Carlton Barrett
Carlton Lloyd "Carlie" Barrett (* 17th December 1950 in Kingston ; † 17th April 1987 ibid) was one of the most influential drummers of Reggae (in particular of early reggae and roots reggae ). Together with his brother, bassist Aston Barrett , he was a member of Bob Marley's band The Wailers from 1970 .
Barrett was born in Jamaica to Wilfred and Violet Barrett. Inspired by the drumming of Lloyd Knibb ( The Skatalites ), Barrett built his first drum set from old paint pots. He practiced together with his brother Aston Barrett, who at the time also had a single-string bass that he had built himself. The brothers remained together as a rhythm section until Carlton's death . Max Romeo sang in her first band, "The Hippy Boys" . Their first record was "Watch This Sound" (1968) by the Uniques . The Hippy Boys instrumentalists then formed Lee Perry's studio band The Upsetters . As such, they had a hit in England in 1969 with "Return of Django" (number 5 in the UK charts). In 1970 and 1971, the Upsetters accompanied Bob Marley to Lee Perry's sessions. The collaboration was so fruitful that Marley took the Barrett Brothers (and other musicians from the Upsetters) into his own band, The Wailers .
In 1973 the Wailers recorded Catch a Fire , the album marked the beginning of the roots reggae . This new sound was extremely successful, and in the following years Marley rose to become a superstar. Carlton Barrett is co-written on several Marley songs, including "Talkin 'Blues" and "Them Belly Full". He wrote "Who the Cap Fit" (aka "Man to Man") with his brother Aston. After Marley's death in 1981 the Barrett brothers played on Justin Hinds ' album "Travel with Love" (1984). On Good Friday 1987, Carlton Barrett was murdered when he opened the gate to his home. He was shot twice in the head.
He was a master of one drop , the reggae style of drum kit, in which the bass drum is played on the third beat instead of the first . Barrett had not invented this rhythm, but brought it to new perfection. He was the first to work with the extremely slow tempos that were later used in roots reggae . Usually Barrett did not play fills , as they are common in rock , but instead variations of the basically very simple one-drop basic rhythm. While these improvisations are usually limited to a single measure in his early recordings , they can later extend to two, four or even more measures. It is noticeable that Barrett played such variations not necessarily at the end, but also in the middle of a phrase .
In 2016, Rolling Stone listed Barrett 29th of the 100 best drummers of all time .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ 100 Greatest Drummers of All Time. Rolling Stone , March 31, 2016, accessed August 6, 2017 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Barrett, Carlton |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Barrett, Carlton Lloyd (full name); Barrett, Carlie (nickname) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Jamaican reggae musician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 17th December 1950 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Kingston |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 17, 1987 |
| Place of death | Kingston |