Stranger Cole, also known as StrangeJah Cole (born Wilburn Theodore Cole, 1945) is a 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...

n singer whose long recording career dates from the early days of ska

Ska

Ska |Jamaican]] ) 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...

 in 1962 through to the 2000s.

Biography

Cole was born in Kingston, Jamaica

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...

 in 1945 and nicknamed "Stranger" by his family, as they considered that he didn't resemble any member of his kin. Cole was initially successful as a songwriter, writing "In and out the Window", which was a hit for Eric "Monty" Morris. This success gave him the chance to make his recording debut in 1962, instantly finding success with singles such as "Rough and Tough" and "When You Call My Name" (a duet with Patsy Todd) for producer Arthur "Duke" Reid

Duke Reid

Treasure Isle re-directs here. For the game, see Treasure Isle .Arthur "Duke" Reid, CD was a Jamaican record producer, DJ and label owner....

. Further success followed with singles for Reid through to the mid-1960s, and he also worked with other producers at this time, including Clement "Coxsone" Dodd (a duet with Ken Boothe

Ken Boothe

Ken Boothe OD is a Jamaican recording artist.-Biography:Ken Boothe was born in the Denham Town area of Kingston in 1948, the youngest of seven children, and began singing in school...

 on "Worlds Fair"), and Prince Buster

Prince Buster

Cecil Bustamente Campbell, O.D. , better known as Prince Buster, and also known by his Muslim name Muhammed Yusef Ali, is a musician from Kingston, Jamaica. He is regarded as one of the most important figures in the history of ska and rocksteady music...

. Further duets included recordings with Gladstone Anderson

Gladstone Anderson

Gladstone Anderson , also known by his nickname "Gladdy", is a Jamaican pianist, keyboard player, and singer, who has played a major part in the island's musical history, playing a key role in defining the ska sound and the rocksteady beat, and playing on hundreds of recordings as a session...

 (on "Just Like a River") and Hortense Ellis

Hortense Ellis

Hortense Ellis was a reggae musician, and the younger sister of fellow artist, Alton Ellis.-Biography:Her father worked on the railways while her mother ran a fruit stall. She was 18 years old when she appeared on the Vere Johns Opportunity Hour, then Jamaica's foremost outlet for young...

, the tendency to record duets apparently due to his shyness when it came to singing alone. In the late 1960s and early 1970s he recorded with several producers, including Bunny Lee

Bunny Lee

Edward 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:...

, Lee "Scratch" Perry, and Sonia Pottinger

Sonia Pottinger

Sonia Eloise Pottinger OD was 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.Married to music producer Lyndon Pottinger, she...

. These included further material with Todd as Stranger & Patsy. In 1971 he emigrated to England, where he toured extensively, and moved on again to Canada in 1973, settling 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...

. He worked as a machinist in the Tonka Toy factory in Toronto and later opened the first Caribbean record shop in Toronto His first album, "Foward" in the Land of Sunshine, was released in 1976, with a handful of further albums released over the next ten years, most on his own label. In 2006, Cole released his first album in twenty years, Morning Train, a collaboration with Jah Shaka

Jah Shaka

Jah Shaka has been operating a South East London-based, roots reggae Jamaican sound system since the early 1970s. His name is an amalgamation of the Rastafarian term for God and that of a Zulu warrior, Shaka Zulu.-Career:...

. Cole is featured in the 2009 documentary Rocksteady: The Roots of Reggae, in which he and other stars of the rocksteady era reunited to record a new album of the same name, released in August 2009.

Cole's son, Squiddly, followed him into a music career, working as a drummer

Drummer

A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...

 for artists including Ziggy Marley

Ziggy Marley

David "Ziggy" Marley is a Jamaican musician and leader of the band Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers. He is the oldest son of famed reggae musician Bob Marley...

 and Mutabaruka

Mutabaruka

Mutabaruka is a dub poet. His name comes from the Rwandan language and translates as "one who is always victorious". He lives in Potosi District, St. James with his significant other, Yvonne, and their two childern. Mutabaruka continues to perform and write poems on every issue known to man...

