Shaggy (musician)
- Shaggy redirects here. For other uses, see Shaggy (disambiguation).
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Shaggy (born October 22 1968, in Kingston, Jamaica, real name Orville Richard Burrell) is a Jamaican reggae singer who takes his nickname from Scooby-Doo's companion, a nickname given to him by his friends, during his teenage years in which his hair bore a similarity to the Scooby Doo character. He is especially notable for his distinctive sub-baritone voice.
Early life
His family emigrated to the United States from Jamaica and they settled in the neighborhood of Flatbush, Brooklyn, located in New York City, New York, USA. Shaggy moved to Valley Stream, New York, and made one of his own recording studios in the town.
Military service
In 1988, he joined the United States Marine Corps as a Field Artillery Cannoneer with 5th Battalion, 10th Marines. While enlisted in the Marines he served during Operation Desert Storm during the Persian Gulf War. It was during this time that Shaggy perfected his signature singing voice; breaking the constant monotony of running and marching cadences with his flair for inflection.
Music career
Upon his return from the Persian Gulf, he decided to pursue his music career and his first hit in 1993: "Oh Carolina", was a dancehall re-make of a ska hit by the Folkes Brothers. The same year, Shaggy appeared on Kenny Dope's hip hop album "The Unreleased Project". He worked together with producers such as Sting Intl., Don One (who cut his first track), Lloyd 'Spiderman' Campbell and Robert Livingston. He had further big hits, including "Boombastic" in 1995, the theme tune of a popular Levi commercial.
He then had a major comeback in 2001, featuring worldwide number-one hit singles "It Wasn't Me" and "Angel," the latter of which was built around two song samples - Merrilee Rush's 1968 hit "Angel of the Morning" (which was remade in 1981 by Juice Newton), and The Steve Miller Band's 1973 hit, The Joker. The album Hot Shot, from which those cuts came, would hit number one on the Billboard 200.
However, his 2002 release Lucky Day, and the 2005 album Clothes Drop failed to match Hot Shot's success.
Shaggy recorded the theme for Showtime, a 2002 movie.
On 11 March 2007, Shaggy performed the official song of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007, entitled "The Game of Love and Unity", with Barbadian entertainer Rupee and Trinidadian Faye-Ann Lyons at the opening ceremony at The Greenfield Stadium, Trelawny, Jamaica.
Shaggy left Geffen and will be releasing his latest album under his own label Big Yard Records with distribution by VP Records.
On October 15, 2007, he was awarded the Order of Distinction in the rank of Commander (CD).[1]
Discography
Albums
- 1993: Pure Pleasure
- 1994: Original Doberman
- 1995: Boombastic US #34, UK #37 (Platinum)
- 1997: Midnite Lover
- 2000: Hot Shot US #1, UK #1 (6x Platinum)
- 2002: Lucky Day US #24 (Gold)
- 2005: Clothes Drop US #144
- 2007: Intoxication
Compilations, Remix, Unreleased & Rare
- 1999: Ultimate Shaggy Collection
- 2002: Hot Shot: Ultramix US #168
- 2002: Mr. Lover Lover - The Best Of Shaggy...Part 1 UK #20
- 2003: Boombastic Hits
- 2004: The Essential Shaggy
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart Positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Hot 100 | UK Singles | AUS Singles | |||
| 1993 | "Oh Carolina" | #59 | #1 | #5 | Pure Pleasure |
| 1993 | "Soon Be Done" | - | #46 | - | Pure Pleasure |
| 1995 | "In The Summertime" (featuring Rayvon) |
#3 (B Side of Boombastic) | #5 | #14 | Boombastic |
| 1995 | "Boombastic" | #3 | #1 | #1 | Boombastic |
| 1996 | "Why You Treat Me So Bad" (featuring Grand Puba) |
- | #11 | - | Boombastic |
| 1996 | "Something Different / The Train Is Coming" (Double A Side in UK) (featuring Ken Boothe) |
- | #21 | - | Boombastic |
| 1996 | "That Girl" (duet with Maxi Priest) |
#20 | #15 | #7 | Mr. Lover Lover - The Best Of Shaggy...Part 1 |
| 1997 | "Piece Of My Heart" (featuring Marsha) |
#72 | #7 | - | Midnite Lover |
| 1998 | "Luv Me, Luv Me" (featuring Janet Jackson) |
#76 | - | - | Mr. Lover Lover - The Best Of Shaggy...Part 1 |
| 2000 | "Dance & Shout / Hope" (Double A Side in UK) | - | #19 | - | Hot Shot |
| 2001 | "It Wasn't Me" (featuring Ricardo "RikRok" Ducent) |
#1 | #1 | #1 | Hot Shot |
| 2001 | "Angel" (featuring Rayvon) |
#1 | #1 | #1 | Hot Shot |
| 2001 | "Luv Me, Luv Me" (featuring Samantha Cole) |
#76 | #5 | #10 | Hot Shot |
| 2002 | "Me Julie" (duet with Ali G) |
- | #2 | #13 | - |
| 2002 | "Hey Sexy Lady" | - | #10 | #4 | Lucky Day |
| 2003 | "Strength of a Woman" | - | - | #31 | Lucky Day |
| 2003 | "Get My Party On" (featuring Chaka Kahn) |
- | - | #41 | Lucky Day |
| 2005 | "Wild 2Nite" (featuring Olivia) |
- | #61 | - | Clothes Drop |
| 2006 | "Ultimatum" (featuring Na'sha) |
- | #76 | - | Clothes Drop |
| 2007 | "Church Heathen" | - | - | - | Intoxication |
| 2007 | "What's Love" (featuring Akon) |
- | - | - | Intoxication |
| 2007 | "Bonafide Girl" (featuring Ricardo "RikRok" Ducent) |
- | - | - | Intoxication |
Guest appearances
- "Waste A Time" on the Cutty Ranks album Six Million Ways to Die in 1996.
- "I Got You Babe" (with Merril Bainbridge) AUS Singles #62 in 1998
- "Christmas in Jamaica" (with Toni Braxton) in 2001.
- "Gebt das Hanf frei!" (with Stefan Raab) Germany #4 in 2002
- "Your Eyes" (with Ricardo "RikRok" Ducent) UK #57 in 2004.
- "The Way We Roll (Remix)" with Elephant Man and Busta Rhymes in Let's Get Physical in 2008.
Family
Shaggy has two sisters and one step brother.