Errol Thompson (29 December 1948 – 13 November 2004), better known as "ET", was a Jamaican

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

, audio engineer, and one of the first studio engineers to be involved in dub music.

Career

Thompson gained studio experience at Studio One, working alongside Joe Gibbs.Thompson, Dave (2002) ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books, , p. 314-315, 318 He went on to work for Bunny Lee and in the 1970s he worked (along with Niney) as an engineer at Randy's Studio 17, in Kingston,

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 Hispa ...

. Thompson engineered the first instrumental reggae album, ''The Undertaker'' by Derrick Harriott And The , released in 1970. He went on to work with Joe Gibbs from 1975. Gibbs and Thompson were known collectively as the Mighty Two. Together they produced music by Junior Byles, Dennis Brown, Gregory Isaacs, Althea and Donna,

Prince Far I Prince Far I (23 March 1945 – 15 September 1983) was a Jamaican reggae deejay and producer, and a Rastafarian. He was known for his gruff voice and critical assessment of the Jamaican government. His track "Heavy Manners" used lyrics abou ...

and

Eek-A-Mouse Eek-A-Mouse (born Ripton Joseph Hylton, 19 November 1957) is a Jamaican reggae musician. He is one of the earliest artists to be described as a " singjay".Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The Rough Guide To Reggae, 3rd edn.", Rough Guides, ...

, before their partnership ended in 1983 when Gibbs relocated to Miami. Thompson also engineered tracks by

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements ...

, The Abyssinians,

Augustus Pablo Horace Swaby (21 June 1953 – 18 May 1999),Thompson, Dave (2002) ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books, , p. 200-202 known as Augustus Pablo, was a Jamaican roots reggae and dub record producer and a multi-instrumentalist, active f ...

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 ...

Culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...

, Yellowman, Frankie Paul and Burning Spear. In addition, he produced work by I-Roy, Cornell Campbell, Freddie McGregor and Barrington Levy. Thompson also worked with producer, Clive Chin. His final project, the "Hard Times Riddim", co-produced with Stephen Gibson, son of partner Joe Gibbs, was instrumental in creating a resurgence in

dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The R ...

. The album included many key reggae performers of the time including, Capleton,

I Wayne I Wayne, Rastafarian stage name for Cliffroy Taylor (born September 13, 1980 in Portmore, Jamaica), is a roots reggae singer. He is known for his hit singles " Living In Love" and " Can't Satisfy Her" from his debut album, '' Lava Ground''. Bi ...

Richie Spice Richell Bonner (born 8 September 1971), better known as Richie Spice, is a Jamaican reggae artist. He is a member of the Rastafari movement. Some of his most famous songs include, "Brown Skin", "Youth Dem Cold Rel Bad", "Grooving' My Girl", "Ea ...

Chuck Fenda Leshorn Whitehead (born June 15, 1972), better known by his stage name Chuck Fenda, is a Jamaican American reggae musician and deejay born in Brooklyn, New York City.Campbell-Livingston, Cecelia (2012)Fenda's ordeal, '' Jamaica Observer'', Novemb ...

and Luciano. Later in life, he moved away from the music industry and managed a

supermarket A supermarket is a self-service shop offering a wide variety of food, beverages and household products, organized into sections. This kind of store is larger and has a wider selection than earlier grocery stores, but is smaller and more limit ...

in North Parade, downtown Kingston. Thompson died, after numerous

stroke A stroke is a disease, medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemorr ...

s, on 13 November 2004, at the age of 55.

Discography

;Albums

With King Tubby

*''King Tubby / Errol Thompson - The Black Foundation In Dub'' (2000, Heartbeat Records) ;Singles & EPs *Jamaican Born & Bred / Version (7") (1971, Ashanti) *Prince Far I / Errol Thompson - Same Knife / Different Dagger (7") (1999, Crazy Joe) *The Stones, Errol Thompson & The Mighty Artons - Penetrate (7") *Linval Thompson / Scientist & Errol Thompson - Touch Up The Key (7") *Johnnie Clarke / Errol Thompson, Joe Gibbs & The Professionals - Take Heed / Look Out (7") * The Echoes / Joe Gibbs, Errol Thompson & The Professionals - Problems In Being A Dread / Dread Problems (7") *Errol Thompson / J Gibson & Clint Eastwood / Bigger T - Production Plan / Million Dollar Plan (7") *Kojack & Miss Glitter / Joe Gibbs & Errol Thompson - I Can't Stop Loving You / Loving You (7") ;Contributing artist * ''

The Rough Guide to Dub ''The Rough Guide to Dub'' is a world music compilation album originally released in 2005. Part of the World Music Network Rough Guides series, the release covers the roots of dub music, focusing on the period 1973-1980. Curation was performed by ...

'' (2005, World Music Network)

References

External links

Reggae Vibes mini biography

Listing of Thompson's engineering and production
at Roots Archives
Discography at Discogs
1948 births 2004 deaths People from Kingston, Jamaica Jamaican record producers Jamaican audio engineers {{music-producer-stub