Trinity (musician)
Encyclopedia
Trinity aka Junior Brammer (b. Wade Brammer, 1954, Kingston, Jamaica
) is a reggae
deejay
and producer
, whose career began in the mid-1970s and continued into the 1990s.
. After initially working under the name Prince Glen, he began working under the stage name Trinity, taken from the spaghetti western
character. After working as a deejay on several Kingston sound systems, he made his debut recording in March 1976 with "Set Up Yourself" for producer Joseph Hoo Kim
. "Words of The Prophet" followed for Yabby You
, who also produced his debut album, Shanty Town Determination. Late in 1976, he joined up with Dillinger
for the "Crank Face" single, and the Clash album, produced by UK
-based producer Clement Bushay
. 1977 saw the deejay in great demand, recording more than 20 singles for a variety of producers, including Winston Riley
, Tommy Cowan
, Joe Gibbs
, and Yabby You, his biggest hit coming with "Three Piece Suit" for Gibbs, featuring Trinity toasting over a new version of Alton Ellis
's "I'm Still In Love With You" rhythm, with a lyric that anticipated the move from 'cultural' lyrics to more material/carnal concerns of the dancehall
era. This prompted an answer record from Althea & Donna
using the same rhythm, in the form of the UK-chart topping "Uptown Top Ranking". Trinity recorded "Slim Thing" in response, but failed to match Althea & Donna's success. 1977 also saw the release of the Uptown Girl album, produced by Bunny Lee
, and strong albums in 1978 in the form of Three Piece Chicken and Chips (with Ranking Trevor) and Showcase. In 1978, Trinity also performed at the One Love Peace Concert
in Kingston. In the later 1970s, Trinity began producing both himself and other artists, starting his own Flag Man label. In 1979, he recorded the duet "Funny Feeling" with Dennis Brown
, and joined up with Barrington Levy
for "Lose Respect" and "I Need a Girl" in 1979 and 1980 respectively. Subsequent albums met with diminishing commercial success, and Trinity switched from deejaying to singing, releasing the albums Telephone Line and Hold Your Corner in 1987 under the name Junior Brammer.
Trinity's younger brother, Robert Brammer, also had a successful career as a deejay
, recording under the name Clint Eastwood
.
as Junior Brammer
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...
) is a reggae
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...
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...
and 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...
, whose career began in the mid-1970s and continued into the 1990s.
Biography
Born in 1954, Brammer was educated at the Alpha Boys SchoolAlpha Boys School
Alpha Cottage School is a school on South Camp Road in Kingston, Jamaica, run by Roman Catholic nuns...
. After initially working under the name Prince Glen, he began working under the stage name Trinity, taken from the spaghetti western
Spaghetti Western
Spaghetti Western, also known as Italo-Western, is a nickname for a broad sub-genre of Western films that emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's unique and much copied film-making style and international box-office success, so named by American critics because most were produced and...
character. After working as a deejay on several Kingston sound systems, he made his debut recording in March 1976 with "Set Up Yourself" for producer Joseph Hoo Kim
Joseph Hoo Kim
-Career:Shortly after the Jamaican government banned gaming machines in the early 1970s, Joe Joe Hookim and his brother Ernest, abandoned their jobs as machine operators, and jumped into the music business. By 1973, the Hookims had opened their own studio, Channel One, with Joe Joe as its hands-on...
. "Words of The Prophet" followed for Yabby You
Yabby You
Vivian Jackson , better known as Yabby You , was a reggae vocalist and producer, who came to prominence in the early 1970s through his uncompromising, self-produced work.-Biography:...
, who also produced his debut album, Shanty Town Determination. Late in 1976, he joined up with Dillinger
Dillinger (musician)
Dillinger is a reggae artist.-Biography:As a young man growing up in Kingston, Dillinger would hang around Dennis Alcapone's El Paso sound system...
for the "Crank Face" single, and the Clash album, produced by UK
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...
-based producer Clement Bushay
Clement Bushay
Clement "Clem" Bushay is a United Kingdom-based reggae producer who also ran the Bushays record label.-Biography:Bushay's productions in the early 1970s were issued by Trojan Records, and he produced early releases by Owen Gray and Louisa Mark , and was one of the early producers of UK Lovers rock...
. 1977 saw the deejay in great demand, recording more than 20 singles for a variety of producers, including Winston Riley
Winston Riley
Winston Riley worked as a songwriter and record producer of Jamaican music. According to the Jamaica Gleaner, Riley has a claim to being the most successful reggae producer of all-time.-Biography:...
, Tommy Cowan
Tommy Cowan
Tommy Cowan is a producer and singer, initially working in reggae but later concentrating on gospel, who has been involved in the music business since the 1960s...
