Horace Faith (born Horace Smith) was a Jamaican reggae singer. He is best known for his cover of the Checkmates, Ltd. song, "Black Pearl", which reached number 13 on the UK Singles Chart in 1970.[1]
Horace Faith | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Horace Smith[1] |
| Born | Jamaica[1] |
| Died | 7 March 2015 |
| Genres | Reggae |
| Occupation | Singer |
| Instrument | Vocals |
| Years active | 1970s |
| Labels | B&C, Trojan, A&M, DJM |
Released by Trojan Records (TR 7790),[2] "Black Pearl" spent ten weeks on the UK Singles Chart in the latter half of 1970, peaking at number 13 in October that year.[1] Coincidentally, the original version of the song by Checkmates, Ltd., peaked at number 13 in the US Billboard Hot 100 in 1969.[3] The track was written by Irwin Levine, Phil Spector and Toni Wine.[4] The B-side of Faith's single was "Help Me Help Myself", which was written by Johnny Arthey and Phil Swern.[2] The single was released in the United States by Bell Records.[5]
"Black Pearl" subsequently appeared on numerous compilation albums.[4]
Faith's later recordings included the self-penned "I Can't Understand It", arranged by Richard Anthony Hewson and produced by Swern.[6]
Faith died on 7 March 2015.[7]
Discography
edit| Year | Title | Record label | UK [1] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | "Spinning Wheel" | B&C | — |
| 1970 | "Black Pearl" | Trojan | 13 |
| "Susie Is Tomorrow" | Trojan | — | |
| 1972 | "Shame and Scandal in the Family" | A&M | — |
| 1976 | "I Can't Understand It" | DJM | — |
| 1978 | "Rich Man Poor Man" | Ultra | — |
| "Looking" | Anansi | — | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | |||
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d e Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 193. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ a b "Horace Faith – "Black Pearl"". Discogs. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2000). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits (7th ed.).
- ^ a b "Black Pearl". AllMusic. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
- ^ "Horace Faith – "Black Pearl"". Toniwine.com. Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
- ^ "Horace Faith – "I Can't Understand It"". NME. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
- ^ Lily Fierro (13 April 2015). "Bovine Ska and Rocksteady 4/8/2015: Horace Faith – LILY & GENEROSO 4EVER!". Lilyandgeneroso4ever.com. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
- ^ "Horace Faith – Discography". 45cat.com. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
External links
edit- Horace Faith discography at Discogs
