Junior English 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-born 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...

 singer who began his career in the early 1960s before relocating to England.

Biography

English 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 1951. He began performing as a teenager and recorded early tracks such as "Fay is Gone" and "My Queen" (a duet with Errol Dunkley

Errol Dunkley

Errol Dunkley is a Jamaican reggae musician, born in Kingston, Jamaica in 1951.-Biography:Dunkley's recording career began in 1965, when he was fourteen, with "Gypsy" for Linden Pottinger's Gaydisc label, "My Queen" for Prince Buster, and "Love Me Forever" on the Rio label...

) for producer 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...

 in the early–mid 1960s. He relocated to England in 1964, living at first in Preston then 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...

, where he completed his education. After entering and winning a talent contest organised by the Palmer brothers (of Pama Records

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:...

), he joined The Magnets, with whom he toured Europe. He then joined The Nighthawks, releasing an album with the group in 1969, Man it's Reggae, before restarting his solo career the same year. He had a string of reggae hits in the early 1970s, working with 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...

, but his career was interrupted when he served a six-month prison sentence for driving whilst disqualified. While in prison, he wrote many of the songs that would appear on his debut solo album, The Dynamic Junior English, released in 1974. This was followed in 1976 by The Great Junior English, but his most prolific year would come in 1978, when four albums were released, and he had a Christmas number one on the UK reggae chart with "In Loving You". His success continued through the 1980s, and he set up his own International English label for many of his subsequent releases. In 1985, he contributed to the British Reggae Artists Famine Appeal single "Let's Make Africa Green Again". He continued to perform and record into the 1990s and 2000s, with cover version

Cover version

In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...

s of "Queen Majesty", and "Cruising", and the album Mr. Man.

Albums

• The Dynamic Junior English (1974), Cactus
• The Great Junior English (1976), Horse
  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...
  
  
• Crashed! (1978), Form
• Naturally High (1978), Burning Vibrations (JA)/Burning Sounds (UK)
• Jack the Ripper (1978), Form
• Win Some Lose Some (1978), Burning Sounds
• Lovers Key (1980), Burning Vibrations/Burning Rockers
• The Best of Junior English (1980), Exclusive
• Two of a Kind (1983), Sunsplash
• In Loving You (1988)
• Mister Man (1990), International English
• Come With Me (2008), Jetstar

Singles

• "Fay is Gone" (1964), Blue Beat
• "My Queen" (1964), Blue Beat (with Errol Dunkley
  Errol Dunkley
  Errol Dunkley is a Jamaican reggae musician, born in Kingston, Jamaica in 1951.-Biography:Dunkley's recording career began in 1965, when he was fourteen, with "Gypsy" for Linden Pottinger's Gaydisc label, "My Queen" for Prince Buster, and "Love Me Forever" on the Rio label...
  
  )
• "Nobody Knows" (1969), Camel
• "Miss Playgirl"
• "Daniel" (1973), Pama Supreme
• "I Don't Want to Die" (1973), 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:...
  
  
• "Jesamine" (1971), Pama
• "Anniversary" (1972), Banana
• "One & Only Lover" (1973), Count Shelly
• "I'm Back on the Scene" (1974), Trojan
• "I Hear My Train" (197?), Horse
• "Lady Madana" (1976), Jama
• "Be Thankful" (1977), Ethnic Fight
• "Daddy Is Home
  Shep and the Limelites
  Shep & The Limelites was an American doo-wop group of the early 1960s. They are best known for their 1961 hit recording, "Daddy's Home".-Career:...
  
  " (197?), Ethnic
• "Muriel" (197?), Ethnic
• "Love & Key" (1978), Burning Rockers
• "Never Loose Never Win" (1977), Burning Sounds
• "The Way We Were" (1978), Exclusive
• "You Don't Care" (197?), Exclusive - with Errol Scorcher
  Errol Scorcher
  Errol Scorcher is a reggae deejay.-Biography:Scorcher worked as a deejay on several sound systems from the early 1970s. Although his first single, "Leggo Mi Hand Babylon" was not a commercial success, he had several hits in the mid-1970s with tracks such as "Jolly Bus-Ting" and "Engineers Affair"...
  
  
• "Natural High" (1979), Burning Rockers
• "Stop Using Love" (19??), Burning Rockers
• "I am the One Who Loves You" (19??), Burning Rockers
• "You are so Good to Me" (1978), Form
• "Take Care of Yourself" (1981), Form
• "I am so Happy" (1982), Form
• "Don't Cry" (19??), Form
• "Ready to Learn", International English
• "Only Sixteen" (1984), PRT
• "Never Too Late" (198?), International English
• "Loneliness" (198?), U Mat
• "Don't Cry" (1987), Exclusive - B-side of Jackie Paris - "Once in My Life"
• "Got to Come Back" (19??), Venture
• "Between You & Me" (19??), International English - with Christine Joy White

External links

• Junior English at Roots Archives