, Joe Gibbs
Joe Gibbs (record producer)
Joe Gibbs born Joel A. Gibson was a Jamaican reggae producer.-Biography:Joe Gibbs worked as an electronics engineer in the United States before his career in music started. Gibbs eventually returned to Kingston, Jamaica and opened an electrical repair shop with television repairs and sales as its...
, and Yabby You, his biggest hit coming with "Three Piece Suit" for Gibbs, featuring Trinity toasting over a new version of Alton Ellis
Alton Ellis
Alton Nehemiah Ellis, OD, was a Jamaican musician best known as one of the innovators of rocksteady music and was often referred to as the "Godfather of Rocksteady". In 2006, he was inducted into the International Reggae And World Music Awards Hall Of Fame.-Biography:Ellis was born in 1938 and...
's "I'm Still In Love With You" rhythm, with a lyric that anticipated the move from 'cultural' lyrics to more material/carnal concerns of the dancehall
Dancehall
Dancehall 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. This prompted an answer record from Althea & Donna
Althea & Donna
Althea & 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:...
using the same rhythm, in the form of the UK-chart topping "Uptown Top Ranking". Trinity recorded "Slim Thing" in response, but failed to match Althea & Donna's success. 1977 also saw the release of the Uptown Girl album, produced by 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:...
, and strong albums in 1978 in the form of Three Piece Chicken and Chips (with Ranking Trevor) and Showcase. In 1978, Trinity also performed at the One Love Peace Concert
One Love Peace Concert
The One Love Peace Concert was a large concert held on April 22, 1978 at The National Stadium in Kingston, Jamaica.This concert was held during a political civil war in Jamaica between opposing parties Jamaican Labour Party and the People's National Party...
in Kingston. In the later 1970s, Trinity began producing both himself and other artists, starting his own Flag Man label. In 1979, he recorded the duet "Funny Feeling" with Dennis Brown
Dennis Brown
Dennis 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...
, and joined up with Barrington Levy
Barrington Levy
Barrington 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...
for "Lose Respect" and "I Need a Girl" in 1979 and 1980 respectively. Subsequent albums met with diminishing commercial success, and Trinity switched from deejaying to singing, releasing the albums Telephone Line and Hold Your Corner in 1987 under the name Junior Brammer.
Trinity's younger brother, Robert Brammer, also had a successful career as a 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...
, recording under the name Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood (musician)
Clint 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:...
.
Albums
as Trinity- Shanty Town Determination (1977) TR International, reissued (2000) Blood and Fire in expanded form
- Clash (1977) Burning Sounds (Dillinger verses Trinity)
- Three Piece Suit (1977) Joe Gibbs
- "Real Ranking" (1977) Althea Douna (sic) & Trinity (Jam Sound Production) 12" Disco Mix
- Uptown Girl (1977) Magnum, reissued as Side Kiks (1983) Vista Sounds
- Three Piece Chicken and Chips (1978) Cha Cha (with Ranking Trevor)
- At His Toasting Best (1978) Gorgon
- Dreadlocks Satisfaction (1978) Jackpot
- Showcase (1978) Burning Sounds
- African Revolution (1979) GG's
- Trinity Meet The Mighty Diamonds (1979) Gorgon (with The Mighty DiamondsThe Mighty DiamondsMighty Diamonds are a Jamaican harmony trio, recording roots reggae with a strong Rastafarian influence. The group, which comprised Donald "Tabby" Shaw, Fitzroy "Bunny" Simpson, and Lloyd "Judge" Ferguson, was formed in 1969, and remains together as of 2010...
) - Rock In The Ghetto (1979) TrojanTrojan 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...
- African Christmas (1979), Top Ranking - with Hortense EllisHortense EllisHortense 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...
- Have a Little Faith (1980) Micron, also issued (2002) Thompson Sounds, and as Life (2004) Clocktower, with different tracklisting
- Bad Card (1981) Joe Gibbs
- Full House (1981) JB
- Yabby You Meets Trinity At Dub Station (19??) Yabby U
- Teen Jam (1983) Kingdom (Trinity featuring Little Culture)
- The Best Of Trinity (1985) Culture Press
- Around The World (198?) Yard International
- Natty Tired To Carry Load (1988) Burning Sounds
- Burning (1992) Lagoon
- Big Big Man (1993) Esoldun
- DJ Originators Head To Head Vol 2 (200?) Rocky One (Prince Far IPrince Far IPrince Far I was a Jamaican reggae deejay, producer and a Rastafarian. He was known for his gruff voice and critical assessment of the Jamaican government. His track "Heavy Manners" used lyrics against measures initiated towards violent crime.-Biography:He was born Michael James Williams in...
& Trinity)
as Junior Brammer
- Telephone Line (1987) John Dread
- Hold Your Corner (1987) Live & Learn