Joe Gibbs born
Joel A. Gibson (1943,
Montego BayMontego Bay is the capital of St. James Parish and the second largest city in Jamaica by area and the third by population ....
— 21 February 2008) 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
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...
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...
.
Biography
Joe Gibbs worked as an electronics engineer in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
before his career in music started. Gibbs eventually returned to
Kingston, JamaicaKingston 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...
and opened an electrical repair shop with television repairs and sales as its main concern. It was in this shop that he first started to sell records. The fast growth of the local music scene encouraged him to get more involved in the music business, and in 1967 he started to record some artists in the back of his shop with a two-track tape machine, working with Lee Perry who had just ended his association with
Clement "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...
. In 1968, with the help of
Bunny LeeEdward O'Sullivan Lee, better known as Bunny "Striker" Lee is a prominent, prolific and successful Chinese Jamaican record producer best known for his work in the 1960s and 1970s.-Biography:...
, he launched his Amalgamated record label, and had his first success with one of the earliest
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"...
songs,
Roy ShirleyRoy Shirley also known as King Roy Shirley and The High Priest was a Jamaican singer whose career spanned the ska, rocksteady and reggae eras, and whose "Hold Them" is regarded by some as the first ever rocksteady song...
's "Hold Them".
When Perry decided to leave to start his own record label, Upsetter, Gibbs enrolled the young Winston "Niney" Holness (later known as
Niney The ObserverWinston 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....
) who helped Gibbs maintain his productions at the top of the
chartsA record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
. During the rocksteady period until 1970, he had hit records with numerous artists including
The PioneersThe Pioneers: The Sources of the Susquehanna; a Descriptive Tale is a historical novel, the first published of the Leatherstocking Tales, a series of five novels by American writer James Fenimore Cooper...
,
Errol DunkleyErrol Dunkley is a Jamaican reggae musician, born in Kingston, Jamaica in 1951.-Biography:Dunkley's recording career began in 1965, when he was fourteen, with "Gypsy" for Linden Pottinger's Gaydisc label, "My Queen" for Prince Buster, and "Love Me Forever" on the Rio label...
, and
Ken ParkerKen Parker is a Jamaican musician who first recorded in the 1960s.-Biography:Like many of Jamaica's singers of the era, Parker began by singing in church, where his father was a preacher. He formed a group called the Blues Benders in the mid-1960s, and their first recording was "Honeymoon by the...
. He also worked with backing bands such as
Lynn Taitt and the JetsLynn Taitt is a reggae guitarist born in San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago, closely associated with Jamaican rocksteady music.-Biography:...
(including the organist Ansel Collins, and horns players
Tommy McCookTommy McCook was a Jamaican saxophonist. A founding member of The Skatalites, he also directed The Supersonics for Duke Reid, and backed many sessions for Bunny Lee or with The Revolutionaries at Channel One Studios in the 1970s.-Biography:McCook was born in Havana, Cuba, and moved to Jamaica in...
,
Johnny "Dizzy" MooreJohn Arlington "Dizzy" Moore OD was a Jamaican trumpet player and founding member of pioneering Jamaican ska and reggae act, The Skatalites.-Biography:...
,
Bobby EllisBobby Ellis born 2 July 1932, is a Jamaican trumpet player. He has worked with many reggae artists including Peter Tosh, Burning Spear, and The Revolutionaries.-Biography:...
and
Vin GordonVin Gordon is a Jamaican trombone player.-Biography:...
), or
The Hippy BoysThe Hippy Boys was formed in 1968 by Lloyd Charmers. The band included guitarist Alva "Reggie" Lewis, organist Glen Adams and brothers Aston 'Family Man' Barrett on bass guitar and Carlton Barrett drums respectively.-History:...
(featuring the
BarrettAston Francis Barrett , often called "Family Man" or "Fams" for short, is a Jamaican bass player and Rastafarian.-Biography:...
brothers as the
rhythm sectionA rhythm section is the musicians in a popular music band or ensemble who establish the rhythmic pulse of a song or musical piece, and who lay down the chordal structure. The term "rhythm section" may also refer to the instruments in this group...
).
He concentrated exclusively on the production of the then new reggae sound after his first international success "Love of the Common People" by
Nicky ThomasNicky Thomas was a reggae singer who enjoyed considerable chart success in the 1970s.-Biography:...
(#9 in the
UK Singles ChartThe UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record industry. The full chart contains the top 200 singles based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 of this list...
in summer 1970). Gibbs still recorded the rock-steady artists that he had initially worked with; artists like
The EthiopiansThe Ethiopians is a ska, rocksteady, and reggae vocal group, founded by Leonard Dillon , Stephen Taylor and Aston Morris. The group started out recording for Clement 'Coxsone' Dodd in 1966....
