Early B
Encyclopedia
Earlando Arrington Neil, better known by his stage name Early B, was an early dancehall
and reggae
deejay
whose lyrics had a cultural bent, noted mainly in his hits Visit of King Selassie, History of Jamaica and Wheely Wheely, the latter an ode to bicycle-riding in Jamaica
.
Neil began performing live on Soul Imperial Hi-Fi alongside his young apprentice, Wild Apache (aka Super Cat) (b. William Maragh). Earlando supposedly earned his stage name as a result of his reputation for arriving to shows early, thus gaining the name Early Bird, then finally Early B. Early B was soon approached, while on vacation with Stuart Brown (owner of African Star Sound), by a larger sound system, King Majesty. King Majesty was the only set to play all over the parish of St. Thomas
. In the evenings he dragged the young Supercat out of his yard in Kingston
to the countryside where they performed on King Majesty for almost a year. The owner of King Majesty was a manager in the sugar cane industry and unfortunately was unable to run the sound system during harvest time. Frustration boiled over for "Cat" and Early B who both had ambitions to make it "big time". Their first chance came with Killamanjaro
.
Killamanjaro
began as a humble sound system in the cool hills above Kingston
with a resident mike
-man known by the stagename of "Oh Lord". In 1980-81, the principal reason for the rise of Killamanjaro was because Early B and Supercat had become its crowd-pulling regulars. Soon every hopeful deejay
wanted to "hold the mike
" on the Killamanjaro sound alongside Early B, who had by now acquired a new nickname - The Doctor. He had endless queues of patients as "Jaro" came of age and established itself as one of the top sets, ranking amongst the legends of the sound world such as Gemini, Black Scorpio, Lee's Unlimited, Volcano and the mighty King Sturgav. Indeed, such was the demand that Killamanjaro set a record, that still holds today, by performing on fifty-two consecutive nights in Kingston.
Over the next two years, Early B was in constant demand as a recording artist scoring hits such as Gaterman Get Fraid, Wheel Wheely (also called One Wheely Wheely), Sunday Dish, and Learn Fe Drive. His next step towards the top was a move to the United States
where he continued to be a dancehall
favorite. Early B's deejay
career brought him to other sound systems as well, including the African Star sound system in Toronto
, Canada
and Crystal Blue Flames Sound in New York City
, New York
.
Early performed throughout the US
and England
(as well as Jamaica
) until he was shot to death inside the Windsor Cricket Club, Dorchester, Massachusetts
, on September 11, 1994. While rumors have circulated as to the reasoning behind the murder, his killers have never been found.
Early B recorded several album
s during the mid-80s, which remain well-circulated in the digital age today. Several tribute compilation albums have recently been released on CD, such as Immortal and A Memorial Tributed Reggae Hits.
Dancehall
Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s. In the mid-1980s, digital instrumentation became more prevalent, changing the sound considerably,...
and reggae
Reggae
Reggae 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...
deejay
Deejay
A deejay is a reggae or dancehall musician who sings and toasts to an instrumental riddim .Deejays are not to be confused with disc jockeys from other music genres like hip-hop, where they select and play music. Dancehall/reggae DJs who select riddims to play are called selectors...
whose lyrics had a cultural bent, noted mainly in his hits Visit of King Selassie, History of Jamaica and Wheely Wheely, the latter an ode to bicycle-riding in Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
.
Biography
Earlando was born into a poor family and left a promising school career at age seventeen to support his mother and two brothers. He began work as a machine clerk but within a year was elevated to acting supervisor.Neil began performing live on Soul Imperial Hi-Fi alongside his young apprentice, Wild Apache (aka Super Cat) (b. William Maragh). Earlando supposedly earned his stage name as a result of his reputation for arriving to shows early, thus gaining the name Early Bird, then finally Early B. Early B was soon approached, while on vacation with Stuart Brown (owner of African Star Sound), by a larger sound system, King Majesty. King Majesty was the only set to play all over the parish of St. Thomas
Saint Thomas Parish, Jamaica
Saint Thomas is a suburban parish that is situated at the south eastern end of Jamaica, in the county of Surrey. It is the birth place of The right Honorable Paul Bogle, one of Jamaica's seven National Heroes...
