Jackie Edwards
Encyclopedia
Wilfred Gerald "Jackie" Edwards (1938 – 15 August 1992) was a Jamaican musician
and songwriter
, whose career took in ska
, R&B
, soul
, rocksteady
, reggae
, and ballad
s.
, and came to the attention of Chris Blackwell
in 1959; when Blackwell set up Island Records
in London in 1962, Edwards travelled with him. Edwards worked as a singer and songwriter for Island as well as performing duties such as delivering records. He wrote both "Keep On Running" and "Somebody Help Me
", that became #1 singles in the United Kingdom
for The Spencer Davis Group. He continued to work as a recording artist himself, with regular album releases through to the mid 1980s. Much of his later work was produced
by Bunny Lee
, and he also worked with The Aggrovators
. Edwards' music is published through London based Fairwood Music (UK) Ltd.
Edwards also worked as a producer, co-producing the 1977 album Move Up Starsky by The Mexicano
.
He died in August 1992 of a heart attack
.
Musician
A 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 songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
, whose career took in 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...
, R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
, soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
, rocksteady
Rocksteady
Rocksteady is a music genre that originated in Jamaica around 1966. A successor to ska and a precursor to reggae, rocksteady was performed by Jamaican vocal harmony groups such as The Gaylads, The Maytals and The Paragons. The term rocksteady comes from a dance style that was mentioned in the Alton...
, 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...
, and ballad
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
s.
Career
Edwards was born in JamaicaJamaica
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...
, and came to the attention of Chris Blackwell
Chris Blackwell
Christopher Percy Gordon "Chris" Blackwell is a British record producer and businessman, who was the founder of Island Records, acknowledged as the most successful and groundbreaking independent record company in history. Blackwell has been a music industry mogul for over fifty years...
in 1959; when Blackwell set up Island Records
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...
in London in 1962, Edwards travelled with him. Edwards worked as a singer and songwriter for Island as well as performing duties such as delivering records. He wrote both "Keep On Running" and "Somebody Help Me
Somebody Help Me
"Somebody Help Me" is the title of a single by The Spencer Davis Group, which was released in 1966. It became a number-one hit in the UK Singles Chart.Like "Keep on Running", it was composed by Jackie Edwards....
", that became #1 singles in 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...
for The Spencer Davis Group. He continued to work as a recording artist himself, with regular album releases through to the mid 1980s. Much of his later work was produced
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...
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 he also worked with The Aggrovators
The Aggrovators
The Aggrovators were a dub/reggae backing band in the 1970s & 1980s, and one of the main session bands of producer, Bunny Lee. The line-up varied, with Lee using the name for whichever set of musicians he was using at any time. The band's name derived from the record shop that Lee had run in the...
. Edwards' music is published through London based Fairwood Music (UK) Ltd.
Edwards also worked as a producer, co-producing the 1977 album Move Up Starsky by The Mexicano
Rudy Grant
Rudy Grant, also known as Little Brother Grant and The Mexicano , is a reggae deejay and singer.-Biography:Born in Guyana, Grant settled in the United Kingdom with his family in 1960...
.
He died in August 1992 of a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
.
Albums
- The Most of... (1964) IslandIsland RecordsIsland 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...
- Stand Up For Jesus (1964) Island
- Come on Home (1965) Island
- By Demand (1966) Island
- Pledging My Love (1966) (with Millie Small)
- Premature Golden Sands (1967) Island
- I Do Love You (1973) 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...
- Do You Believe In Love (1976) Klik
- Let It Be Me (1978) Jamaica Sound (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...
) - Sincerely (1978) Trojan
- Come to Me Softly (1979) Third World
- Starlight (197?) Pye
- Tell Me Darling (197?) Imperial
- Nothing Takes the Place of You (1981) Starlight
- King of the Ghetto (1982) Black Music
- Tell It Like It Is (1982) Starlight
- The Original Mr. Cool Ruler (1983) Vista Sounds
- Musical Treasures Disco Style (198?) Imperial
- Dearest (1995) Lagoon
- In Paradise (1995) Carl's
Compilation albums
- The Best of Jackie Edwards (1966), Island
- The Best of Jackie & Millie (1968) (with Millie Small)
- 20 Greatest Hits (1977) Conflict
- 20 Super Hits Sonic Sounds
- Great Soul Hits (199?) Marginal
- In Paradise (1994) Trojan
- Memorial Rhino
- Singing Hits From Studio One And More Rhino
- This Is My Story: A History of Jamaica's Greatest Balladeer (2005) Trojan