Greensleeves Records
Encyclopedia
Greensleeves Records & Publishing is a record label
specialising in dancehall
and reggae
music. The company was founded by Chris Cracknell and Chris Sedgwick and started as a small record store in West Ealing
, London
, in November 1975
and is based in Britain
.
They have released records by Anthony Johnson
, Barrington Levy
, Billy Boyo
, Chezidek
, Dennis Brown
, Dr Alimantado
, Eek-A-Mouse
, Elephant Man, Gregory Isaacs
, Keith Hudson
, Mad Cobra
, Scientist
, Shabba Ranks
, Sizzla
, Vybz Kartel
and Yellowman
, and have had crossover pop hits with Tippa Irie
's "Hello, Darling," Shaggy's "Oh, Carolina," Beenie Man
's "Who am I" and Mr Vegas's "Head High." In 2002, Greensleeves released the popular Diwali
album, which launched a global resurgence in dancehall reggae music. The album contained the global hits "No Letting Go" by Wayne Wonder and "Get Busy" by Sean Paul. The riddim
(slightly altered) was also used by Lumidee on the hit "Never Leave You." The label has a catalog of close to 500 albums.
Greensleeves Publishing has the largest catalogue of reggae
songs in the world, including the copyrights of Shaggy's "Oh, Carolina," Sean Paul's "Get Busy", and "Break it Off" among over 20,000 copyrights.
Record label
In 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,...
specialising in 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,...
and 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...
music. The company was founded by Chris Cracknell and Chris Sedgwick and started as a small record store in West Ealing
West Ealing
West Ealing is a place in the London Borough of Ealing in west London.-History:West Ealing in its present form is less than 100 years old....
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, in November 1975
1975 in music
-January–April:*January 2 - New York City U.S. District Court Judge Richard Owen rules that former Beatle John Lennon and his lawyers can have access to Department of Immigration files pertaining to his deportation case....
and is based in Britain
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...
.
They have released records by Anthony Johnson
Anthony Johnson (musician)
Roy Anthony Johnson , better known simply as Anthony Johnson, is a Jamaican reggae singer who was a member of the group Mystic I and is known for the 1980s hit song "Gunshot".-Biography:...
, 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...
, Billy Boyo
Billy Boyo
Billy Boyo was a reggae artist, was probably the most prolific of the early-80’s child MC’s. He is famous for his song "One Spliff a Day".-Biography:...
, Chezidek
Chezidek
Chezidek is a roots reggae singer. He is known for his hit singles, "Call Pon Dem" , "Can't Hear Must Feel", "Inna Di Road", and "Leave De Trees".-Biography:...
, 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...
, Dr Alimantado
Dr Alimantado
Dr Alimantado, born Winston James Thompson, also known as The Ital Surgeon is a Jamaican reggae singer, DJ, and producer.-Biography:Thompson was born in Kingston in 1952, where he adopted the Rastafarian faith at an early age...
, Eek-A-Mouse
Eek-a-Mouse
Eek-A-Mouse is a Jamaican reggae musician. He is one of the early artists to be described as a "singjay".-Biography:...
, Elephant Man, Gregory Isaacs
Gregory Isaacs
Gregory Anthony Isaacs was a Jamaican reggae musician. Milo Miles, writing in the New York Times, described Isaacs as "the most exquisite vocalist in reggae". His nicknames include Cool Ruler and Lonely Lover....
, Keith Hudson
Keith Hudson
Keith Hudson aka the "Dark Prince of Reggae" , was a Jamaican reggae artist and record producer.He is known for his influence on the Dub movement.- Biography :...
, Mad Cobra
Mad Cobra
Ewart Everton Brown , better known by his stage name of Mad Cobra or simply Cobra is a Jamaican reggae musician.-Biography:...
, Scientist
Scientist (musician)
Scientist, born Hopeton Brown in Kingston, Jamaica, 1960 , was a protégé of King Tubby , one of the originators of dub music.-Biography:...
, Shabba Ranks
Shabba Ranks
Shabba Ranks is a Jamaican dancehall musician.He was one of the most popular dancehall artists of his generation. He was also one of the first Jamaican deejays to gain worldwide acceptance, and recognition for his 'slack' lyrical expressions and content, when "ridin' di riddim"...
, Sizzla
Sizzla
Sizzla Kalonji, or simply Sizzla in are de reggae musician. He is one of the most commercially and critically successful contemporary reggae artists and is well-known for his above-average prolificacy...
, Vybz Kartel
Vybz Kartel
Adidja Palmer , better known as Vybz Kartel, is a Jamaican dancehall artist, songwriter and businessman. He has many nicknames, including Addi Teacher and Gaza Emperor.-Biography:...
and Yellowman
Yellowman
Yellowman is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall deejay, widely known as King Yellowman...
, and have had crossover pop hits with Tippa Irie
Tippa Irie
Tippa Irie is a British reggae singer and DJ from Brixton, South London.He first came to prominence in the early eighties as an MC on the South London reggae soundsystem Saxon Studio International....
's "Hello, Darling," Shaggy's "Oh, Carolina," Beenie Man
Beenie Man
Anthony Moses Davis , better known by his stage name Beenie Man, is a Grammy award winning Jamaican reggae artist. He is the self-proclaimed "King of the Dancehall".-Biography:...
's "Who am I" and Mr Vegas's "Head High." In 2002, Greensleeves released the popular Diwali
Diwali Riddim
Greensleeves Rhythm Album #27: Diwali, also known as the Diwali Riddim, is an album and popular dancehall riddim that came to prominence in 2002...
album, which launched a global resurgence in dancehall reggae music. The album contained the global hits "No Letting Go" by Wayne Wonder and "Get Busy" by Sean Paul. The riddim
Riddim
Riddim is the Jamaican Patois pronunciation of the English word "rhythm," but in dancehall/reggae parlance it refers to the instrumental accompaniment to a song. Thus, a dancehall song consists of the riddim plus the "voicing" sung by the deejay. The resulting song structure may be taken for...
(slightly altered) was also used by Lumidee on the hit "Never Leave You." The label has a catalog of close to 500 albums.
Greensleeves Publishing has the largest catalogue of 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...
songs in the world, including the copyrights of Shaggy's "Oh, Carolina," Sean Paul's "Get Busy", and "Break it Off" among over 20,000 copyrights.
See also
- List of record labels
- VP RecordsVP RecordsVP Records is an independent reggae record label, located in Queens, New York. It is best known for producing Caribbean singers.-The foundation:...
- Olivier ChastanOlivier ChastanOlivier Chastan is a record producer and record executive.He started producing rock records in France and then moved to the USA where he worked at Sony Music and BMG. During this period he was also an artist manager focusing on European artists. In 2002, he started The Reel Factory, a video...
- Greensleeves Rhythm AlbumGreensleeves Rhythm AlbumGreensleeves Rhythm Album is a series of various artists compilation albums released by Greensleeves Records. Each volume of the series features tracks from multiple artists recorded over one or two reggae or dancehall riddims produced by various producers...