Prince
Lincoln Thompson, known as
Sax, was a Jamaican singer, musician and
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:...
with the
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...
band the Royal Rasses, and a member of the
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....
. He was born June 18, 1949 in the west side of
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...
,
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...
and died of
cancerCancer is a class of diseases in which a group of cells display uncontrolled growth , invasion , and sometimes metastasis...
in
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
on January 23, 1999 days after being first diagnosed. He was noted for his high falsetto singing voice, very different from his spoken voice.
He began his recording career as a harmony singer along with
Cedric MytonCedric Myton born in Jamaica is a Reggae musician and Rastafarian. Myton played with Prince Lincoln Thompson in The Tartans in the early 1970s until they apparently fell out. Cedric Myton claims he was one of the backing harmony vocals on Prince Lincoln's Humanity album recorded in 1975, but he is...
of
The CongosThe Congos are a reggae vocal group from Jamaica active on and off from the mid-1970s until the present day. They are best known for their Heart of the Congos album, recorded with Lee "Scratch" Perry.-History:...
in 1967 in a band called
The TartansThe Tartans were a rocksteady group who came together in 1967 in Kingston, Jamaica. The members were initially Prince Lincoln Thompson, Cedric Myton, Devon Russell and Lindberg Lewis....
who then split up in 1969.
Prince
Lincoln Thompson, known as
Sax, was a Jamaican singer, musician and
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:...
with the
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...
band the Royal Rasses, and a member of the
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....
. He was born June 18, 1949 in the west side of
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...
,
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...
and died of
cancerCancer is a class of diseases in which a group of cells display uncontrolled growth , invasion , and sometimes metastasis...
in
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
on January 23, 1999 days after being first diagnosed. He was noted for his high falsetto singing voice, very different from his spoken voice.
Biography
He began his recording career as a harmony singer along with
Cedric MytonCedric Myton born in Jamaica is a Reggae musician and Rastafarian. Myton played with Prince Lincoln Thompson in The Tartans in the early 1970s until they apparently fell out. Cedric Myton claims he was one of the backing harmony vocals on Prince Lincoln's Humanity album recorded in 1975, but he is...
of
The CongosThe Congos are a reggae vocal group from Jamaica active on and off from the mid-1970s until the present day. They are best known for their Heart of the Congos album, recorded with Lee "Scratch" Perry.-History:...
in 1967 in a band called
The TartansThe Tartans were a rocksteady group who came together in 1967 in Kingston, Jamaica. The members were initially Prince Lincoln Thompson, Cedric Myton, Devon Russell and Lindberg Lewis....
who then split up in 1969. In 1971 he was taken on by
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...
, and recorded 3 songs with him at
Studio OneStudio One is one of Jamaica's most renowned record labels and recording studios, having been described as "the Motown of Jamaica."Studio One was involved with most of the major music movements in Jamaica during the 1960s and 1970s, including ska, rocksteady, reggae, dub and dancehall...
called
Daughters of ZionZion is a term that most often designates the Land of Israel and its capital, Jerusalem. The word is found in texts dating back almost three millennia...
,
True Experience and
Live up to your name. In 1974 he recorded the
Humanity album with Cedric Myton, Clinton Hall and Keith Peterkin, and set up the God Sent label in order to sell it. He had two hit singles with
Love the way it should be and
Kingston 11.
Record deal
He was only selling a tiny number of records until in 1978 he was signed up by Mo Claridge, who at the time ran Ballistics Records, a London offshoot of
United ArtistsUnited Artists Entertainment LLC is an American film studio. The current United Artists was formed in November 2006 under a partnership between producer/actor Tom Cruise and his production partner, Paula Wagner, and Metro–Goldwyn–Mayer Studios Inc., an MGM company...
. A single
Unconventional people was released as a 12 inch single in March 1979 with the
Humanity album following in May. That summer of 79 the Royal Rasses recorded a second Prince Lincoln album,
Experience, this time without Cedric Myton. This album contained more than just the traditional drum and bass sound of most reggae. The band renamed themselves the Rasses to avoid confusion with fellow reggae band
The RoyalsThe Royals were a Jamaican roots reggae vocal group formed in 1964 by Roy Cousins. They continued to record, with a varying line-up until the mid-1980s.-History:...
to record a further album called
Natural Wild in summer 1980. This time the music was made in London. Prince Lincoln's decision to invite English rock musician
Joe JacksonJoe Jackson is an English musician and singer–songwriter, now living in Berlin, whose five Grammy Award nominations span from 1979 to 2001...
was controversial, and the album was a commercial flop.
Thompson returned to Jamaica and re-set up the God Sent label with the help of
GermanGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
company Juicy Peeple to produce his fourth album
Ride with the Rasses in 1982. This music was recorded at Tuff Gong and
Channel OneChannel One News is a 12 minute news program for teens broadcast via satellite to middle schools and high schools across the United States.Channel One is owned by Alloy Media + Marketing and based in New York City.-Program History:...
studios, but again was not commercially successful. Around this time he and his family moved to
TottenhamTottenham is an urban area of North London, England in the London Borough of Haringey, situated north-east of Charing Cross.-History:There has been a settlement at Tottenham for over a thousand years...
,
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
where he opened an
ItalFor the car, see Morris Ital.Ital or I-tal is food often celebrated by those in the Rastafari movement. The word derives from the English word "vital", with the initial syllable replaced by i. This is done to many words in the Rastafari vocabulary to signify the unity of the speaker with all of...
shop called
The Rasses Fish and Grocery Store. In September 1983 he recorded
Rootsman Blues in Addis Ababa studio in London. It was released by Target Records with only three musicians per track, giving the music the intimate quality of
chamber musicChamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
.
Later career
He released a final album,
21st century in 1997 after someone from the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
heard the music in Thompson's shop and agreed to become a sponsor. This final album was also recorded in London.
Singles
- Daughters of Zion
Zion is a term that most often designates the Land of Israel and its capital, Jerusalem. The word is found in texts dating back almost three millennia...
(1971)
- True Experience (1971)
- Live up to your name (1971)
Albums
- Humanity 1974
- Experience 1979 (The lyrics from Walk in Jah light and Thanksgiving have been used to explain the doctrine of physical immortality at Rastafari movement
The 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....
).
- Harder na Rass
Harder na Rass is a dub reggae album by Lincoln Thompson released in 1979. It is the dub for his Experience album.-Track listing:#Interstellar Over Dub#Second Sight#Nebular Dub#Time Wharp#Universally Dubbed#Terrestrial Dub#Gravitational Echoes...
1979
- Natural Wild
Natural Wild is a reggae album by Jamaican artist Lincoln Thompson released in 1980 and recorded in the United Kingdom. Joe Jackson collaborated on the album whose central theme was the promotion of the culture and morality of the Rastafari movement...
1980
- Ride with the Rasses
Ride with the Rasses is the fifth album by Jamaican reggae artist Lincoln Thompson. The album was released 1982.- Track listing :# "One Common Need"# "Kinky Money Game"# "Come Spring"# "Fall Back"# "The Brotherhood Of Man"# "Ride With The Rasses"...
1982
- Rootsman Blues
Rootsman Blues is a reggae album by Lincoln Thompson in London, England and released in September 1983.-Track listing:#Unite the world#Hail Shanti#Whopping good vibration#Rootsman Blues#Revolutionary man#You make me feel alright...
1983 also titled Unite The World
- 21st century
-Track listing:#Intro#Heroes just the same#21st century#Hard times come again#Hear our cry#Let freedom reign#Fire burning#Preacher man#Ain't gonna...#Meditation time#Outro...
1997
External links