,
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
The HeptonesThe Heptones were a Jamaican rocksteady and reggae vocal trio most active in the 1960s and early 1970s.-History:Leroy Sibbles, Earl Morgan and Barry Llewellyn first came together as "The Hep Ones" in 1965 in Kingston but they soon changed their name to "The Heptones"...
. The two volumes of his singles compilations
The Heptones and Friends were bestsellers in Jamaica. During this period, he launched three new labels —Jogib, Shock, and Pressure Beat.
In 1972, after having moved his studio in the Duhaney Park district, he set up a new one at Retirement Crescent and started to work with sound engineer
Errol ThompsonErrol Thompson, better known as "ET" was a record producer, audio engineer, and one of the first studio engineers to be involved in dub music. He was fellow producer Joe Gibbs's partner—the two were known collectively as the Mighty Two...
, who used to be at Randy's Studio. Together they were known as "The Mighty Two", and along with his studio band The Professionals (including bassist Robbie Shakespeare, drummer
Sly DunbarLowell "Sly" Fillmore Dunbar is a drummer.-Biography:Working together with Robbie Shakespeare, Sly and Robbie are considered one of the world's premier rhythm sections for their work in the field of reggae...
and guitarist Earl "Chinna" Smith), they produced hundreds of singles, including the hits "Money In My Pocket" by
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...
, "Ah So We Stay" by
Big YouthManley Augustus Buchanan , better known as Big Youth , is a Jamaican deejay, mostly known for his work during the 1970s.-Early career:...
and "Eviction" by
Black UhuruBlack Uhuru are a Jamaican reggae group formed in 1972, initially as Uhuru . The group has undergone several line-up changes over the years, and had their most successful period in the 1980s, with their album Anthem winning the first ever Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album in 1985.-History:The...
. The duo worked on over 100 Jamaican number one hits.
In 1975, he set up his new 16-track studio and record pressing plant and kept producing Jamaican artists under numerous label names (Crazy Joe, Reflections, Belmont, Town & Country). He had success again with
roots reggaeRoots reggae is a subgenre of reggae that concerns itself with the life of the ghetto sufferer, and the rural poor. Lyrical themes include poverty, Black pride, social issues, resistance to government and racial oppression, repatriation, and Rastafari....
, rockers,
lovers rockLovers rock is a style of reggae music noted for its romantic sound and content. While love songs had been an important part of reggae since the late 1960s, the style was given a greater focus and a name in London in the mid 1970s.-History:...
and
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...
artists including: Dennis Brown,
Jacob MillerJacob Miller was a Jamaican reggae artist who first recorded with Clement Dodd. While pursuing a prolific solo career, he became the lead singer for reggae group Inner Circle with whom he recorded until his death...
, Sylford Walker,
The Mighty DiamondsThe Mighty Diamonds are a Jamaican harmony trio, recording roots reggae with a strong Rastafarian influence. The group, which comprises Donald "Tabby" Shaw, Fitzroy "Bunny" Simpson, and Lloyd "Judge" Ferguson, was formed in 1969 and remains together as of 2008...
,
Gregory IsaacsGregory Isaacs is a Jamaican reggae musician. Milo Miles, writing in the New York Times, described Isaacs as "the most exquisite vocalist in reggae".-Biography:...
,
Prince AllaPrince Alla aka Prince Allah or Ras Allah is a roots reggae singer whose career began in the 1960s, and has continued with a string of releases into the 2000s.-Biography:...
and
Junior BylesKerrie Byles is a reggae singer, born July 17, 1948 in Kingston, Jamaica.-The Versatiles:...
.
The 1977
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 ....
album
Two Sevens Clash was a major influence on the then emerging punk scene and an internationally acclaimed production. The album was cited by
punk rockPunk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed the perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band
The ClashThe Clash were an English rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk rock. Along with punk, they experimented with reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap and rockabilly...
. Other successful artists produced by the
Mighty Two during the end of the 1970s include:
Marcia AitkenMarcia Aitken is a reggae singer best known for her recordings in the late 1970s, produced by Joe Gibbs along with Errol Thompson.-Biography:...
,
Althea & DonnaAlthea & Donna were a Jamaican reggae singing duo, best known for their 1977 single "Uptown Top Ranking" which was a number one hit in the United Kingdom in 1978.-Career:...
,
John HoltJohn Holt is a reggae singer and songwriter.-Biography:Holt was born in Kingston in 1947. By the age of 12, he was a regular entrant in talent contests run at Jamaican theatres by Vere Johns...
,
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...
,
Cornell CampbellCornell Campbell aka Don Cornell or Don Gorgon is a reggae singer, best known for his falsetto voice, and his recordings at Studio One in the late 1960s and his work with Bunny Lee in the 1970s....
