Rupert Lloyd Edwards (born 4 July 1945) is a Jamaican

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

singer and record producer.

Biography

Rupie Edwards was born in Goshen, in Saint Ann Parish.Thompson, Dave (2002) ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books, , pp. 103–105 The family moved to Kingston in 1958, where he sang in talent contests, including those run by Vere Johns. He was spotted by producer S.L. Smith, for whom he recorded his debut single, "Guilty Convict" b/w "Just Because", released on Smith's Hi=Lite label nd licensed to Blue Beat Records in 1962. After recording a few further

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

, he formed the Ambassadors in 1965 with Paragons singer Junior Menz and guitarist Eric Frater, becoming the Virtues with the addition of Dobby Dobson.Greene, Jo-Ann
Rupie Edwards Biography
,

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

. Retrieved 26 April 2016 They recorded several singles for Harry J, as well as Edwards' first self-production, "Burning Love", credited to Rupie Edwards and the Virtues. The Virtues broke up in 1968, and Edwards started to focus mainly on his work as a producer, although he continued to release his own records in the late 1960s and early 1970s. By the beginning of the 1970s, he had recorded artists like The Heptones, The Mighty Diamonds,

Bob Andy Keith Anderson CD (28 October 1944 – 27 March 2020), better known by the stage name Bob Andy, was a Jamaican reggae vocalist and songwriter. He was widely regarded as one of reggae's most influential songwriters. Early life Anderson was bo ...

, Johnny Clarke, Joe Higgs, Gregory Isaacs ("Lonely Man") and

The Ethiopians The Ethiopians were one of Jamaica's best-loved harmony groups during the late ska, rocksteady and early reggae periods. Responsible for a significant number of hits between the mid-1960s and early 1970s, the group was also one of the first J ...

on 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 pr ...

s 'Success' and 'Opportunity', based at his Success record shop in Orange Street, and on the

Trojan Records Trojan Records is a British record label founded in 1968. It specialises in ska, rocksteady, reggae and dub music. The label currently operates under the Sanctuary Records Group. The name ''Trojan'' comes from the Croydon-built Trojan truck ...

sub-labels Big Records and Cactus.Katz, David (2006) ''People Funny Boy: The Genius of Lee 'Scratch' Perry'', Omnibus Press, , p. 80 He also worked with

DJs A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile ...

such as U-Roy, Dennis Alcapone and I-Roy, and released some

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 inst ...

versions with his studio band, The Rupie Edwards All Stars. The group included musicians such as saxophonist Tommy McCook,

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...

player Vin Gordon,

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drums. Most contemporary western bands that play rock, pop, jazz, or R&B music include a drummer for purposes including timekeeping and embellishing the musical timbre. The drummer's ...

Carlton 'Santa' Davis, guitarist Hux Brown,

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

Gladstone Anderson, bassist Clifton 'Jackie' Jackson and

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists. In addition, an organist may accompany congregational ...

Winston Wright. In 1974, he released an

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...

(''Yamaha Skank'') containing solely of tracks based on the Uniques' "My Conversation" riddim, credited as the first single-riddim album. In 1974 and 1975, he scored

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album s ...

in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

with "Ire Feelings" and "Leggo Skanga". Both tracks were based on the same riddim, first used for Johnny Clarke's "Everyday Wondering", and the ''Ire Feelings'' album followed in 1975. Another one-riddim album based on these tracks, ''Ire Feelings - Chapter and Version'', was released by Trojan in 1990. After these successes, Edwards moved to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, and since then has continued producing and recording, working with artists such as Jah Woosh, Gladstone Anderson,

Errol Dunkley Errol Dunkley (born 6 February 1951), sometimes spelled Erroll Dunkley, is a Jamaican reggae musician, born in Kingston, Jamaica in 1951. Biography Dunkley's recording career began in 1965, when he was 14, with "Gypsy" (a duet with Roy Shir ...

, Dobby Dobson, and Shorty the President, and releasing a series of ''Dub Basket'' albums culled from his earlier productions. He now mainly records

Gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music, and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is co ...

.Bradley, Lloyd (2001) ''Bass Culture: When Reggae Was King'', Penguin,

Discography

Albums

*''Yamaha Skank'' (1974), Success *''Ire Feelings'' (1975), Cactus *''Jamaica Serenade'' (1976), Cactus *''Conversation Stylee'' (1980), Tad's *''Lovers Roots'' (198?), Success - split with Dobby Dobson *''Pleasure and Pain'' (1987), Success *''Sweet Gospel Volume Four'', Rupie Edwards *''Bible Music Citation'' (2007), Success

Compilations

*Various Artists - ''Rupie's Gems - 1972-1974'' (1974), Cactus *Various Artists - ''Yamaha Skank'' (1974), Success *Rupie Edwards & Various Artists - ''Hit Picks'' (1974), Horse *Rupie Edwards All Stars - ''Dub Basket'' (1975), Cactus - also issued as ''Dub Classic'' (1977), Success *Rupie Edwards All Stars - ''Dub Basket Chapter 2'' (1976), Cactus *Various Artists - ''Rupie's Gems Volume 2'' (1976), Cactus *''Hit Picks Volume 1'' (1977), Success *Various Artists - ''Ire Feelings, Chapter & Version 1973-1975'' (1990), Trojan *Rupie Edwards & Friends - ''Let There Be Version'' (1990), Trojan *Rupie Edwards All Stars & Various Artists - ''Pure Gold'' - Success *Various Artists - ''House of Lovers'' *Various Artists - ''Rupie's Scorchers'' - 1969-1971 - Trybute (2002) *''Success Archives vols. 1-8'' (2006-2007), Success *''Best of Sweet Gospel, Reggae And Soul - Vols. 1 - 7'' (2006), Success *''Rupie Edwards Presents Success Archives - From Kingston Jamaica to London UK'' (2013), Rupie Edwards

References

External links

Rupie Edwards Discography
from Roots Archives {{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Rupie 1945 births Living people Jamaican record producers Jamaican reggae musicians Jamaican songwriters People from Saint Ann Parish Trojan Records artists