I-Roy
I-Roy (born June 28, 1944 in Saint Thomas , Jamaica , † November 27, 1999 in Kingston , Jamaica) was the stage name of Roy Samuel Reid , a Jamaican deejay des roots reggae . He is considered one of the pioneers of dancehall . He had his greatest successes in the 1970s.
Life
Private
Roy Samuel Reid was born in 1944 in a settlement in the southwest of Parish Saint Thomas. He had three brothers and three sisters. His parents were simple farmers. As a teenager, Reid moved to the capital Kingston and studied political science at Dinthill Technical College . He then worked in the public sector for the government.
Roy Samuel Reid was married for several years. He has two sons, one of whom was murdered shortly before his death.
Career
Although there was an overloaded range of impressions and opportunities for the music-loving Roy Samuel Reid in Kingston, he continued to pursue his career in the public service in the 1960s and was not particularly interested in deejaying , which was particularly well represented. However, he began to chat in private through microphones. By the mid-1960s at the latest, Reid was influenced by the great success of the sound systems commonly used in Jamaica . In 1968 he founded his own sound system called Soul Bunny and organized his own weekly reggae events near Victoria Pier in Kingston, which took place every Wednesday. To make the shows more varied, he founded another sound system with Turbo Sonic Sound.
In the same year he met the producer and label owner Harry Mudie and Reid got the opportunity for his first studio recordings. As a result, the first single with the name "Heart Don't Leap" appeared on the Jamaican label Moodisc Records International . He recorded the song with the Jamaican singer Dennis Walks , a member of the vocal band The Pioneers . At that time he was most inspired by the Jamaican Deejays U-Roy , from whom his stage name is derived, and Dennis Alcapone . They were among the first deejays that with the new at the time Toasting commercial success had. Previously, this form of singing was only common in sound systems and live events. I-Roy adopted this style of singing. In early 1969, Reid moved from Kingston to Spanish Town and began working there as Deejay on the most important local sound systems. Among others at Ruddy's Supreme , Son's Junior and Stereo . After further recordings with other artists, the first solo sung single called "Musical Pleasure" was released in 1970 , which was also produced by Harry Mudie. After 1971 I-Roy ended the collaboration with Mudie and began to work as a music producer for other artists himself and created commercial hits such as "Mood for Love" by Winston Blake or "Problems of Life" and "Musical Drum Sound" by Lloyd Daley . I-Roy himself also continued to release singles.
In 1973 his first album "Presenting I. Roy" was released on the Trojan Records label . His second album called "Hell And Sorrow" made him internationally known and received only good reviews , especially in the UK . Between 1973 and 1974 I-Roy embarked on his first European tour for eight months to promote his next album "Many Moods Of I Roy" . After he was back in Jamaica, he began to turn increasingly to the deejay clash . In 1975 he published more so-called battle songs with songs such as "Black Bullet" , "I Man Time" , "Roots Man" or the classic "Welding" . The best known were his clashes with the Deejay Prince Jazzbo. In 1976 I-Roy signed a contract with the major label Virgin Records . On this he released two albums in the same year. Between 1976 and 1979 I-Roy released a total of nine albums and various singles on various labels.
However, in the 1980s, its popularity fell sharply. But he continued to produce albums and singles, which, however, sold poorly. His last album came out in 1991. It was called "Straight To The Heart" . The last single called It A Badda Me was released in 1988. In 1997, the Blood & Fire label released another best-of album.
After I-Roy's death, singles and albums were released at irregular intervals. The last single, called Tribute To Marcus Garvey , was released in 2011. Heavier Than Lead was the last album and was released in 2008.
death
In the last few years of his life, I-Roy became so impoverished that he became homeless. Two weeks before his death, his son was shot in prison. Roy Samuel Reid died on November 27, 1999 in Kingston. Heart failure was diagnosed as the cause of death. He was 55 years old.
I-Roy in art
The 1972 song "Sidewalk Killer" is played in the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas on the fictional radio station K-Jah West .
Discography
The discography contains only first publications. Remixes and sung riddims are not included.
Albums
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Singles, dubplates
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Collaboration with other artists
- 1968 - Heart Don't Leap (feat. Dennis Walks) - Moodisc Records International
- 1968 - The Drifter (feat. Dennis Walks) - Moodisc Records International
- 1969 - Let me tell you boy (feat. Ebony Sisters) - Moodisc Records International
- 1970 - Combination Drifter (feat. Dennis Walks) - Afro
- 1972 - Now Generation - Mood For Love ( feat.Heptones ) - Ashanti
- 1972 - Tripe Girl (feat. Heptones) - Crystal Records
- 1973 - Silver Platter (feat. Keith Hudson ) - Randy's
- 1973 - Tougher Than Tough (feat. The Crystalites) - Crystal Records
- 1973 - Take A Trip & Fresh And Clean (feat. Dennis Brown ) - Observer
- 1974 - Jah Is My Light & Wicked Eat Dirt (feat.Leroy Smart) - Observer
- 1975 - News Carrier (feat. Leo Graham) - Jogibs
- 1977 - Money Trouble (feat. The Maytones ) - GG's Records
- 1977 - Jah Come Here (feat. Dennis Brown) - Observer
- 1979 - I Trust You (feat.Delroy Wilson) - GG's Records
- 1979 - A Win Them (feat. Leo Graham) - Joe Gibbs Music
- 1981 - Dub It In The Morning (feat. Johnny Clarke) - Jackpot
- 1981 - Woman A Grumble (feat. Derrick Morgan) - Gorgon Records
Individual evidence
- ↑ I-Roy - artist profile at das-musikmagazin.de ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b c d e f biography at reggae-vibes.com
- ^ Memorial Tribute at Memorialja.com
- ↑ a b c d e I-Roy in the National Library of Jamaica
- ↑ Short biography at Yardie-Reggae.com
- ^ I Roy - Tribute To Marcus Garvey at Discogs
- ^ I Roy - Heavier Than Lead at Discogs
- ↑ K-JahWest Playlist at IGN Music ( Memento of the original from November 15, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
Web links
personal data | |
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SURNAME | I-Roy |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Roy Samuel Reid (maiden name) |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Jamaican reggae musician |
DATE OF BIRTH | June 28, 1944 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Saint Thomas Parish , Jamaica |
DATE OF DEATH | November 27, 1999 |
Place of death | Kingston (Jamaica) |