Owen Gray
Encyclopedia
Owen Gray also known as Owen Grey (born 5 July 1939, Jamaica
) is one of Jamaica's 'Foundation' singers whose work spans the R&B, ska
, rocksteady
, and reggae
eras of Jamaican music, and he has been credited as Jamaica's first home-grown singing star.
and turned professional aged 19. Gray was a dynamic performer on stage, who could be gritty or suave as the song dictated. He was the first singer (of many) to praise a sound system on record, with his "On the Beach" celebrating Clement Dodd
's Sir Coxsone Downbeat system in 1959, one of the first releases on Dodd's Studio One label. He was one of the first artists to be produced by Chris Blackwell
, in 1960, and his "Patricia" single was the first record ever released by Island Records
. His first single, "Please Let Me Go", reached the top of the charts in Jamaica, and featured a guitar solo from Ernest Ranglin
(Ranglin's first recording session). The single also sold well in the United Kingdom
, as did subsequent releases, prompting Gray to emigrate there in 1962. He toured Europe in 1964, and by 1966 he was well known as a soul
singer as well as for his ska songs. In the rocksteady era, he recorded for producer Sir Clancy Collins. His popularity continued throughout the 1960s, working with producers such as Clement Dodd, Prince Buster
, Arthur "Duke" Reid
, Leslie Kong
, and Clancy Eccles
, including work as a duo with Millie Small, with songs ranging from ska to ballads. He continued to record regularly, having a big hit in 1968 with "Cupid". His 1970 track "Apollo 12" found favour with the early skinhead
s, and in 1972 he returned to Island Records, recording reggae versions of The Rolling Stones
' "Tumblin' Dice" and John Lennon
's "Jealous Guy", although they met with little success. During this period, he regularly had releases on Pama and sister label, Camel Records, and one single on Hot Lead Records. He had greater success in Jamaica, however, with "Hail the Man", a tribute to Emperor Haile Selassie, which was popular with the increasing Rastafari following. Gray spent a short time living in New Orleans before returning to Jamaica where he turned his hand to roots reggae
, working with producer Bunny Lee
, and achieving considerable success. In the 1980s relocated to Miami. He has continued to release new material regularly, often concentrating on ballads and Gospel music
.
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...
) is one of Jamaica's 'Foundation' singers whose work spans the R&B, 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...
, 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...
, 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...
eras of Jamaican music, and he has been credited as Jamaica's first home-grown singing star.
Biography
Gray won his first talent contest at the age of nine, and by the age of twelve he was already appearing in public, playing drums, guitar, and keyboards. He attended the Alpha Boys SchoolAlpha Boys School
Alpha Cottage School is a school on South Camp Road in Kingston, Jamaica, run by Roman Catholic nuns...
and turned professional aged 19. Gray was a dynamic performer on stage, who could be gritty or suave as the song dictated. He was the first singer (of many) to praise a sound system on record, with his "On the Beach" celebrating Clement Dodd
Coxsone Dodd
Clement Seymour "Sir Coxsone" Dodd, CD was a Jamaican record producer who was influential in the development of ska and reggae in the 1950s, 1960s and beyond...
's Sir Coxsone Downbeat system in 1959, one of the first releases on Dodd's Studio One label. He was one of the first artists to be produced by 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 1960, and his "Patricia" single was the first record ever released by 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...
. His first single, "Please Let Me Go", reached the top of the charts in Jamaica, and featured a guitar solo from Ernest Ranglin
Ernest Ranglin
Ernest Ranglin O.D. is a Jamaican guitarist and composer. Best known for his session work at the famed Studio One, Ranglin helped give birth to the ska genre in the late 1950s...
(Ranglin's first recording session). The single also sold well 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...
, as did subsequent releases, prompting Gray to emigrate there in 1962. He toured Europe in 1964, and by 1966 he was well known as a soul
Soul Music
Soul Music is the sixteenth Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett, first published in 1994. Like many of Pratchett's novels it introduces an element of modern society into the magical and vaguely late medieval, early modern world of the Discworld, in this case Rock and Roll music and stardom, with...
singer as well as for his ska songs. In the rocksteady era, he recorded for producer Sir Clancy Collins. His popularity continued throughout the 1960s, working with producers such as Clement Dodd, 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...
, Arthur "Duke" Reid
Duke Reid
Treasure Isle re-directs here. For the game, see Treasure Isle .Arthur "Duke" Reid, CD was a Jamaican record producer, DJ and label owner....
, Leslie Kong
Leslie Kong
Leslie Kong was a Chinese Jamaican record producer.-Career:Leslie and his two older brothers Cecil and Lloyd ran a restaurant, ice cream parlour and record shop called Beverley's in Orange Street, Kingston...
, and Clancy Eccles
Clancy Eccles
Clancy Eccles was a Jamaican ska and reggae singer, songwriter, arranger, promoter, record producer and talent scout. Known mostly for his early reggae works, he brought a political dimension to this music...
