Clancy Eccles (9 December 1940, Dean Pen,
St. MarySaint Mary is a parish located in the northeast section of Jamaica. It is one of Jamaica's smallest parishes, located in the county of Middlesex. Its chief town and capital is Port Maria, located on the coast...
,
JamaicaJamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length and as much as in width, amounting to 11,100 km
2. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harboring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
– 30 June 2005,
Spanish TownSpanish Town is the capital and the largest city in the parish of St. Catherine in the county of Middlesex, Jamaica. It was the former Spanish and English capital of Jamaica from the 16th to the 19th century...
, Jamaica) was a
JamaicaJamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length and as much as in width, amounting to 11,100 km
2. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harboring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
n
skaSka is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
and
reggaeReggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s.While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady. Reggae is based...
singer,
songwriterA songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics, as well as the musical composition or melody to songs. One who writes only lyrics is a lyricist, while one who writes only music is a composer.-History and background of songwriters:...
,
arrangerIn music, an arrangement is either a rewriting of a piece of existing music with additional new material or a fleshing-out of a compositional sketch, such as a lead sheet...
, promoter,
record producerIn the music industry, a record producer has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes...
and talent scout. Known mostly for his early reggae works, he brought a political dimension to this music. His house band was known as
The Dynamites.
Biography
Son of a tailor and builder, Eccles spent his childhood in the countryside of the parish of Saint Mary. Eccles had an itinerant childhood due to his father's need to travel Jamaica seeking work. His mother left the family when Clancy was 10 years old. He used to regularly attend church, and he became influenced by
spiritualSpirituals are religious songs which were created by enslaved African people in America.-Terminology and origin:...
singing; In his words: "One of my uncles was a spiritual revivalist, who always did this heavy type of spiritual singing, and I got to love that". Eccles's professional singing career began as a teenager, working the north-coast hotel circuit in the mid-1950s. In his late teens, he moved to
Ocho RiosOcho Ríos is a town on the northern coast of Jamaica, located in the parish of Saint Ann. It is a popular tourist destination, well known for scuba diving and other water sports...
, where he performed at night in various shows, with artists such as
The Blues BustersThe Blues Busters were a Jamaican vocal duo formed in 1960, comprising Philip James and Lloyd Campbell. The Blues Busters were the most consistently popular Jamaican male duo of the early 1960s, and were part of the Jamaican party that performed at the 1964 New York World's Fair...
, Higgs & Wilson and Buster Brown. He moved to
KingstonKingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica and is located on the southeastern coast of the island country. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island...
in 1959, where he started his recording career. He first recorded for
Coxsone DoddClement Seymour "Sir Coxsone" Dodd, CD was a Jamaican record producer who was influential in the development of ska and reggae in the 1950s, '60s and beyond...
, who had organized a
talent showA talent show is an event where contestants perform acting, singing, dancing, acrobatics,drumming, martial arts and other activities to showcase a unique form of talent, often for some sort of reward. Some very early known works include Shakespeare plays held in courtyards for the community to...
in which Eccles took part.
Eccles had a Jamaican hit in 1961 with the early
skaSka is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
song "Freedom", which was recorded in 1959, and was featured on Dodd's sound system for two years before it was released. It was one of the first Jamaican songs with socially-oriented lyrics. The song discussed the concept of repatriation to
AfricaAfrica is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area. With a billion people in 61 territories, it accounts for about 14.8% of the...
, an idea developed by the growing
Rastafari movementThe Rastafari movement is a monotheistic, Abrahamic, new religious movement that accepts Haile Selassie I, the former, and final, Emperor of Ethiopia, as the incarnation of God, called Jah or Jah Rastafari....
. The song became the first Jamaican hit to be used for political purposes;
Alexander BustamanteSir William Alexander Clarke Bustamante GBE, Order of National Hero, PC was a Jamaican politician and labour leader....
, founder of the Jamaican Labour Party and at that time Chief Minister of Jamaica adopted it for his fight against the Federation of the West Indies in 1960. In the following years, Eccles had other successful songs, mixing
boogieBoogie is a repetitive, swung note or shuffle rhythm , "groove" or pattern used in blues which was originally played on the piano in boogie-woogie music. The characteristic rhythm and feel of the boogie was then adapted to guitar, double bass, and other instruments. The earliest recorded...
/
rhythm and bluesRhythm and blues is the name given to a wide-ranging genre of popular music created by African Americans in the late 1940s and early 1950s...
influences with ska rhythms, such as "River Jordan" and "Glory Hallelujah".