.

Albums

• "Foward" in the Land of Sunshine (1976), Ron Lew
• The First Ten Years of Stranger Cole (1978), Stranger Cole
• Capture Land (1980), Stranger Cole
• The Patriot (1982), Stranger Cole
• No More Fussing and Fighting (1986), Scorcher
• Dramatic (2003), Stranger Cole & King Banana
• Bangarang (the Best of) (2003), Trojan
  Trojan Records
  Trojan 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...
  
  
• Morning Train (2006), Jah Shaka Music
• Fabulous Songs of Miss Sonia Pottinger Vol.1 (2008), Drum&Bass (Queen Patsy & Stranger Cole)
• Ska 1959 - 1969, Stranger Cole
• Hice Gold, Wacam

Singles

• "Rough and Tough" (1963), Blue Beat
• "Miss Dreamer" (1963), Blue Beat
• "Stranger at the Door" (1963), Island
  Island Records
  Island Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group...
  
  
• "Last Love" (1963), Island
• "We are Rolling" (1963), Island
• "Morning Star" (1963), Island
• "Thick In Love" (1963), R&B (Stranger and Ken
  Ken Boothe
  Ken Boothe OD is a Jamaican recording artist.-Biography:Ken Boothe was born in the Denham Town area of Kingston in 1948, the youngest of seven children, and began singing in school...
  
  )
• "When You Call My Name" (1963), Blue Beat (Stranger & Patsy)
• "Senor & Senorita" (1963), Island (Stranger & Patsy)
• "Happy Go Lucky" (1964), Black Swan (B-side of Theo Beckford's "Take Your Time")
• "Uno Dos Tres" (1964), Black Swan
• "Summer Day" (1964), Black Swan
• "Boy Blue" (1964), Black Swan
• "Til My Dying Days" (1964), Island
• "Goodbye Peggy" (1964), Island
• "Out of Many" (1964), R&B
• "I Want to Go Home" (1964), Black Swan (Stranger & Ken)
• "Hey Little Girl" (1964), Black Swan (Stranger & Patsy)
• "Oh Oh I Need You" (1964), Island (Stranger & Patsy)
• "Tom Dick & Harry" (1964), Island (Stranger & Patsy)
• "Yeah Yeah Baby" (1964), Island (Stranger & Patsy)
• "Miss B" (1964), Island (Stranger & Patsy)
• "I'll Forgive You" (1964), R&B (Stranger & Patsy)
• "Millie Maw" (19??), Dutchess
• "Real Real" (19??), Dutchess
• "Love Thy Neighbour" (1965), Ska-Beat (B-side of Roland Alphonso
  Roland Alphonso
  Roland Alphonso O.D. or Rolando Alphonso aka The Chief Musician was a Jamaican tenor saxophonist, and one of the founding members of The Skatalites....
  
  's "Nuclear Weapon")
• "When the Party Is Over" (1965), Blue Beat
• "Koo Koo Doo" (1965), Island
• "Run Joe" (1965), Island
• "Pussy Cat" (1965), Island
• "Matilda" (1965), Blue Beat (B-side to Buster's All Stars' "Captain Burke")
• "Seven Days" (1965), Island (B-side to Baba Brooks' "Independent Ska" - Stranger & Claudette)
• "We Shall Overcome" (1966), Dr. Bird
• "Drop the Ratchet" (1966), Dr. Bird
• "Loving Wine" (1966), Dr. Bird (B-side of Tommy McCook
  Tommy McCook
  Tommy 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...
  
  's "Spanish Eyes" - Stranger & Hortense
  Hortense Ellis
  Hortense Ellis was a reggae musician, and the younger sister of fellow artist, Alton Ellis.-Biography:Her father worked on the railways while her mother ran a fruit stall. She was 18 years old when she appeared on the Vere Johns Opportunity Hour, then Jamaica's foremost outlet for young...
  
