Alvin 'GG' Ranglin (born 1942, Eden, Clarendon Parish, Jamaica)Greene (Alvin Ranglin Biography) 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 the ...

singer, record producer and record label owner.

Biography

Ranglin started to sing in public in his teens with an Adventist Church background. As a radio and television technician involved in the

jukebox A jukebox is a partially automated music-playing device, usually a coin-operated machine, that will play a patron's selection from self-contained media. The classic jukebox has buttons, with letters and numbers on them, which are used to selec ...

industry, he soon acquired his own sound system he named "GG". By the mid-1960s, he opened his own TV repair shop in

May Pen May Pen is the capital and largest town in the parish of Clarendon in Middlesex County, Jamaica. It is located on the Rio Minho river (Jamaica's longest), and is a major market centre for the Parish. The population was 61,548 at the 2011 cen ...

and started to produce records with artists such as Trevor Brown; and as a singer with

Vernon Buckley Vernon may refer to: Places Australia * Vernon County, New South Wales Canada * Vernon, British Columbia, a city * Vernon, Ontario France *Vernon, Ardèche * Vernon, Eure United States * Vernon, Alabama * Vernon, Arizona * Vernon, Californi ...

(later of The Maytones) as "Vern & Alvin" and with Lloyd Flowers under the name of "Flowers & Alvin".Thompson, p. 436, 494 He soon developed his business by buying jukeboxes and opening his first record shop. He took over the Gloria label from a family member in 1969 and had his first hit with The Maytones' (of which he was an early member) single "Loving Reggae".Thompson, p. 316 He worked with the vocal duo until they split in 1980 and enjoyed different

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 ...

mainly with love songs in the early 1970s. He started his GG's label in 1970 and had a big hit with "Man from Carolina" by his studio band named GG Allstars, an organ-led reworking of the Folkes Brothers hit "Oh Carolina".Katz, p. 102 Among all the artists he worked with are

Eric Donaldson Eric Donaldson (born 11 June 1947 in Bog Walk, Jamaica) is a Jamaican reggae singer-songwriter. He originated in Saint Catherine, Jamaica. Biography Born in Kent Village, about 2 miles from Bog Walk, Donaldson first recorded for Studio One i ...

in 1970 ("Lonely Night"...), Max Romeo, Billy Dyce, The Ethiopians in 1972,

U-Roy Ewart Beckford OD (21 September 1942 – 17 February 2021), known by the stage name U-Roy, was a Jamaican vocalist and pioneer of toasting.Jo-Ann GreeneU-Roy Biography, AllMusic. Retrieved 11 April 2013. U-Roy was known for a melodic style ...

in 1973, Prince Mohammed with the hit "Hallelujah I Love Her So", Cynthia Richards,

Gregory Isaacs Gregory Anthony Isaacs OD (15 July 1951 – 25 October 2010)Thompson, p. 127. was a Jamaican reggae musician. Milo Miles, writing in ''The New York Times'', described Isaacs as "the most exquisite vocalist in reggae".Miles, Milo (1992),RECORDI ...

from 1974 to 1977 (including his debut ''In Person'' album, and the two ''Best of'' volumes), The Starlites featuring Stanley Beckford ("

Soldering Soldering (; ) is a process in which two or more items are joined by melting and putting a filler metal ( solder) into the joint, the filler metal having a lower melting point than the adjoining metal. Unlike welding, soldering does not in ...

" in 1975), Jah Thomas in the mid 1970s ("Midnight Rock"),

Dennis Brown Dennis Emmanuel Brown CD (1 February 1957 – 1 July 1999) was a Jamaican reggae singer. During his prolific career, which began in the late 1960s when he was aged eleven, he recorded more than 75 albums and was one of the major stars of lo ...

in 1975,

I-Roy Roy Samuel Reid (28 June 1942 – 27 November 1999), better known as I-Roy, was a Jamaican deejay who had a very prolific career during the 1970s. Biography Born in 1944 in Saint Thomas Parish, Jamaica, Reid graduated from Dinthill Technical C ...

in 1977,

Dennis Alcapone Dennis Alcapone (born Dennis Smith, 6 August 1947, in Clarendon, Jamaica) is a reggae DJ and producer. Career Smith initially trained as a welder and worked for the Jamaica Public Services.Interview with Aad van der Hoek in London, England, ...

