Tinga Stewart
Encyclopedia
Tinga Stewart is a reggae
singer. Stewart won the Festival Song Contest three times, twice as a singer and once as a songwriter.
of The Clarendonians
. He worked with producer Derrick Harriott
in the early 1970s, with releases such as "Hear That Train", and performed on the PNP
bandwagon in 1971, in support of Michael Manley
's election campaign. He sang with The Wildcats, Byron Lee & the Dragonaires
, and The Boris Gardiner
Happenning, then went solo and had a local hit in 1973 with "Funny Feeling", and won the 1974 Festival Song Contest with Ernie Smith
's "Play de Music", which went on to become a hit in both the Jamaican chart and the United Kingdom
reggae chart. The following year, Tinga wrote "Hooray Festival" with Willie Lindo, the entry sung by his brother Roman Stewart
, which also won. This success led to releases in the UK on the Opal label, but the brothers' festival success hampered their early careers, with them being regarded as 'festival singers'. Tinga was involved in the mid to late 1970s with the Wildflower project, with Lloyd Charmers
and Ernie Smith, and worked extensively on the Jamaican hotel circuit, but his career began to take off again in the late 1970s, with singles recorded at Channel One Studios
, including "Dry Up Your Tears" and "Rainy Night In Georgia", and winning the Festival Song Contest again in 1981 with "Nuh Wey Nuh Better Dan Yard", and the same year being voted the most popular reggae artist in Jamaica. Two albums followed on John Carroll's Calabash label. Singles such as "Gypsy Rasta", "Key To Your Heart", and a version of "Red Red Wine", were followed by what is often considered the first genuine combination single, "Take Time To Know" recorded with the deejay
Ninjaman
. The combination singles continued with "Knock Out Batty" (with Tinga Love) and "I Wanna Take You Home" (with Little Twitch), with the album Tinga Stewart with the Dancehall DJs following. Stewart took part in the Reggae Sunsplash
world tour in 1989, touring Japan
. He continued to record in the 1990s and 2000s, having now released over 200 singles, and has toured the United States
, Canada
, Japan
, England
, and Africa
, as well as working as a producer
.
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...
singer. Stewart won the Festival Song Contest three times, twice as a singer and once as a songwriter.
Biography
Stewart's career began in the late 1960s, his first single being 1969's "She's Gone", with Ernest WilsonErnest Wilson (singer)
Ernest Wilson is a reggae singer who found fame as a member of The Clarendonians before working as a solo artist.-Biography:...
of The Clarendonians
The Clarendonians
The Clarendonians were a ska and rocksteady vocal group from Jamaica, active from the mid to late 1960s.-History:The Clarendonians were originally Fitzroy "Ernest" Wilson and Peter Austin , the duo coming together in 1963 in their native Clarendon...
. He worked with producer Derrick Harriott
Derrick Harriott
Derrick Harriott is a singer and record producer. He has produced recordings by Big Youth, Chariot Riders, The Chosen Few, Dennis Brown, The Ethiopians, Keith & Tex, The Kingstonians, Rudy Mills, Scotty, Sly & Revolutionaries, and Winston McAnuff.-Biography:As a student at Excelsior High School,...
in the early 1970s, with releases such as "Hear That Train", and performed on the PNP
People's National Party
The People's National Party is a social democratic and social liberal Jamaican political party, founded by Norman Manley in 1938. It is the oldest political party in the Anglophone Caribbean and one of the main two political parties in Jamaica. Out of the two major parties, it is considered more...
bandwagon in 1971, in support of Michael Manley
Michael Manley
Michael Norman Manley ON OCC was the fourth Prime Minister of Jamaica . Manley was a democratic socialist....
's election campaign. He sang with The Wildcats, Byron Lee & the Dragonaires
Byron Lee & the Dragonaires
Byron Lee and the Dragonaires are a Jamaican ska, calypso and soca band. The band played a crucial pioneering role in bringing Caribbean music to the world...
, and The Boris Gardiner
Boris Gardiner
Boris Gardiner is a Jamaican singer, songwriter and bass guitarist.-Career:Gardiner performed on the tourist circuit for much of the 1960s and was a member of Carlos Malcolm & the Afro Caribs and Byron Lee's Dragonaires...
