Desmond Dekker
Desmond Dekker (actually Desmond Adolphus Dacres ; born July 16, 1941 in Kingston , Jamaica ; † May 25, 2006 in Thornton Heath , Greater London , England ) was next to Laurel Aitken and Prince Buster as well as (but not quite like that in the then ska known) Bob Marley and Jimmy Cliff one of the greatest Jamaican Ska - singer and composer .
Life
Dekker had already lost his parents as a teenager. After his training at the Alpha Boys School , an apprenticeship and a job as a welder followed. He began his musical career with Bob Marley in 1963 in the Jamaican capital Kingston. At first he was rejected by the music producers Coxsone Dodd ( Studio One ) and Duke Reid , but then Leslie Kong gave him a chance and recorded the ska number Honor your Father and your Mother with him . A year later, Dekker was accompanied by the “Cherrypies” on “King of Ska”, better known as The Maytals . Dekker then put together his own backing vocal troupe: the "Aces", consisting of Wilson James and Easton Barrington Howard. Sometimes he was also supported by the "Four Aces", Easton Barrington Howard and his three brothers Carl, Patrick and Clive. From the mid to late sixties, Dekker had an impressive hit streak with 20 number one hits on the Jamaican charts.
In 1967 Dekker sang together with his half-brother George (later with The Pioneers ) in the background on Derrick Morgan's Tougher Than Tough , which is widely regarded as the first rocksteady song. The song is dedicated to the theme of the rude boys , rival gangster gangs who are up to mischief in Kingston. This theme was also at the center of Dekker's own James Bond movie-inspired piece 007 (Shanty Town) , which was to become a top 15 hit in England. Dekker was a friend of Paul McCartney , who repeatedly mentioned Desmond related to Dekker in the song Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da from the so-called " White Album ". He finished second with Unity at the annual Jamaican Song Festival, which he won the following year with Intensified .
In 1968 he achieved his international breakthrough with his best-known song The Israelites . The song was still produced in Jamaica and was the first Jamaican hit worldwide. Israelites reached # 1 in both England and Germany in 1969 and is a top 10 success in the US. The theme of the song is the poverty of the population and the resulting violence. The song was followed by It Mek , a top 10 success in Germany and England. It Mek can be roughly translated as "that's why it happened" and was inspired by an experience of his sister Elaine, who fell from a wall in front of her house and screamed for ice water.
In the 1970s, Dekker recorded the play You Can Get It if You Really Want, written by Johnny Nash, from the film The Harder They Come , which peaked at number 2 in England. The song Pretty Africa deals with the Rastafarian theme "Back to Africa". Sing a Little Song from 1975 was again a top 10 single in England. In the years that followed, he was no longer successful in either England or Jamaica. In the era of " 2-Tone-Ska " he released the album "Black & Dekker", which however became a commercial flop. In 1984 Dekker even had to declare bankruptcy. In 1993 he recorded the album "King of Kings" with the 2-tone band The Specials .
Desmond Dekker had lived in the English county of Surrey since the 1970s . He died of a heart attack two weeks after a performance in Leeds, Northern England, on May 25, 2006, at his house at the age of 64 , without having previously suffered any heart problems. In June of the same year Dekker wanted to go on tour again. He was divorced with a son and daughter.
Discography
Albums
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 DE
|
 AT
|
 CH
|
 UK
|
 US
|
|||
| 1969 | This Is Desmond Dekker |
- | - | - |
UK27 (4 weeks) UK |
- | |
gray hatching : no chart data available for this year
More albums
- 1967: Action!
- 1970: You Can Get It If You Really Want
- 1980: Black and Dekker
- 1981: Compass Point
- 1981: Profiles
- 1991: King of Ska (Varese)
- 1992: Music Like Dirt
- 1993: King of Kings
- 1996: Moving Out
- 1997: Intensified
- 1998: Writing on the Wall
- 2000: Halfway to Paradise
Compilations
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
DE
|
AT
|
CH
|
UK
|
US
|
|||
| 1969 | Israelites |
- | - | - | - |
US153 (3 weeks) US |
|
gray hatching : no chart data available for this year
More compilations
- 1974: Double Dekker
- 1978: Sweet 16 hits
- 1985: Desmond Dekker and the Aces
- 1987: 20 golden pieces
- 1987: Official Live & Rare
- 1988: Greatest Hits
- 1989: The Best of & The Rest of Desmond Dekker
- 1991: King of Ska (Trojan)
- 1992: Rockin 'Steady: The Best of Desmond Dekker
- 1993: Israelites: 20 Greatest Hits
- 1994: Black & Dekker / Compass Point
- 1994: Shanty Town Original
- 1996: Archives
- 1997: First Time for a Long Time: Rarities ...
