Ronnie Davis
Encyclopedia
Ronnie Davis is a reggae
singer who was a member of The Tennors
and The Itals
, and now performs with the group Ronnie Davis & Idren.
(much of which was included on the misleadingly-titled Sing Hits From Studio 1 And More in 1998), who produced his 1977 solo album Hard Times. Davis also worked with other producers such as Phil Pratt
, Lloydie Slim, and Lee "Scratch" Perry, and enjoyed several hits during the mid-1970s, such as "Jah Jah Jehovah", "Forget Me Now", "On and On", "Babylon Falling", "Fancy Make Up", and one of his best-known solo tracks, "It's Raining". Davis also cut a few singles under the pseudonym Romey Pickett. A single featuring the "Won't You Come Home" rhythm with vocals re-cut by Keith Porter with vocal harmonies by Davis, was initially credited to Keith and Ronnie, but recognizing the popularity of vocal trios, with the addition of a third vocalist, Lloyd Ricketts, the song was re-released, credited to The Itals, and proved to be one of the year's best-selling singles in Jamaica.
While staying with The Itals, Davis pursued a parallel solo career, his next album being a split release with Gregory Isaacs
for producer Ossie Hibbert
(1979), with further releases following, including 1985's The Incredible Ronnie Davis Sings For You And I.
Davis left The Itals in 1995, to again pursue a solo career, forming the vocal group, Ronnie Davis & Idren, featuring harmony singers Roy Smith (an old schoolfriend), Robert Doctor and fellow former-Ital Lloyd Ricketts. the group performed around the United States, and in 1997 released their first album, Come Straight , to much critical acclaim.
Ronnie Davis toured with The Pocket Band of washington, DC in 2007 and 2008. In 2009 Ronnie again joined forces with Keith Porter and David Issacs to tour as The Itals. Ronnie Davis and Keith Porter continue to tour as The Itals after the passing of david issacs in 2009 and Llyod Ricketts in 2011.
with The Itals:
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 was a member of The Tennors
The Tennors
The Tennors were a Jamaican rocksteady and reggae vocal group in the 1960s and '70s. Among the band's hits was "Ride Yu Donkey" in 1968. The song was featured on the soundtrack to the 2005 film Broken Flowers.-History:...
and The Itals
The Itals
The Itals are a Jamaican reggae vocal group formed in 1976 by Alvin "Keith" Porter, Ronnie Davis, and Lloyd Ricketts , all of whom had previously also recorded as solo artists. All three had worked together in the late 1960s in The Westmorelites...
, and now performs with the group Ronnie Davis & Idren.
Biography
Davis started his singing career by entering local talent contests in the early 1960s. He formed a group called The Westmorlites, but his big break came in 1969 when he was asked to join The Tennors by the group's director Clive Murphy, to replace the recently deceased Maurice Johnson. Davis recorded a string of singles with the group during the late 1960s and early 1970s, but always yearned for a solo career, and had first chart-topping tune, "Won't You Come Home", for producer Lloyd Campbell in 1975. Davis also recorded a lot of material with Bunny LeeBunny 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:...
(much of which was included on the misleadingly-titled Sing Hits From Studio 1 And More in 1998), who produced his 1977 solo album Hard Times. Davis also worked with other producers such as Phil Pratt
Phil Pratt
Phil Pratt, born George Phillips is a Jamaican reggae singer and record producer.Phil Pratt worked at Studio One for Coxsone Dodd as a box-loader during the rocksteady period when Lee Perry was operating there, before moving to the United Kingdom in the early 1960s...
, Lloydie Slim, and Lee "Scratch" Perry, and enjoyed several hits during the mid-1970s, such as "Jah Jah Jehovah", "Forget Me Now", "On and On", "Babylon Falling", "Fancy Make Up", and one of his best-known solo tracks, "It's Raining". Davis also cut a few singles under the pseudonym Romey Pickett. A single featuring the "Won't You Come Home" rhythm with vocals re-cut by Keith Porter with vocal harmonies by Davis, was initially credited to Keith and Ronnie, but recognizing the popularity of vocal trios, with the addition of a third vocalist, Lloyd Ricketts, the song was re-released, credited to The Itals, and proved to be one of the year's best-selling singles in Jamaica.