, including work as a duo with Millie Small, with songs ranging from ska to ballads. He continued to record regularly, having a big hit in 1968 with "Cupid". His 1970 track "Apollo 12" found favour with the early skinhead
Skinhead
A skinhead is a member of a subculture that originated among working class youths in the United Kingdom in the 1960s, and then spread to other parts of the world. Named for their close-cropped or shaven heads, the first skinheads were greatly influenced by West Indian rude boys and British mods,...
s, and in 1972 he returned to Island Records, recording reggae versions of The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
' "Tumblin' Dice" and John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
's "Jealous Guy", although they met with little success. During this period, he regularly had releases on Pama and sister label, Camel Records, and one single on Hot Lead Records. He had greater success in Jamaica, however, with "Hail the Man", a tribute to Emperor Haile Selassie, which was popular with the increasing Rastafari following. Gray spent a short time living in New Orleans before returning to Jamaica where he turned his hand to roots reggae
Roots reggae
Roots reggae is a subgenre of reggae that deals with the everyday lives and aspirations of the artists concerned, including the spiritual side of Rastafari and with the honoring of God, called Jah by rastafarians. It also is identified with the life of the ghetto sufferer, and the rural poor...
, working with producer 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 achieving considerable success. In the 1980s relocated to Miami. He has continued to release new material regularly, often concentrating on ballads and Gospel music
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
.
Albums
- Owen Gray Sings (1961) Starlite
- Cupid (1969)
- Forward on the Scene (1975) Third World
- Fire and Bullets (1977) 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...
- Turning Point (1977) Venture
- Dreams of Owen Gray (1978) Trojan
- Battle of the Giants Round 1 (1983) Vista Sounds (with Pluggy Satchmo)
- Oldies But Goodies (1983) Vista Sounds (split with Delroy WilsonDelroy WilsonDelroy Wilson was a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae singer.-Biography:Wilson released his first single "Emy Lou" in 1961 for record producer, Clement "Coxsone" Dodd, at the age of thirteen...
) - Max Romeo Meets Owen Gray at King Tubby's Studio (1984) Culture PressCulture PressCulture Press is an independent record label from UK specialized in Jamaican music. Many of their releases are of questionable legality and are often titled incorrectly.-LP Discography:*VSLP5000 - Bob Marley - Interviews...
(with Max RomeoMax RomeoMax Romeo is a reggae and roots reggae recording artist who has achieved chart success in his home country, and in the UK. Romeo was responsible for launching an entirely new sub-genre of reggae, whose overtly suggestive lyrics caused an outcry but took a massive hold of the music scene regardless...
) - Little Girl (1984) Vista Sounds
- Owen Gray Sings Bob Marley (1984) Sarge
- This is Owen Gray, PamaPama RecordsPama 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:...
- Room at the Top (1986) World Enterprise
- Let's Make a Deal World Enterprise
- Watch This Sound (1986) Sky Note
- Stand By Me (1986) Hitbound
- Prince Buster Memory Lane (1986) Phill Pratt
- Instant Rapport (1989) Bushranger
- Ready Willing and Able (1989) Park Heights
- None Of Jah-Jah's Children Shall Ever Suffer (198?) Imperial
- Living Image (1996) Genesis Gospel Singers
- Out in the Open (1997) VPVP RecordsVP Records is an independent reggae record label, located in Queens, New York. It is best known for producing Caribbean singers.-The foundation:...
- The Gospel Truth vol 1 Bushranger
- Something Good Going On Bushranger
- Gospel Truth, vol. 2 (1997) 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,...
- Derrick Morgan and Owen Gray (1998) Rhino (with Derrick MorganDerrick MorganDerrick Morgan is a musical artist popular in the 1960s and 1970s. He worked with Desmond Dekker, Bob Marley, and Jimmy Cliff in the rhythm and blues and ska genres, and he also performed rocksteady and skinhead reggae.-Biography:In 1957 Morgan entered the Vere Johns Opportunity Hour, a talent...
) - True Vibration (1998) Jet Star
- Do You Still Love Me (1998) First Edition
- The Gospel Truth vol. 3 (1999) Bushranger
- On Drive (2000) Jet Star
- Better Days (2002) Worldsound
- Let's Start All Over (2003) Jet Star
- Jesus Loves Me (2004) True Gospel
- Baby It's You (2005) Worldsound
- Mumbo Jumbo (2005) Revenge
- Miss Wire Waist Jet Star
- Excellence (????), Bushranger
Compilation albums
- Hit After Hit After Hit (1998) First Edition
- Hit After Hit After Hit Vol 2 Jet Star
- Hit After Hit After Hit Vol 3
- Hit After Hit After Hit Vol 4 (198?) Vista Sounds
- Sly & Robbie Presents Owen Gray On Top (1994) Rhino
- Memory Lane Vol. 1 (2000) Jet Star
- Shook, Shimmy And Shake: The Anthology (2004) Trojan
External links
- Peter I (2004) "A Question of Recognition - Interview with Owen Gray", Reggae Vibes
- Owen Gray at Roots Archives