Wilfred Gerald Edwards (1938 – 15 August 1992),[1] known as Jackie Edwards, was a Jamaican musician, songwriter and record producer, whose career took in ska, R&B, soul, rocksteady, reggae, and ballads.[2]
Jackie Edwards | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Wilfred Gerald Edwards |
| Born | 1938 Jamaica |
| Died | 15 August 1992 (aged 53–54) |
| Genres | Reggae |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter, record producer |
| Years active | 1950–1992 |
| Labels | Island |
Career
editEdwards was born in Jamaica in 1938 where he was raised with fourteen siblings. Strongly influenced by Nat King Cole, he began performing at the age of 14.[3] He came to the attention of Chris Blackwell in 1959. Edwards had four number one singles in Jamaica between 1960 and 1961, all self-written ballads with Latin-influenced music.[3]
When Blackwell set up Island Records in London in 1962, Edwards travelled with him.[1] Edwards worked as a singer and songwriter for Island, recording as a solo artist and also duets with Millie Small, as well as performing duties such as delivering records.[2][3] He wrote both "Keep On Running" and "Somebody Help Me", that became number one singles in the United Kingdom for The Spencer Davis Group.[1][2] He continued to work as a recording artist himself, with regular album releases through to the mid-1980s. Much of his later work was produced by Bunny Lee. Edwards also worked with The Aggrovators : one of his most renowned songs he produced with that band was the roots sound systems favourite, a recut of Burning Spear's Invasion (Wadada).[1] Dionne Bromfield covered his song "Oh Henry" on her album Introducing Dionne Bromfield in 2009.
Edwards worked as a producer, co-producing the 1977 album Move Up Starsky by The Mexicano.[4] The majority of Edwards' catalogue is published through Fairwood Music (UK) Ltd.
He died in August 1992 from a heart attack.[1]
Discography
editAlbums
edit- The Most of Jackie Edwards (1963) – Island
- Stand Up for Jesus (1964) – Island
- Come on Home (1965) – Island
- By Demand (1966) – Island
- Pledging My Love (1966) – Island (with Millie Small)
- Premature Golden Sands (1967) – Island
- Put Your Tears Away (1969) – Island
- I Do Love You (1972) – Trojan
- Do You Believe in Love (1976) – Klik
- African Language (1977) – Harry J Records
- Let It Be Me (1978) – Jamaica Sound (with Hortense Ellis)
- Tell Me Darling (1978) – Imperial
- Sincerely (1978) – Trojan
- Come to Me Softly (1979) – Third World
- Nothing Takes the Place of You (1981) – Starlight
- King of the Ghetto (1982) – Black Music
- Tell It Like It Is (1982) – Starlight
- Love & Affection (1983) – Sky Note (feat. Kate Swadling)
- The Original 'Mr. Cool Ruler' (1983) – Vista Sounds
- The Dynamic Jackie Wilfred Edwards (1984) – Boss
- Musical Treasures Disco Style (198?) – Imperial
- Endless Love (1986) – World Enterprise
- Heart to Heart (1990) – Justice
- Escape (1995) – Peter Pan Industries
- Dearest (1995) – Lagoon
- In Paradise (1995) – Carl's Records
Compilation albums
edit- The Best of Jackie Edwards (1966) – Island
- The Best of Jackie & Millie (1967) – Trojan (with Millie Small)
- 20 Greatest Hits (1977) – Conflict
- Starlight (1978) – Pye
- 20 Super Hits (19??) – Sonic Sounds
- In Paradise (1994) – Trojan
- Memorial (19??) – Rhino
- Singing Hits from Studio One and More (1995) – Rhino
- Great Soul Hits: Put Your Tears Away (1997) – Marginal
- This Is My Story: A History of Jamaica's Greatest Balladeer (2005) – Trojan
- I Feel So Bad (2006) – Castle
- 50 Greatest Hits (2013) – Alexander Music Group
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d e "Biography by Steve Leggett". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
- ^ a b c Larkin, Colin (1998) The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae, Virgin Books, ISBN 0-7535-0242-9
- ^ a b c "Wilfred ‘Jackie’ Edwards, An Unsung Hero Of The 60s", Jamaica Gleaner, 24 May 2015. Retrieved 25 May 2015
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 8 September 2008. Retrieved 23 July 2008.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)