,
Dean FraserDean Fraser is a Jamaican saxophonist who has contributed to hundreds of reggae recordings since the mid-1970s. He was awarded the Musgrave Medal by the Jamaican government in 1993 in recognition of his services to music.-Biography:Fraser started to play the clarinet at the age of 12...
,
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...
,
Beres HammondBeres Hammond is a reggae singer from Jamaica who is known in particular for his romantic lovers rock...
,
Ranking JoeRanking Joe aka Little Joe is a reggae deejay who rose to prominence in the 1970s and had continuing success in the 1980s.-Biography:...
,
Prince JazzboPrince Jazzbo is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall deejay and producer.Prince Jazzbo began recording with Coxsone Dodd's Studio One label in the early 1970s...
, Prince Mohammed,
DillingerDillinger is a reggae artist.-Biography:As a young man growing up in Kingston, Dillinger would hang around Dennis Alcapone's El Paso sound system...
,
TrinityTrinity aka Junior Brammer is a reggae deejay and producer, whose career began in the mid-1970s and continued into the 1990s.-Biography:Born in 1954, Brammer was educated at the Alpha Boys School...
,
Prince Far IPrince Far I was a reggae deejay and producer and a Rastafarian.-Biography:...
,
Clint EastwoodClint Eastwood is a Jamaican reggae deejay, who recorded as a solo artist in the late 1970s and early 1980s before teaming up with UK deejay General Saint as the duo Clint Eastwood & General Saint.-Biography:...
,
I-RoyRoy Samuel Reid better known as I-Roy was a Jamaican DJ who had a very prolific career during the 1970s.-Biography:...
and Kojak & Liza.
In the 1980s, Gibbs had an international hit with J.C. Lodge's "Someone Loves You Honey" and again in the 1990s–2000s teamed up with Errol Thompson, and
Sydney "Luddy" CrooksSydney Crooks , also known as Sidney Crooks, Sidney George, Luddy Pioneer, and Luddy Crooks, is a Jamaican singer and record producer, and a member of The Pioneers since 1962.-Biography:Crooks was born in Westmoreland and after moving to Trench Town aged 17, entered the music business in...
of
The PioneersThe Pioneers: The Sources of the Susquehanna; a Descriptive Tale is a historical novel, the first published of the Leatherstocking Tales, a series of five novels by American writer James Fenimore Cooper...
, to produce some new music way into the new millennium. Before his death, Gibbs also went into business with Chris Chin of VP Records, which was one of his last business ventures.
He was not married when he died of a heart attack on 21 February 2008 and is survived by his 12 children.
Albums
- Joe Gibbs - Dub Serial - 1974
- Joe Gibbs - African Dub All-Mighty - 1975
- Joe Gibbs - African Dub Chapter 1 & 2 - 1975-1976
- Joe Gibbs - African Dub Chapter 2 - 1976
- Joe Gibbs - State Of Emergency - 1976
- Joe Gibbs - African Dub All-Mighty Chapter 3 - 1978
- Joe Gibbs - African Dub Chapter 3 & 4 - 1978-1979
- Joe Gibbs & Professionals - African Dub Chapter 4 - 1979
- Joe Gibbs - Majestic Dub - 1979
- Joe Gibbs Family - Wish You A Merry Rockers Christmas - 1979
- Joe Gibbs - Rockers Carnival - 1980
- Joe Gibbs - Reggae Christmas - 1982
- Joe Gibbs - African Dub Chapter 5 - 1984
Compilations
- Various Artists - Reggae Masterpiece Vol 01 - 1978 - Joe Gibbs
- Various Artists - Irie Reggae Hits - 1979 - Joe Gibbs
- Various Artists - Top Ranking DJ Session - 1979 - Joe Gibbs
- Various Artists - Shining Stars - 1983 - Joe Gibbs
- Various Artists - Best Of Vintage - Joe Gibbs
- Various Artists - Explosive Rock Steady - 1967-1973 - Heartbeat Records (1991)
- Various Artists - The Mighty Two
-Track listing:#"Rent Man / Resident Area" - Black Uhuru / Jah Grundy – 7:18#"Heavy Manners" - Prince Far-I – 3:16#"Rockers" - Glen Washington – 2:34#"Rockers Dub" - Joe Gibbs and The Professionals – 2:45#"Navel String" - Dennis Walks – 3:14...
- Heartbeat Records (1992)
- Joe Gibbs & Friends - The Reggae Train 1968-1971 - Trojan Records (1988)
- Various Artists - Love Of The Common People 1967-1979 - Trojan Records (2000)
- Various Artists - Uptown Top Ranking - 1970-1978 - Trojan Records (1998)
- Joe Gibbs & The Professionals feat. Errol Thompson - No Bones For The Dogs 1974-1979 -
External links