HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Derrick Clifton Harriott OD (born 10 February 1942) is a
Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispanio ...
n singer and record producer. He was a member of the Jiving Juniors with Herman Sang before embarking on a solo career. He has produced
recordings A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, r ...
by
Big Youth Manley Augustus Buchanan (born 19 April 1949, Trenchtown, Kingston, Jamaica),Thompson, Dave (2002) "Reggae & Caribbean Music", Backbeat Books, better known as Big Youth (sometimes called Jah Youth), is a Jamaican deejay, mostly known for his w ...
, Chariot Riders, The Chosen Few, Dennis Brown, The Ethiopians, Keith & Tex, The Kingstonians, Rudy Mills, Scotty, Sly & Revolutionaries, and Winston McAnuff.


Biography


The Jiving Juniors

As a student at Excelsior High School, Harriott formed a duo with Claude Sang Jr.Jiving Juniors Unleashes Derrick Harriott On The World
, ''
Jamaica Gleaner ''The Gleaner'' is an English-language, morning daily newspaper founded by two brothers, Jacob and Joshua de Cordova on 13 September 1834 in Kingston, Jamaica. Originally called the ''Daily Gleaner'', the name was changed on 7 December 1992 to ' ...
'', 18 May 2014. Retrieved 20 May 2014
Harriott entered the Vere Johns Opportunity Hour talent contest as a solo artist in 1955, failing to reach the final round, and entered again in 1957 as a duo with Sang, going on to win several times. The duo first recorded for
Stanley Motta Stanley Motta was an electronics store proprietor who established a record label in Kingston, Jamaica and opened the first privately owned recording studio in Jamaica in 1951, jump starting Jamaica's music industry. Career Motta recorded cal ...
, and went on to record for several producers, having hits including "Daffodil" and "Birds of Britain" before splitting up when Sang's job took him overseas. In 1958 Harriott formed the Jiving Juniors with Eugene Dwyer, Herman Sang (Claude's younger brother), and Maurice Wynter. The group had success on the Vere Johns Opportunity Hour, and in 1960 and 1961 had
hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single or simply a hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record ...
s with "Lollipop Girl" (for
Duke Reid Arthur "Duke" Reid CD (21 July 1915 – 1 January 1975) was a Jamaican record producer, DJ and label owner. He ran one of the most popular sound systems of the 1950s called Reid's Sound System, whilst Duke himself was known as The Troj ...
) and "Over The River" (aka "I'll Be Here When He Comes", for
Coxsone Dodd Clement Seymour "Coxsone" Dodd (26 January 1932 – 4 May 2004) was a Jamaican record producer who was influential in the development of ska and reggae in the 1950s, 1960s and beyond. He was nicknamed "Coxsone" at school due to his talent a ...
). The group split up after Harriott emigrated to the United States, although the other members continued for a while with Jimmy Mudahy replacing Harriott.The Second Coming – Jiving Juniors Hits Recording Studios
, ''
Jamaica Gleaner ''The Gleaner'' is an English-language, morning daily newspaper founded by two brothers, Jacob and Joshua de Cordova on 13 September 1834 in Kingston, Jamaica. Originally called the ''Daily Gleaner'', the name was changed on 7 December 1992 to ' ...
'', 25 May 2014. Retrieved 25 May 2014
After struggling to find work, Harriott reformed the Jiving Juniors with a new line-up, having already teamed up again with Claude Sang in New York. The new line-up included Winston Service and Valmont Burke, and split their time between Jamaica and New York, where they recorded at the Mirasound Studios, having hits including "Sugar Dandy". The travelling took its toll and the group split up in 1962.