In 1962, he started promoting concerts and set up his
Christmas Morning talent show; first with Dodd, then on his own. He organized concerts for
The ClarendoniansThe Clarendonians were a ska and rocksteady vocal group from Jamaica, active from the mid to late 1960s.-History:The Clarendonians were originally Fitzroy "Ernest" Wilson and Peter Austin , the duo coming together in 1963 in their native Clarendon...
in 1963, and for
The WailersThe Wailers were a ska, rocksteady, and reggae group formed in Kingston, Jamaica in 1963, consisting of Bob Marley, Junior Braithwaite, Beverley Kelso, Bunny Wailer, Peter Tosh, and Cherry Smith....
in 1964 and 1965. He launched other talent search contests, with
Battle of the Stars,
Clancy Eccles Revue,
Independent Revue and "Reggae Soul Revue, from which emerged stars such as
Barrington LevyBarrington Levy is a reggae and dancehall recording artist.-Career:In 1976, Levy formed a band with his cousin, Everton Dacres, called the Mighty Multitude; the pair released "My Black Girl" in 1977...
and
CultureCulture was a Jamaican roots reggae group founded in 1976. Originally they were known as the African Disciples.The members of the trio were Joseph Hill , Albert Walker and Kenneth Dayes ....
.
Starting in 1963, he recorded with producers such as Charlie Moo (
Leslie KongLeslie Kong was a Chinese Jamaican, reggae record producer.-Career:Leslie Kong and his brothers used to run a restaurant, ice cream parlour and record shop called Beverley's in Orange Street, Kingston...
's business partner) and the husband of
Sonia PottingerSonia Pottinger OD is a Jamaican reggae record producer.The most important Jamaican woman involved in music business, Sonia Pottinger was the first female Jamaican record producer and produced artists from the mid 1960s until the mid 1980s....
, Lyndon. He couldn't make a living from his music, so he quit in 1965 to work as a
tailorA tailor is a person whose occupation is to sew and scissor menswear style jackets and the skirts or trousers that go with them.Although the term dates to the thirteenth century, tailor took on its modern sense in the late eighteenth century, and now refers to makers of men's and women's suits,...
in Annotto Bay. During this period, he made stage outfits for musicians such as Kes Chin, The Mighty Vikings,
Byron LeeByron Lee OD, OJ was a musician, record producer, and entrepreneur, best known for his work as leader of Byron Lee and the Dragonaires.-Biography:Lee was born in Christiana in Manchester Parish to an Afro-Jamaican mother and a Chinese father Byron Lee OD, OJ (born Byron Aloysius St. Elmo Lee, 27...
and the Dragonnaires, Carlos Malcolm and The Blue Busters.
He went back to music in 1967, producing his own recordings as well as those of other artists. He scored a hit with Eric 'Monty' Morris' reggae song "Say What You're Saying", and with his own song "Feel The Rhythm", one of several records that were instrumental in the shift from
rocksteadyRocksteady is a music genre that was most popular in Jamaica, starting around 1966, and its reggae successor was established around 1968.The term rocksteady comes from a dance style that was mentioned in the Alton Ellis song "Rock Steady"...
to reggae. Eccles has also been credited with deriving the name 'reggae' from 'streggae', Kingston slang for a good-time girl. Eccles' first hit, "What Will Your Mama Say" was released by the recently-created
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
label,
Pama RecordsPama records was a United Kingdom record label active during the 1960s and 1970s. Initially focused on soul music, it became one of the major outlets for reggae in the UK.-History:...
. In 1968, his song "Fattie Fattie" became a
skinheadA skinhead is a member of a subculture that originated among working class youths in the United Kingdom in the 1960s, and then spread to other parts of the world. Named for their close-cropped or shaven heads, the first skinheads were greatly influenced by West Indian rude boys and British mods,...
reggae classic, along with his productions of recordings by the toasting DJ
King StittKing Stitt, born Winston Spark , is a Jamaican DJ.- Biography :King Stitt is the oldest living Jamaican deejay. Sparkes was given the nickname Stitt as a boy and decided to use it as his stage name, becoming King Stitt when he was crowned 'king of the deejays'...
("Fire Corner", "Van Cleef", "Herbman Shuffle"). Eccles recorded many
organThe organ is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet...
-led instrumentals with his session band The Dynamites (same band has
Derrick HarriottDerrick Harriott is a singer and record producer. He has produced recordings by Big Youth, Chariot Riders, The Chosen Few, Dennis Brown, The Ethiopians, Keith & Tex, The Kingstonians, Rudy Mills, Scotty, Sly & Revolutionaries, and Winston McAnuff.-Biography:As a student at Excelsior High School,...