While staying with The Itals, Davis pursued a parallel solo career, his next album being a split release with 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....
for producer Ossie Hibbert
Ossie Hibbert
Oswald "Ossie" Hibbert is a Jamaican organist, keyboard player and record producer.-Biography:Hibbert began to be active in Jamaican music in the mid-1970s, working as a keyboard player as part of The Professionals, The Aggrovators and The Revolutionaries, and playing on dozens of albums by...
(1979), with further releases following, including 1985's The Incredible Ronnie Davis Sings For You And I.
Davis left The Itals in 1995, to again pursue a solo career, forming the vocal group, Ronnie Davis & Idren, featuring harmony singers Roy Smith (an old schoolfriend), Robert Doctor and fellow former-Ital Lloyd Ricketts. the group performed around the United States, and in 1997 released their first album, Come Straight , to much critical acclaim.
Ronnie Davis toured with The Pocket Band of washington, DC in 2007 and 2008. In 2009 Ronnie again joined forces with Keith Porter and David Issacs to tour as The Itals. Ronnie Davis and Keith Porter continue to tour as The Itals after the passing of david issacs in 2009 and Llyod Ricketts in 2011.
Album Discography
- Ronnie Davis Presents Beautiful People From Jamaica (1976) DIP
- Hard Times (1977) Third World
- Gregory Isaacs Meets Ronnie Davis (1979) Plant
- Crucial Big Mac Soul Power
- The Incredible Ronnie Davis Sings For You And I (1985) Vista
- Sing Hits From Studio 1 And More (1997) Rhino
- Wheel of Life (2005) Upstairs Music
- Jamming In Dub (2006) Jamaican Recordings
- Come Straight (1997) Nighthawk (Ronnie Davis & Idren)
- Oh Lord, Why Lord
with The Itals:
- The Early Recordings: 1971-1979 (1984) NighthawkNighthawk RecordsNighthawk Records was founded by Robert Schoenfeld who began operations in 1976 with the release of four vintage post-war blues reissue LPs that Living Blues Magazine called "the major event of the year for lovers of post-war blues." Today this series consists of nine volumes of post-war blues...
- Brutal Out Deh (1981) NighthawkNighthawk RecordsNighthawk Records was founded by Robert Schoenfeld who began operations in 1976 with the release of four vintage post-war blues reissue LPs that Living Blues Magazine called "the major event of the year for lovers of post-war blues." Today this series consists of nine volumes of post-war blues...
- Give Me Power! (1983) NighthawkNighthawk RecordsNighthawk Records was founded by Robert Schoenfeld who began operations in 1976 with the release of four vintage post-war blues reissue LPs that Living Blues Magazine called "the major event of the year for lovers of post-war blues." Today this series consists of nine volumes of post-war blues...
- Rasta Philosophy (1986) NighthawkNighthawk RecordsNighthawk Records was founded by Robert Schoenfeld who began operations in 1976 with the release of four vintage post-war blues reissue LPs that Living Blues Magazine called "the major event of the year for lovers of post-war blues." Today this series consists of nine volumes of post-war blues...
- Cool and Dread (1989) NighthawkNighthawk RecordsNighthawk Records was founded by Robert Schoenfeld who began operations in 1976 with the release of four vintage post-war blues reissue LPs that Living Blues Magazine called "the major event of the year for lovers of post-war blues." Today this series consists of nine volumes of post-war blues...
- Easy to Catch (1991) Rhythm Safari
- Modern Age (1998) RAS
- Mi Livity (2003) Ital Music
- Let Dem Talk (2009) Ital Music