "You Can Get It If You Really Want," simply in the end, Dekker put his faith in the producer. He was rewarded with a dateless masterpiece that was a smash on both sides of the Atlantic. The song titled as yet another hit-laden solicitation, released by Trojan in 1970 as well. In retrospect, it was trying on that Kong's deuce superlative stars should have combined talents in this way. In August 1971, the heavy producer, still only in his mid-thirties, died unexpectedly of a heart tone-beginning. Unlike virtually every other artist on the island, Dekker had played out his intact career under Kong's wing and was devastated by his demise. (Barring a few very early recordings, Cliff had as well and was equally distraught and rudderless in the wake.) The definitive collecting of Dekker's work with Kong is ground on the Trojan label's Original Reggae Hitsound of Desmond Dekker and the Aces compilation.
Ab initio at a sum up loss of how to now go, finally Dekker ground his elbow room, and over the next few days, he released a steady stream of fine singles. However, he seemed to get lost his grip on Britain and none of his releases charted on that point. In hopes of remedying this place, in 1974 Dekker joined forces with the pop production team Bruce Anthony (aka Tony Cousins) and Bruce White. Their academic session together resulted in the singles "Everybody Join Hands" and "Broken Lad," released in the U.K. by the Rhino label. They had little impact however, but in 1975, another song from the academic session, "Let the cat out of the bag a Little Song," enthralled its elbow room into the British Top 20. A sugary offering with lavish production, it was far removed from the ferment Dekker had done with Kong. A new album, titled Hebrews, and not to be confused with the Beverley's album of the same name, was as well released this year. Although it featured a fierce version of the title track, it then sank chop-chop into syrupy ethel Waters, much like "Blab out..." After that and for the next five age, Dekker disappeared off the U.K. radiolocation well-nigh all. He continued to release records in Jamaica, although they were sporadic in comparability to his fertile yield in the '60s.
However, as the '70s came to a close, the 2-Tone bowel movement gave fresh impulse to the singer's career, and Dekker inked a manage with the sovereign thug mark Stiff. His debut for them was the wittily highborn Smutty & Dekker record album, which featured re-recordings of past hits, backed by the British tilt band the Rumour. The Rumour, of course of action, were renowned as the radical behind Graham Parker. A series of singles also proclaimed his return, with the number 1, a re-recorded "Hebrews," most breakage into the Top Ten in Belgium. That was followed by "Delight Don't Bend" and a cover of Jimmy Cliff's "Many Rivers to Cross." A fourth single, "Book of Rules," was specially strong and produced by Will Birch, best known for his work with force pop bands. Dekker's followup, 1981's Range Point, in contrast, featured mostly new compositions and was produced by Robert Palmer. Both it and the exclusive "Spicy City," withal, did seedy. Regardless, Dekker was in big demand onstage, where he continued to be accompanied by the Rumour. As the 2-Tone movement disintegrated, so too did Dekker's revival. In 1984, the vocaliser was forced to declare failure, although this was less a reflectivity on him than on his past management.
Thomas Dekker veritably disappeared from scene for the roost of the decade, with only Trojan's 1987 Officially Live and Rare record album break the drought, which was recorded during an enthusiastic live society appearance in London. A new version of "Hebrews," utilised in a Maxell taping ad, brought the isaac Bashevis Singer plunk for into public view in 1990. The undermentioned year, Dekker released Martin Luther King Jr. of Ska, over again featuring re-recordings of past tense glories. Two old age later, he entered the studio apartment with an equally revitalized Specials for the Martin Luther King Jr. of Kings record album. And although this set too featured old hits, this clock time around the huge majority weren't Dekker's possess, simply his personal heroes, including, of course, Derrick Morgan, the valet wHO had discovered him.
In 1996, Moving On appeared, non unitary of Dekker's best. However, the Trojan mark has continued to keep the singer's back catalog to the stem. Beginning punt in 1974, when they released the humorously highborn Forked Dekker, across Sweet 16 Hits (1978), The Original Reggae Hitsound in 1985, and 1992's Euphony Like Dirt, there's ne'er been a paucity of excellent Dekker material for fans to wassail in. Other labels have jumped in on the activity, and the shelves bear quick filled with compilations of the isaac Merrit Singer from varying stages of his career. Dekker's brobdingnagian catalogue of music, songs that outlined the ska, rocksteady, and reggae eras get provided the singer with a rich bequest that has rarely been equaled. On May 25, 2006, Dekker passed away at age 64 in his London plate.
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