  )
• "You Took My Love" (1967), Dr. Bird
• "Tell It To Me" (1967), Dr. Bird (Stranger & Patsy)

• "Down the Trainlines" (1967) Dr. Bird (Stranger & Patsy)
• "Jeboza Macoo" (1968), Island
• "Just Like a River" (1968), Amalgamated (Stranger Cole & Gladstone Anderson
  Gladstone Anderson
  Gladstone Anderson , also known by his nickname "Gladdy", is a Jamaican pianist, keyboard player, and singer, who has played a major part in the island's musical history, playing a key role in defining the ska sound and the rocksteady beat, and playing on hundreds of recordings as a session...
  
  )
• "Seeing is Knowing" (1968), Amalgamated (Stranger & Gladdy)
• "Love Me Today" (1968), Island (Stranger & Gladdy)
• "Over Again" (1968), Island (Stranger & Gladdy)
• "What Mama Na Want She Get" (1969), Amalgamated
• "Glad You're Living" (1969), Duke
• "Pretty Cottage" (1969), Escort
• "Leana Leana" (1969), Escort
• "Last Flight to Reggae City" (1969) Unity (Stranger Cole & Tommy McCook & the Supersonics)
• "When I Get My Freedom" (1969), Unity
• "If We Should Ever Meet" (1969), Unity (B-side of Lester Sterling
  Lester Sterling
  Lester Sterling is a Jamaican trumpet and saxophone player.-Biography:Like many Jamaican musicians of his generation, Sterling attended the Alpha Boys School....
  
  's "Bangarang")
• "My Love" (1969), Escort (Stranger & Patsy)
• "Why Did You" (1969), Escort (Stranger & Patsy)
• "Give it To Me" (1969), Camel (B-side of Delroy Wilson
  Delroy Wilson
  Delroy 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...
  
  's "Sad Mood")
• "You Should Never Have to Come" (1969), Crab (B-side of Ernest Wilson
  Ernest Wilson (singer)
  Ernest Wilson is a reggae singer who found fame as a member of The Clarendonians before working as a solo artist.-Biography:...
  
  's "Freedom Train")
• "Tomorrow" (1970), Escort (B-side of Lloyd Clarke's "Chicken Thief")
• "Everyday Tomorrow" (1970), Camel
• "Loneliness" (1970), Escort
• "Little Things" (1970), Escort
• "Everything With You" (1970), Escort
• "Pussy" (1970), Escort
• "Lift Your Head Up High" (1970), Gas
• "Come Dance With Me" (1970), Pama
  Pama Records
  Pama 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:...
  
  
• "Crying Every Night" (1971), Camel
• "Tomorrow" (1971), Clandisc (Stranger & Gladdy)
• "My Application" (1971), Supreme (Stranger & Gladdy)
• "My Confession" (1972), Jackpot
• "The House Where Bombo Lives" (1972), Pama
• "Mail Man" (1972), Tropical
• "Bringing in the Sheaves" (1972), Green Door (Hortense Ellis & Stranger Cole)
• "Mocking Bird" (197?) Count Shelly (Stranger Cole & Hortense)
• "Time is Now" (19??), Wackies
  Wackies
  Wackies is an American independent record label specialized in reggae and dub music.Founded in the 1970s by Lloyd Barnes, as the Wackie's House Of Music based on White Plains Road in New York, the name Wackies also include a record shop and a studio...
  
  (12")
• "No More Fussing and Fighting" (198?), Roots (12")
• "Don't Play" (2007), Soul of Anbessa (7")
• "Crown Me" (????), Strange Jah (B-side of Baba Brooks' "Baba Brooks Special")

External links

• Stranger Cole at Roots Archives
• Discography at discogs.com