Junior Byles
Junior Byles (* 17th July 1948 as Kerrie Byles in Kingston , Jamaica ), also under the name known King Chubby , or just Chubby is a Jamaican singjay of rocksteady and roots reggae .
biography
Kerrie Byles Jr. was born in Jubilee Hospital in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1948 and grew up in the Kingston neighborhood of Jonestown. His father was a mechanic and his mother a teacher. His family was strictly religious. Byles gained his first musical experience as a singer in church. In 1967 he founded the vocal trio The Versatiles with Dudley Earl and Ben 'Louis' Davis . At that time Byles was working full-time as a firefighter. The same year after the group made recordings for the Kingston Festival Song Contest on the new Amalgamated record label, they were discovered by Lee "Scratch" Perry . He worked there as chief sound engineer to find new talent. This collaboration resulted in three singles called "Just Can't Win" , "The Time Has Come" and "Trust The Book" . The musical backup for all three songs comes from Lynn Taitt & the Jets . The first publication as a solo artist is called "What Is This World Coming To" and appeared in 1970. Between 1968 and 1974 Byles worked almost exclusively with Lee Perry and released further singles with his band and also as a solo artist, which are now classics of the roots apply, such as "Curly Locks" , "Rasta No Pickpocket" , "Place Called Africa" , or "Beat Down Babylon" . In 1972, in collaboration with Eric Barnett, the band's last single called "Action Line" was released . Byles then devoted himself to his solo career and was a big star in Jamaica by the mid-1970s. He managed to achieve a certain degree of recognition internationally. The first single as a solo artist called "Got The Tip" was released in 1971 on the British Punch label . A year later, the Trojan Records label released the first album called "Beat Down Babylon" . Junior Byles was one of several reggae musicians who supported the politician Michael Manley in the election as Prime Minister of Jamaica. For this purpose two songs were released with the names "Joshua Desire" and "Pharao Hiding" , which are included on the album Beat Down Babylon . After several single releases, another album was released in 1976 called "Jordan" , which was produced by Pete Weston. In the same year Byles, who was suffering from severe depression at the time, was admitted to the psychiatric department of Bellevue Hospital in Kingston after several suicide attempts. After his discharge, he continued to be a regular patient until the early 1980s. At that time he was no longer musically active. Nevertheless, he continued to publish, albeit a few singles. Among others the successful song "Chant Down Babylon" , together with the Jamaican singer Rupert Reid. This is a remake of the track "King Of Babylon" from 1975. Between 1982 and 1986 Byles suffered several misfortunes in his private life. At that time his mother died and shortly thereafter his home burned down. His wife and children emigrated to the USA. The last real album was released in 1986 on the Nighthawk Records label . It is called "Rasta No Pickpocket" . A year later, the Digital B label released the album "Beat Down Babylon - The Upsetter Years" . This was a revised version of his first album, along with other, partly new songs. Nevertheless, Byles was so bad financially in the same year that he had to live on the street. He went begging and ate from garbage cans. In 1989, however, Byles released the song Young Girl together with producer Niney "The Observer" Holness on the Heartbeat Records label. After he was able to release another song called Little Fleego three years later, he was financially better again. Between 1997 and 1998 Junior Byles played a few concerts with the Jamaican guitarist Earl "Chinna" Smith . From 2004 Byles also appeared again as a solo artist across Jamaica. He then went on a small tour of the United Kingdom. In 2010 he also played at several concerts and festivals in France.
Discography
Albums
- 1972 - Beat Down Babylon - Trojan Records
- 1976 - Jordan - Micron Music Limited
- 1986 - Rasta No Pickpocket - Nighthawk Records
- 1987 - Beat Down Babylon "The Upsetter Years" - Digital-B
Singles, dubplates
- 1970 - A Matter Of Time - White Label
- 1970 - Africa Stand - White Label
- 1970 - Are You Leading Me On - White Label
- 1970 - Come Da Da - White Label
- 1970 - Curly Locks (No. 2) - White Label
- 1970 - Curly Locks (No. 3)) - White Label
- 1970 - Cutting Razor - White Label
- 1970 - Demonstration - White Label
- 1970 Education Rock White Label
- 1970 - Fun And Games - White Label
- 1970 - Long Way - White Label
- 1970 - Now Generation - White Label
- 1970 What Is This World Coming To - White Label
- 1970 When Will Better Come - White Label
- 1971 - Got The Tip - Punch
- 1972 - Da-Da - Wizz Cathedral
- 1972 - Fever - Pama Records
- 1972 - Pharoah Hiding - Dynamic Sounds
- 1972 King Of Babylon Observer
- 1973 - Rasta No Pick Pocket / Place Call Africa - Upsetter
- 1973 When Will Better Come Upsetter
- 1973 - Auntie Lu-Lu - Upsetter
- 1973 - Long Way - Clock Tower Records Inc.
- 1973 Break Up To Make Up Count Shelly
- 1974 - Curley Locks - Upsetter / Orchid / Dip / Capo Action
- 1974 - Mumbling And Grumbling - Upsetter
- 1974 - Gwane Joshua Gwane - Jaguar
- 1975 - Lorna Banana - Advance
- 1975 - Fade Away - Well Charge, VP Records
- 1975 - Girl Next Door - Micron Music Limited
- 1975 - Bur-O-Boy - The Thing
- 1976 - Pitchy Patchy - Black Wax
- 1977 - Heart And Soul - Errol T Records
- 1977 - Can You Feel It - 3 in 1
- 1979 - Dread Locks Time - Errol T Records
- 1980 Let Us Reason Now - One In Three Records
- 1989 - Young Girl - Heartbeat Records
- 1992 - Little Fleego - White Label
- 2005 - Weeping - Observer
Collaboration with other artists
- 1970 - Lick The Pipe Peter (feat. Jah T & Errol Thompson) - White Label
- 1972 - Informer Man (feat. Jah T) - Upsetter
- 1973 Break Up To Make Up (feat.Leroy Sibbles) - Treasure Isle
- 1973 - Sugar Sugar (feat.Big Youth ) - White Label
- 1975 - Chant Down Babylon (feat.Rupert Reid) - Ja-Man Records
- 1975 - Remember Me (feat. Rupert Reid) - Ja-Man Records
- 1982 - Better Be Careful (feat. The Roots Radics ) - Carib Gems
- 1999 - I And I (feat.Glen Ricks) - Triple R
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g Reggae & Caribbean Music , Thomspon, Dave ("002), Backbeat Books, ISBN 0-87930-655-6
- ↑ a b c d e biography at Discogs
- ↑ a b People Funny Boy - The Genius of Lee 'Scratch' Perry. Katz, David (2000), Payback Press, ISBN 0-86241-854-2 .
- ↑ a b Junior Byles biography at AllMusic
- ↑ Young Girl - Record review by AllMusic
- ↑ Fiery devils disturb 'Rebel Salute' ( Memento of the original from October 18, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (Jamaica Gleaner)
Web links
- Discography on riddimguide.com
- Junior Byles at Discogs (English)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Junior Byles |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Byles, Kerry (real name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Jamaican dancehall musician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 17, 1948 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Kingston , Jamaica |