Solo and production career

Harriott embarked on a solo career and later formed his own
record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the prod ...
, Crystal. His first solo release, "I Care", was a hit, with further hits following with "What Can I Do" (1964), "The Jerk" (1965) and "I'm Only Human" (1965), all of which were included on his debut album, ''The Best of Derrick Harriott''. In 1967 he had further solo hits with "The Loser" and "Solomon", as well as with productions of other artists, including The Ethiopians' "No Baptism", and Keith And Tex's "Tonight" and "Stop That Train". The lyrics to his song "Message from a Black Man" (circa 1970) echoed the growing black consciousness in American
soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became p ...
of that time. In 1970 he issued The Crystalites' ''The Undertaker'', an
instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to instr ...
album in a similar vein to the early music of The Upsetters. He produced successful albums by other artists, including DJ Scotty's ''Schooldays'', Dennis Brown's ''Super Reggae and Soul Hits'', and also his own ''14 Chartbuster Hits''. In 1971, ''Swing'' magazine named Harriott the Top Producer of 1970. He was one of the first producers to use
King Tubby Osbourne Ruddock (28 January 1941 – 6 February 1989), better known as King Tubby, was a Jamaican sound engineer who greatly influenced the development of dub in the 1960s and 1970s. Tubby's innovative studio work, which saw him elevate the ...
mixing talents at his Waterhouse studio, issuing one of the earliest dub albums in 1974: ''Scrub A Dub'', credited to The Crystallites. Harriott followed this with another dub/instrumental album, ''More Scrubbing The Dub''. His late 1970s productions used backing from
The Revolutionaries The Revolutionaries (sometimes known as "Revolutionaires") was a Jamaican reggae band. Career Set up in 1975 as the house band of the Channel One Studios owned by Joseph Hoo Kim, The Revolutionaries with Sly Dunbar on drums and Bertram "Ra ...
on albums such as Winston McAnuff's ''Pick Hits To Click'' (1978), DJ Ray I's ''Rasta Revival'' (1978) and his own ''Enter The Chariot'' and ''Disco 6'' (a
compilation album A compilation album comprises tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several performers. If by one artist, then generally the tracks were not originally intended for rel ...
featuring Dennis Brown, Cornell Campbell and
Horace Andy Horace Andy (born Horace Hinds, 19 February 1951) is a Jamaican roots reggae songwriter and singer, known for his distinctive vocals and hit songs such as "Government Land", as well as "Angel", "Spying Glass" and "Five Man Army" with English tri ...
). In the 1970s he opened his first record shop on King Street in Kingston, later moving to larger premises at Twin Gates Plaza in Half-Way Tree. In the 1980s, he continued to have hits with soul cover versions, such as "Skin To Skin" and "Checking Out". In 1988 he scored with "Starting All Over Again", a duet with Yellowman, with lyrics about Hurricane Gilbert. The mid to late 1990s saw solo efforts such as ''Sings Jamaican Rock Steady Reggae'', ''For a Fistful of Dollars'', ''Derrick Harriott & Giants'', and ''Riding the Roots Chariot'' being released. In July 2002 in
Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anc ...
, Canada, Harriott performed at the two-night ''Legends of Ska'' festival. Other performers included:
Skatalites The Skatalites are a ska band from Jamaica. They played initially between 1963 and 1965, and recorded many of their best known songs in the period, including " Guns of Navarone." They also played on records by Prince Buster and backed many othe ...
, Rico Rodriguez,
Lester Sterling Lester Sterling OD (born 31 January 1936),Musicians Bio
", Alpha Old Boys Association, retrie ...
, Johnny Moore, Lynn Taitt,
Prince Buster Cecil Bustamente Campbell (24 May 1938 – 8 September 2016), known professionally as Prince Buster, was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and producer. The records he released in the 1960s influenced and shaped the course of Jamaican contemporary ...
,
Alton Ellis Alton Nehemiah Ellis (1 September 1938 – 10 October 2008)Godfather ...
, Lord Creator,
Justin Hinds Justin Hinds (7 May 1942 – 16 March 2005) was a Jamaican ska vocalist, with his backing singers the Dominoes. He is best known for his work with Duke Reid's Treasure Isle Records, where his most notable song, "Carry Go Bring Come" recorded ...
,
Derrick Morgan Derrick Morgan (born 27 March 1940)Walters, Basil (2012)A New Day – Songs heralding JA’s Independence", '' Jamaica Observer'', 3 June 2012, retrieved 3 June 2012 is a Jamaican musical artist who was popular in the 1960s and 1970s. He wor ...
and Lord Tanamo. In 2009, Harriott was awarded the
Order of Distinction The Order of Distinction is a national order in the Jamaican honours system. It is the sixth in order of precedence of the Orders of Societies of Honour, which were instituted by an Act of Parliament (''The National Honours and Awards Act'') i ...
by the Jamaican government, and in 2019 he received a Lifetime Achievement Award in Music from the Jamaica Reggae Industry Association (JaRIA).Derrick Harriott shrugs off rumours
, ''
Jamaica Observer ''Jamaica Observer'' is a daily newspaper published in Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a lon ...
'', 7 February 2022. Retrieved 13 February 2022


Discography


Albums

* ''The Best of Derrick Harriott'' – 1965 –
Island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...
* ''The Best of Derrick Harriott Volume 2'' – 1968 –
Trojan Trojan or Trojans may refer to: * Of or from the ancient city of Troy * Trojan language, the language of the historical Trojans Arts and entertainment Music * ''Les Troyens'' ('The Trojans'), an opera by Berlioz, premiered part 1863, part 18 ...
* ''Sings Jamaican Reggae'' – 1969 – Crystal/ Pama * The Crystalites – ''Undertaker'' – 1970 Trojan * ''Psychedelic Train'' – 1970 – Crystal/Trojan * ''Presents Scrub-A-Dub Reggae'' – 1974 – Crystal * ''More Scrubbing The Dub'' – 1975 – Crystal * ''Songs For Midnight Lovers'' – 1976 – Crystal/Trojan * Derrick Harriott & The Revolutionaries – ''Reggae Chart Busters Seventies Style'' – 1977 * ''Reggae Disco Rockers'' – 1977 – Charmers * ''Born to Love You'' – 1979 – Crystal


Compilation albums

* Derrick Harriott & Various Artists – ''14 Chartbuster Hits'' – 1973 – Crystal * Derrick Harriott & The Crystalites / Chariot Riders – 1970 – ''Blockbuster Reggae Instrumentals'' * ''Greatest Reggae Hits – 1975 – Crystal/Trojan * ''Disco 6'' – 1977 * ''Enter The Chariot'' – 1978 * Derrick Harriott & Various Artists – ''Those Reggae Oldies'' – 1978 * Derrick Harriott & The Jiving Juniors – ''The Donkey Years 1961–1965'' – Jamaican Gold (1993) * Derrick Harriott & Various Artists – ''Step Softly 1965–1972'' – Trojan (1988) * Derrick Harriott – ''Sings Jamaican Rock Steady Reggae'' – Jamaican Gold * Derrick Harriott & The Crystalites – ''For A Fistful of Dollars'' – Jamaican Gold * ''From Chariot's Vault Volume 2: 16 Reggae Hits'' – Jamaican Gold * Derrick Harriott & Various Artists – ''Riding the Roots Chariot'' – 1998 – Pressure Sounds * Derrick Harriott & Various Artists – ''Skin To Skin'' – 1989 – Sarge * Derrick Harriott & Various Artists – ''Musical Chariot'' – 1990 – Charly Records


See also

* List of reggae musicians * Island Records discography * List of Jamaican record producers *
List of Jamaican backing bands A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations * List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America * SC Germania List, German rugby union ...


References


External links


Pressure Sounds biography of Harriott
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harriott, Derrick 1939 births Jamaican reggae musicians Jamaican male singers Jamaican record producers Living people