. In the evenings he dragged the young Supercat out of his yard in Kingston
Kingston, Jamaica
Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island...
to the countryside where they performed on King Majesty for almost a year. The owner of King Majesty was a manager in the sugar cane industry and unfortunately was unable to run the sound system during harvest time. Frustration boiled over for "Cat" and Early B who both had ambitions to make it "big time". Their first chance came with Killamanjaro
Killamanjaro
Founded in the summer of 1969, Killamanjaro is a Jamaican sound system best known for their clashes and large amount of classical reggae dubplates.It is owned by Noel "Papa Jaro" Harper and named after Mount Kilimanjaro...
.
Killamanjaro
Killamanjaro
Founded in the summer of 1969, Killamanjaro is a Jamaican sound system best known for their clashes and large amount of classical reggae dubplates.It is owned by Noel "Papa Jaro" Harper and named after Mount Kilimanjaro...
began as a humble sound system in the cool hills above Kingston
Kingston, Jamaica
Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island...
with a resident mike
Microphone
A microphone is an acoustic-to-electric transducer or sensor that converts sound into an electrical signal. In 1877, Emile Berliner invented the first microphone used as a telephone voice transmitter...
-man known by the stagename of "Oh Lord". In 1980-81, the principal reason for the rise of Killamanjaro was because Early B and Supercat had become its crowd-pulling regulars. Soon every hopeful deejay
Deejay
A deejay is a reggae or dancehall musician who sings and toasts to an instrumental riddim .Deejays are not to be confused with disc jockeys from other music genres like hip-hop, where they select and play music. Dancehall/reggae DJs who select riddims to play are called selectors...
wanted to "hold the mike
Microphone
A microphone is an acoustic-to-electric transducer or sensor that converts sound into an electrical signal. In 1877, Emile Berliner invented the first microphone used as a telephone voice transmitter...
" on the Killamanjaro sound alongside Early B, who had by now acquired a new nickname - The Doctor. He had endless queues of patients as "Jaro" came of age and established itself as one of the top sets, ranking amongst the legends of the sound world such as Gemini, Black Scorpio, Lee's Unlimited, Volcano and the mighty King Sturgav. Indeed, such was the demand that Killamanjaro set a record, that still holds today, by performing on fifty-two consecutive nights in Kingston.
Over the next two years, Early B was in constant demand as a recording artist scoring hits such as Gaterman Get Fraid, Wheel Wheely (also called One Wheely Wheely), Sunday Dish, and Learn Fe Drive. His next step towards the top was a move to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
where he continued to be a dancehall
Dancehall
Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s. In the mid-1980s, digital instrumentation became more prevalent, changing the sound considerably,...
favorite. Early B's deejay
Deejay
A deejay is a reggae or dancehall musician who sings and toasts to an instrumental riddim .Deejays are not to be confused with disc jockeys from other music genres like hip-hop, where they select and play music. Dancehall/reggae DJs who select riddims to play are called selectors...
career brought him to other sound systems as well, including the African Star sound system in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and Crystal Blue Flames Sound in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
Early performed throughout the US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
(as well as Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
) until he was shot to death inside the Windsor Cricket Club, Dorchester, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, on September 11, 1994. While rumors have circulated as to the reasoning behind the murder, his killers have never been found.
Early B recorded several album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
s during the mid-80s, which remain well-circulated in the digital age today. Several tribute compilation albums have recently been released on CD, such as Immortal and A Memorial Tributed Reggae Hits.
External links
- Discography at Roots Archives.
- Early B at MySpaceMySpaceMyspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
.