Happenning, then went solo and had a local hit in 1973 with "Funny Feeling", and won the 1974 Festival Song Contest with Ernie Smith
Ernie Smith (singer)
Ernie Smith is a reggae singer, with a deep baritone voice, who had his greatest success in the late 1960s and 1970s.-Biography:Smith was born in Kingston and raised in St. Ann...
's "Play de Music", which went on to become a hit in both the Jamaican chart and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
reggae chart. The following year, Tinga wrote "Hooray Festival" with Willie Lindo, the entry sung by his brother Roman Stewart
Roman Stewart
Roman Stewart, also known as Romeo Stewart and 'Mr. Special' was a reggae singer. Stewart won the Festival Song Contest in 1975.-Biography:...
, which also won. This success led to releases in the UK on the Opal label, but the brothers' festival success hampered their early careers, with them being regarded as 'festival singers'. Tinga was involved in the mid to late 1970s with the Wildflower project, with Lloyd Charmers
Lloyd Charmers
Lloyd Charmers is a ska and reggae singer, keyboard player and record producer.-Career:...
and Ernie Smith, and worked extensively on the Jamaican hotel circuit, but his career began to take off again in the late 1970s, with singles recorded at Channel One Studios
Channel One Studios
Channel One is a recording studio in Maxfield Avenue, West Kingston, Jamaica. The studio was built by the Hoo Kim brothers in 1972, and has had a profound influence on the development of reggae music....
, including "Dry Up Your Tears" and "Rainy Night In Georgia", and winning the Festival Song Contest again in 1981 with "Nuh Wey Nuh Better Dan Yard", and the same year being voted the most popular reggae artist in Jamaica. Two albums followed on John Carroll's Calabash label. Singles such as "Gypsy Rasta", "Key To Your Heart", and a version of "Red Red Wine", were followed by what is often considered the first genuine combination single, "Take Time To Know" recorded with the 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...
Ninjaman
Ninjaman
Ninjaman, alias Don Gorgon, is a popular dancehall deejay / Actor, known for his controversial and pro-gun lyrics and his stuttering and melodramatic style...
. The combination singles continued with "Knock Out Batty" (with Tinga Love) and "I Wanna Take You Home" (with Little Twitch), with the album Tinga Stewart with the Dancehall DJs following. Stewart took part in the Reggae Sunsplash
Reggae Sunsplash
Reggae Sunsplash is a reggae music festival first staged in 1978 in the northern part of Jamaica. In 1985 it expanded with the addition of an international touring festival...
world tour in 1989, touring Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. He continued to record in the 1990s and 2000s, having now released over 200 singles, and has toured the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, 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...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, 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...
, and Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, as well as working as a producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
.
Albums
- I Feel The Music (1981) Calabash
- Key To Your Heart (1984) Calabash/Londisc
- Respect Me (1989)
- With the Dancehall DJs (1993) RASRAS RecordsRAS Records, also known as Real Authentic Sound, is a reggae record label.-History:RAS Records was founded in 1979 by Doctor Dread. In his travels to Jamaica he created a network within the reggae artist community there. By the early to mid 1980s RAS had signed artists such as Black Uhuru, Inner...
- Aware of Love (1994) VPVP RecordsVP Records is an independent reggae record label, located in Queens, New York. It is best known for producing Caribbean singers.-The foundation:...
- No Drugs (1998) Jammy's
- Without Love (1998) Rhino
- Under Your Spell Hopekatina
- From the Archives
- Ninja & Tinga alongside the Dancehall Greats
- Brother to Brother with Roman Stewart
- Break Down the Barrier with Roman Stewart
- Returns with the Dancehall DJs (1998) Nyam Up
- Unforgettable (2000) VP
- Ready to Groove (2004)
Video releases
Stewart appears on the following concert videos:- Reggae Sunsplash Dancehall '88 (1988) CharlyCharly RecordsCharly Records is a British record label which specialises in reissued material.-History:Among the labels whose original releases are reissued by Charly are Vee-Jay, Sun, Immediate, BYG, Tomato, and Fania. Charly Records was founded in France in 1974 by Jean-Luc Young, who had been a promoter of...
(VHS) - Western Consciousness Part Two (2005) Jet StarJet StarJet Star was a United Kingdom record distribution company that grew out of Pama Records in 1978. It was one of the largest distributors of reggae music, the company themselves claiming the title "the world's largest reggae distributors".-History:Jet Star was formed in 1978 by the Palmer Brothers,...
(DVD) - Vintage Reggae Bash - Brooklyn 1983 (2007) Plastic Head (DVD)