Linval Thompson is a Jamaican
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...
and
dubDub is a genre of music which grew out of reggae music in the 1960s, and is commonly considered a subgenre, though it has developed to extend beyond the scope of reggae...
musicianA musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
and
record producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
.
Biography
Thompson was raised in Kingston, Jamaica, but spent time with his mother in Queens,
New YorkNew 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...
, and his
recordingSound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
career began around the age of 20 with the self-released "No Other Woman," recorded in
BrooklynBrooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York. Returning to Jamaica in the mid 1970s he recorded with
Phil PrattPhil Pratt, born George Phillips is a Jamaican reggae singer and record producer.Phil Pratt worked at Studio One for Coxsone Dodd as a box-loader during the rocksteady period when Lee Perry was operating there, before moving to the United Kingdom in the early 1960s...
, only to return to New York to study
engineeringEngineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
. Returning again to Jamaica, he worked with Lee "Scratch" Perry at his
Black ArkThe Black Ark was the recording studio of reggae and dub producer Lee "Scratch" Perry, built in 1973 and located behind his family's home in the Washington Gardens neighborhood of Kingston, Jamaica...
studioA recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
, recording "Kung Fu Man", and recorded with
Bunny LeeEdward O'Sullivan Lee, better known as Bunny "Striker" Lee is a prominent, prolific and successful record producer best known for his work in the 1960s and 1970s.-Biography:...
, which resulted in his debut
albumAn 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...
,
Don't Cut Off Your Dreadlocks, in 1976. Thompson began to produce his own material, the first fruits being the
TrojanTrojan Records is a British record label founded in 1968. It specialises in ska, rocksteady, reggae and dub music. The label currently operates under the Sanctuary Records Group. The name Trojan comes from the Croydon-built Trojan truck that was used as Duke Reid's sound system in Jamaica...
album,
I Love Marijuana (1978), and its dub counterpart
Negrea Love Dub. Although he continued to work as a singer, he became increasingly prominent as a producer, working with key artists of the late
rootsRoots reggae is a subgenre of reggae that deals with the everyday lives and aspirations of the artists concerned, including the spiritual side of Rastafari and with the honoring of God, called Jah by rastafarians. It also is identified with the life of the ghetto sufferer, and the rural poor...
and early
dancehallDancehall 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,...
era such as
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...
,
Cornell CampbellCornell Campbell aka Don Cornell or Don Gorgon is a reggae singer, best known for his trademark falsetto voice, and his recordings at Studio One in the late 1960s and his later work with Bunny Lee in the 1970s.-Biography:Cornel has one of the sweetest falsettos of any Jamaican vocalist and uses it...
,
The Wailing SoulsThe Wailing Souls are a Jamaican reggae vocal group still recording and performing live, whose origins date back to the 1960s.-Career:They have recorded with many top Jamaican record producers including Coxsone Dodd of Studio One, Lloyd "King Jammy" James, Henry "Junjo" Lawes, Delroy Wilson and...
,
Barrington LevyBarrington Levy is a reggae and dancehall artist from Jamaica.-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
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...
, with releases through
Trojan RecordsTrojan Records is a British record label founded in 1968. It specialises in ska, rocksteady, reggae and dub music. The label currently operates under the Sanctuary Records Group. The name Trojan comes from the Croydon-built Trojan truck that was used as Duke Reid's sound system in Jamaica...
as well as his own Strong Like Sampson and Thompson Koos
record labelIn the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
s.
Thompson's productions were used as the basis of some of
ScientistScientist, born Hopeton Brown in Kingston, Jamaica, 1960 , was a protégé of King Tubby , one of the originators of dub music.-Biography:...
's best-known dub albums. He has also produced albums for
Eek-A-MouseEek-A-Mouse is a Jamaican reggae musician. He is one of the early artists to be described as a "singjay".-Biography:...
,
Freddie McGregorFreddie McGregor has been variously a singer, musician and producer. According to Allmusic he is one of reggae's most durable and soulful singers, with a steady career that started in the 1960s, when he was just seven years old.-Biography:In 1963 he joined with Ernest Wilson and Peter Austin to...
, and
The ViceroysThe Viceroys, also known as The Voiceroys, The Interns, The Inturns, The Brothers, and The Hot Tops, are a reggae vocal group who first recorded in 1967. After releasing several albums in the late 1970s and early 1980s, they split up in the mid-1980s...
.
External links