- 1997: The Original Rude Boy
- 1998: Israelites: The Best of Desmond Dekker ...
- 2000: Desmond Dekker
- 2000: Best of Desmond Dekker
- 2000: Desmond Dekker and the Aces "Action!" +…
- 2000: gold
- 2001: Israelites: Anthology 1963-1999
- 2001: The Best of Desmond Dekker: The Israelites
- 2002: Israelites: The Best of Desmond Dekker
- 2003: Rudy Got Soul: The Complete Early Years ...
- 2006: The Essential Desmond Dekker
- 2006: This Is Desmond Dekker (bonus tracks)
Singles
| year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
DE
|
AT
|
CH
|
UK
|
US
|
|||
| 1967 | 007 Shanty Town Action! |
- | - | - |
UK14 (11 weeks) UK |
- | |
| 1969 |
The Israelites The Israelites |
DE1 (6 weeks) DE |
AT2 (12 weeks) AT |
CH6 (6 weeks) CH |
UK1 (24 weeks) UK |
US9 (10 weeks) US |
|
| It Miek The Israelites |
DE17 (3 weeks) DE |
AT15 (4 weeks) AT |
- |
UK7 (11 weeks) UK |
- | ||
| 1970 | Pickney Gal You Can Get It If You Really Want |
- | - | - |
UK42 (3 weeks) UK |
- | |
| You Can Get It if You Really Want You Can Get It If You Really Want |
DE9 (7 weeks) DE |
- | - |
UK2 (15 weeks) UK |
- | ||
| 1975 | Sing a little song |
- | - | - |
UK16 (7 weeks) UK |
- | |
gray hatching : no chart data available for this year
More singles
- 1963: Honor Your Mother & Father
- 1964: Jeserene (with The Four Aces)
- 1964: King of Ska
- 1966: Rudy Got Soul (with The Aces)
- 1967: Unity (with The Aces)
- 1967: Hey Grandma
- 1967: Rude Boy Train
- 1967: Pretty Africa
- 1967: sabotage
- 1968: Intensified (Music Like Dirt)
- 1968: Beautiful and Dangerous
- 1968: Writing on the Wall
- 1968: Bongo Girl
- 1968: Shing a Ling
- 1968: Fu Man Chu (with The Aces)
- 1969: Problems
- 1971: The Song We Used to Sing
- 1973: It Gotta Be So
- 1973: Everybody Join Hands
- 1977: Roots Rock
- 1980: Rude Boy Train
- 1989: Honor Your Mother & Father / B-Sites
- 1990: The Israelites (feat.General Levy)
Guest Posts
| year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
DE
|
AT
|
CH
|
UK
|
US
|
|||
| 2015 | The Israelites |
- |
AT34 (11 weeks) AT |
- | - | - |
with Apache Indian
|
Web links
- Desmond Dekker - official website
- “Reggae legend Desmond Dekker dies” , BBC , May 26, 2006
- "Desmond Dekker, 64, Pioneer of Jamaican Music, Dies" , New York Times , May 27, 2006
- "Founding Father of Reggae" , Andreas Müller in: Riddim May 2006
Individual evidence
- ↑ Desmond Dekker died. Der Spiegel, May 26, 2006, accessed November 24, 2018 .
- ↑ a b c d Chart sources: DE AT CH UK US
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Dekker, Desmond |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Desmond Adolphus Dacres (real name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Jamaican reggae composer and ska singer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 16, 1941 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Kingston (Jamaica) , Jamaica |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 25, 2006 |
| Place of death | Thornton Heath , |