's Crystalites), featuring Winston Wright. In 1970, Eccles helped pave the way to the
dub musicDub is an instrumental subgenre of reggae music, that involves revisions of existing songs. The dub sound consists predominantly of instrumental remixes of existing recordings and is achieved by significantly manipulating and reshaping the recordings, usually by removing the vocals from an existing...
genre by releasing an instrumental version of "Herbman Shuffle" called "Phantom", with a mix focusing on the bass line.
Eccles launched different record labels for his works: Clansone, New Beat and Clandisc (the latter also the name of a sub-label set up by
Trojan RecordsTrojan Records is a British record label specialising in ska, rocksteady, reggae and dub music. The label operates under the Sanctuary Records Group.-Beginnings and heyday:...
for Eccles' UK releases). He recorded artists such as
Alton EllisAlton Nehemiah Ellis, OD, was a Jamaican musician best known as one of the innovators of rocksteady music and was often referred to as the "Godfather of Rocksteady". In 2006, he was inducted into the International Reggae And World Music Awards Hall Of Fame.-Biography:Ellis was born in 1938 and...
,
Joe HiggsJoe Higgs was a reggae musician from Jamaica. In the 1960s he was part of the duo Higgs and Wilson together with Roy Wilson.-Biography:...
, the
TrinidianTrinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the country of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just 11 km off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of 4,768 km² it is also the fifth...
Lord Creator ("Kingston Town"),
Larry MarshallLarry Marshall is a reggae singer, who has recorded both as a solo artist and as part of the duos Larry & Alvin and Larry & Enid.-Biography:...
, Hemsley Morris, Earl Lawrence, The Beltones, Glen Ricks,
Cynthia RichardsCynthia Richards is a Jamaican singer whose career began in the 1960s.-Biography:Born in Duhaney Park, Kingston, Jamaica, in 1944, Richards attended the Denham Town Primary School where after impressing teachers with a performance at an end-of-term concert she was encouraged to appear on the Vere...
, Buster Brown and
Beres HammondBeres Hammond is a reggae singer from Jamaica who is known in particular for his romantic lovers rock...
. Appreciated by musicians for his fairness and sense of equity, he helped Lee Perry set up his Upsetter record label in 1968 after Perry left Dodd's employment, and helped
Winston 'Niney' HolmesWinston Holness, better known as Niney the Observer , is a Jamaican record producer and singer who was a key figure in the creation of many classic reggae recordings dating from the 1970s and early 1980s....
(later known as 'The Observer') record his first hit as a producer in 1971 ("Blood & Fire").
A
socialistSocialism refers to various theories of economic organization advocating public or direct worker ownership and administration of the means of production and allocation of resources, and a society characterized by equal access to resources for all individuals with a method of compensation based on...
militant, Eccles was appointed as an adviser on the music industry to
Michael ManleyMichael Norman Manley ON OCC was the fourth Prime Minister of Jamaica . Michael Manley was a democratic socialist....
's
People's National PartyThe People's National Party is a democratic socialist Jamaican political party, founded by Norman Manley in 1938. It is the oldest political party in the Anglophone Caribbean and one of the main two political parties in Jamaica. Out of the two major parties, it is considered more to the left than...
(PNP) and took part in Jamaica's 1972 prime ministerial elections by organizing a "Bandwagon" featuring musicians such as
Bob MarleyRobert Nesta "Bob" Marley was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. He was the lead singer, songwriter and guitarist for the ska, rocksteady and reggae bands The Wailers and Bob Marley & The Wailers...
& the Wailers,
Dennis BrownDennis Emmanuel Brown was a Jamaican reggae singer. During his prolific career, which began in the late 1960s when he was aged eleven, he recorded more than 75 albums and was one of the major stars of lovers rock, a sub-genre of reggae...
,
Max RomeoMax Romeo , is a reggae and roots reggae recording artist who has achieved chart success in his home country, and in the UK. Romeo was responsible for launching an entirely new sub-genre of reggae, whose overtly suggestive lyrics caused an outcry but took a massive hold of the music scene regardless...
,
Delroy WilsonDelroy Wilson was a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae singer.-Biography:Wilson released his first single "Emy Lou" in 1961 for record producer, Clement "Coxsone" Dodd, at the age of thirteen...
and
Inner CircleInner Circle is a Jamaican reggae group. The group was formed in 1968 by the brothers Ian and Roger Lewis in Jamaica. With Jacob Miller as their frontman and lead singer the band was one of the most popular in Jamaica during the 70's, and one of few reggae bands that performed live...
