Winston Tucker better known as Winston Groovy, 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 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 best known for his recordings between the late 1960s and 1980s.

Biography

Tucker was born in the Waltham Park Road area of 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 1946. His first recording session was for producer and sound system operator King Edwards, which resulted in "She's Mine"; It was never released but was played exclusively on Edwards' sound system. Tucker relocated to Birmingham

Birmingham

Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 in 1961 to join his father. He joined The Ebonites while still at school and toured with the band. He moved to 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 1969 and began working with producer Laurel Aitken

Laurel Aitken

Lorenzo Aitken , better known as Laurel Aitken, was a singer and one of the originators of Jamaican ska music. He is often referred to as the "Godfather of ska".-Career:...

, adopting the stage name Winston Groovy. He had minor hits with "Yellow Bird" and "Standing on the Corner" and had his first big hit with the Lee "Scratch" Perry-produced "I Wanna be Loved". With Aitken, he recorded a reggae version of Rufus Thomas

Rufus Thomas

Rufus Thomas, Jr. was an American rhythm and blues, funk and soul singer and comedian fromMemphis, Tennessee, who recorded on Sun Records in the...

' "Funky Chicken". Further 1970s singles included a cover version of Dr Hook's "Sylvia's Mother", "Oh My My", "I've got a nose for Trouble", and "Please Don't Make Me Cry", recorded in 1970 for Eddy Grant

Eddy Grant

Edmond Montague "Eddy" Grant is a musician, born in Plaisance, Guyana.- Life and career :When he was still a young boy, his parents emigrated to London, UK, where he settled. He lived in Kentish Town and went to school at the Acland Burghley Secondary Modern at Tufnell Park...

's Torpedo label.

He continued to record in the 1980s and his career was given a boost in 1983 when UB40

UB40

UB40 are a British reggae/pop band formed in 1978 in Birmingham. The band has placed more than 50 singles in the UK Singles Chart, and has also achieved considerable international success. One of the world's best-selling music artists, UB40 have sold over 70 million records.Their hit singles...

 recorded a version of "Please Don't Make Me Cry" for their Labour of Love album, which was also a top 10

UK Singles Chart

The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

 single for the band. This led Trojan Records

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...

 to reissue the original. Groovy had a minor hit in 1985 with a reggae version of The Commodores' "Nightshift", reaching number 83 in the UK.

In 1990, he set up the W.G. Records label, and released his self-produced albums Talking Love, Please Don't Make Me Cry and Coming On Strong.

In 2000, Groovy performed as a guest on UB40

UB40

UB40 are a British reggae/pop band formed in 1978 in Birmingham. The band has placed more than 50 singles in the UK Singles Chart, and has also achieved considerable international success. One of the world's best-selling music artists, UB40 have sold over 70 million records.Their hit singles...

's Labour of Love III

Labour of Love III

Labour of Love III is the third album of covers by the Birmingham reggae group UB40, following Labour of Love and Labour of Love II.-Track listing:#"Holly Holy" #"It's My Delight"...

tour at the Brixton Academy and Wembley Arena

Wembley Arena

Wembley Arena is an indoor arena, at Wembley, in the London Borough of Brent. The building is opposite Wembley Stadium.-History:...

, and he recorded the UB40 song "Don't Slow Down" for the 2002 album UB40 Present the Fathers of Reggae.

Albums

• Presenting Winston Groovy (1974), Trojan
  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...
  
  
• The Groovy Collection (1978), Trojan
• African Girl (1984), Blue Moon
• Free The People (Groovin' With Winston Groovy) (1984), 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:...
  
  
• Talking Love (199?), W.G.
• Please Don't Make Me Cry (199?), W.G.
• Coming On Strong (199?), W.G.
• Come Rock Me (1995), W.G./Jet Star
  Jet Star
  Jet 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,...
  
  
• The Best of Winston Groovy (1998), Rhino
• The Best of vol. 2
• Step by Step (2002), W.G./Jet Star
• Please Don't Make Me Cry - The Anthology (2004), Trojan
• Back in Time With Mr. Groovy

Singles

• "Lover Come Back" (1969), Grape - B-side of King Horror
  Laurel Aitken
  Lorenzo Aitken , better known as Laurel Aitken, was a singer and one of the originators of Jamaican ska music. He is often referred to as the "Godfather of ska".-Career:...
  
  's "The Hole"
• "Leaving Me Standing" (1969), Grape
• "Merry Xmas" (1969), Grape
• "Funky Chicken" (1969), Jackpot
• "Funny" (1969), Jackpot
• "Island in the Sun" (1969), Nu-Beat
• "Josephine" (1969), Nu-Beat
• "You Can't Turn Your Back on Me" (1970), Attack
• "I Like the Way" (1970), Crab
• "Standing on the Corner" (1970), Nu-Beat
• "Yellow Bird" (1970), Nu-Beat
• "Here is My Heart" (1970), Nu-Beat
• "Groovin'" (1970), Nu-Beat
• "Tennessee Waltz" (1970), Nu-Beat
• "Please Don't Make Me Cry" (1970), Torpedo
• "I Wanna to be Loved" (1971), Bullet
• "I've Got to Find a Way to Win Mary Back" (1971), Crab
• "Don't Break My Heart" (1971), Pama
• "Free the People" (1971), Pama Supreme
• "What You Gonna Do" (1972), Pama Supreme
• "Sylvia's Mother" (1972), Pama Supreme
• "Get Back Together" (197?), Bullet
• "Heaven Help Us" (197?), Pama
• "News for My Baby" (197?), Horse
• "Your Cheating Heart" (197?), Horse
• "Oh My My" (1974), Trojan
• "I've Got a Nose for Trouble"
• "No One Day Love" (1977), Trojan
• "I'm Going Back" (1977), B&C
• "I Really Love You" (1978), Greenway
• "We Shall Overcome" (1978), Lover's Rock
• "Hello Robin Redbreast" (1979), Laser
• "Something on the Side" (1981), DJM
• "Adam & Eve" (1982), PRT
• "Don't Blame Me" (198?), Time
• "Paradise in Your Eyes" (198?)
• "So in Love With You" (198?)
• "Nightshift" (1985), Jive - UK #83
• "Rock Me Tonight" (1985), Jive
• "Blanket on the Ground" (1986), A1
• Equal Justice Equal Rights EP (199?), W.G. - four songs dedicated to Stephen Lawrence
  Stephen Lawrence
  Stephen Lawrence was a black British teenager from Eltham, southeast London, who was stabbed to death while waiting for a bus on the evening of 22 April 1993....
  
  
• "Missing You" (199?), W.G.
• "All Because of You", EMI
• "Laugh and Grow Fat", Trojan
• "My Love Will Never Fade"
• "South of the Border"
• "To Give Your Lovin'"
• "You Made it Look Easy"
• "Please Don't Make Me Cry" (????), Sound City - Winston Groovy & Bankie

External links

• Winston Groovy at Roots Archives