, performing around the island in support of Manley's campaign. Throughout the 1970s, he remained close to Manley and wrote several songs in praise of the PNP program, including his hits "Power For The People", "Rod Of Correction" or "Generation Belly".
Eccles' political interests meant that he spent less time on music, although in the late 1970s, Eccles had further success as a producer with recordings by Tito Simon and Exuma the Obeah Man, as well as collaborations with
King TubbyKing Tubby was a Jamaican electronics and sound engineer, known primarily for his influence on the development of dub music in the 1960s and 1970s...
. After the 1970s, new Eccles recordings were rare, and he concentrated on live concert promotion and re-issues of his back catalogue. In the 1980s, Eccles slowed down his musical activities and he never met success again, apart from a few political songs, such as "Dem Mash Up The Country" in 1985. Eccles died on June 30, 2005 in Spanish Town Hospital from complications of a
heart attackMyocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, is the interruption of blood supply to part of the heart, causing some heart cells to die...
.
Eccles' son, Clancy Eccles Jr., has followed his father into the music business, initially performing as simply "Clancy".
Singles before 1967
- River Jordan / I Live And I Love - 1960 - Blue Beat produced by Coxsone Dodd
- Freedom / More Proof - 1960 - Blue Beat produced by Coxsone Dodd
- Judgement / Baby Please - 1963 - Island Records
Island Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in England for many years, but is now owned by Universal Music Group and is operated in the United States through The Island Def Jam Music Group and in the UK through Island Records Group...
produced for Charlie Moo
- I'm The Greatest - 1963 - produced by Mike Shadad
- Glory Hallelujah - 1963 - Island Records produced by Coxsone Dodd
- Sammy No Dead / Roam Jerusalem - 1965 - Ska Beat produced by Lyndon Pottinger.
- Miss Ida - 1965 - Ska Beat
Clancy Eccles
- Clancy Eccles - Freedom - 1969 - Clandisc/Trojan
- Clancy Eccles - 1967-1983 - Joshua's Rod Of Correction - Jamaican Gold
Jamaican Gold is an independent record label from Netherlands specialized in Jamaican music reissues.Aad Van Der Hoek founded the label in 1992 and has since been working closely with Jamaican producers and sound engineers, transferring usually the music directly from the original mastertape in...
(1996)
- Clancy Eccles - Top Of The Ladder - 1973 - Big Shot/Trojan
Clancy Eccles & The Dynamites
- The Dynamites - Fire Corner - 1969 - Clandisc
- Clancy Eccles & The Dynamites - Herbsman Reggae - 1970 - Clandisc
- Clancy Eccles & The Dynamites - Top Of The Ladder - 1973 - Big Shot/Trojan
- The Dynamites - The Wild Bunch Are The Dynamites - 1967-1971 - Jamaican Gold (1996)
- Clancy Eccles & The Dynamites - Nyah Reggae Rock - 1969-1970 - Jamaican Gold (1997)
Clancy Eccles productions
- King Stitt - Reggae Fire Beat - 1969-1970 - Jamaican Gold (1996)
- Cynthia Richards & Friends - Foolish Fool -1970 - Clandisc
- Tito Simon - Just Tito Simon - 1973 - Horse/Trojan coproduced by Joe Sinclair
- Various - Clancy Eccles - Fatty Fatty - 1967-1970 - Trojan (1998)
- Various - Clancy Eccles Presents His Reggae Revue - Rock Steady Intensified - 1967-1972 - Heartbeat Records
Heartbeat Records is an independent record label based in Burlington , Massachusetts. The label specializes in Jamaican music. Founded by reggae music enthusiasts Bill Nowlin and Duncan Brown, the label's first release was a vinyl LP reissue of Linton Kwesi Johnson's Dread Beat an' Blood...
(1990)
- Various - Kingston Town: 18 Reggae Hits - Heartbeat Records (1993)
- Various - Clancy Eccles - Feel The Rhythm - 1966-1968 - Jamaican Gold (2000)
- Various - Clancy Eccles' Rock Steady Reggae Revue at Sombrero Club - 1967-1969 - Jamaican Gold (2001)
- Various - Clancy Eccles' Reggae Revue At The Ward Theatre - 1969-1970 - Jamaican Gold (2001)
- Various - Clancy Eccles' Reggae Revue At The VIP Club - 1970-1973 - Jamaican Gold (2001)
- Various - Clancy Eccles' Reggae Revue At The Carib Theatre - 1973-1986 - Jamaican Gold (2001)
- Various - Clancy Eccles: Freedom - An Anthology - Trojan (Oct. 2005)