, Mike Brooks in 1977 ("Guiding Star" launched his career), between 1977 and 1978 Jah Stone & Freddie McKay ("The Right Time"), in 1979 Lone Ranger ("Barnabas Collins" became a No. 1 in the UK reggae chart in 1980) plus

Barrington Levy Barrington Ainsworth Levy (born 30 April 1964) is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall artist. Career Levy was born in Clarendon, Jamaica. He formed a band called the Mighty Multitude, with his cousin, Everton Dacres; the pair released "My Bl ...

, with whom he enjoyed a string of hits in the early 1980s.Greene, Jo-Ann "

Barrington Levy Biography Barrington may refer to: People * Barrington (name) * Barrington baronets, holders of a title in the baronetage of England * Viscount Barrington, a title in the peerage of Ireland Places Australia * Barrington, New South Wales * Barring ...

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

. Retrieved 7 May 2010 Isaacs gave Ranglin his first international hit with "Love is Overdue", and in the four-year period that the two worked together in the 1970s, Isaacs status rose to that of a superstar. Ranglin worked with him again in 1995 on the ''Dreaming'' album,Greene, Jo-Ann "

Gregory Isaacs Biography Gregory may refer to: People and fictional characters * Gregory (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Gregory (surname), a surname Places Australia *Gregory, Queensland, a town in the Shire o ...

. Retrieved 7 May 2010 and again in 2002 on ''I Found Love''.Windham, Ben (2002)
Some Artists 'Southern By Extension'
, ''

The Tuscaloosa News The '' Tuscaloosa News '' is a daily newspaper serving Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States, and the surrounding area in west central Alabama. In 2012, Halifax Media Group acquired the ''Tuscaloosa News''. Prior to that, the paper's owner was Th ...

'', 8 November 2002. Retrieved 7 May 2010 During his long career, Ranglin set up different record labels such as GG's, Hit, and Typhoon, and record stores in places such as

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the five most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

, Half Way Tree, Old Harbour,

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...

and London. He currently lives in

and owns GG Records, a recording studio and a pressing plant.

Partial discography

The GG All Stars * ''Man From Carolina'' – 1970 –

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 189 ...

* ''Bonanza'' – 1970 –

* ''Musical Shot'' – 1970 –

* ''Flight 404'' – 1970 –

* ''Ganja Plane'' – 1970 –

* ''The Three Dreads From Zion'' – 1978 – GG's Compilations * Various Artists – ''Reggae Flight 404'' – 1970 – Trojan * Various Artists – ''Reggae Reggae Volume 2'' – 1972 – Trojan * Various Artists – ''Atlantic 1'' – 1975 – Horse/Trojan * Various Artists – ''Street Corner Ital Food'' – 1979 – GG's * Various Artists – ''From Chapter To Version – 1970–1974'' – 1998 – Jamaican Gold * Various Artists – ''From GG's Reggae Hit Stable Vol 01 – 1968–1973'' – Jamaican Gold (1998) * Various Artists – ''From GG's Reggae Hit Stable Vol 02 – 1969–1973'' – Jamaican Gold (1998) * Various Artists – ''Holy Ground'' –

Heartbeat Records Heartbeat Records is an independent record label based in Burlington, Massachusetts. The label specializes in Jamaican music. Founded by reggae music enthusiasts Bill Nowlin and Duncan Brown, the label's first release was a vinyl LP reissue of ...

(1990)

Notes

References

*Greene, Jo-Ann "

Alvin Ranglin Biography Alvin may refer to: Places Canada *Alvin, British Columbia United States *Alvin, Colorado * Alvin, Georgia *Alvin, Illinois * Alvin, Michigan *Alvin, Texas * Alvin, Wisconsin, a town *Alvin (community), Wisconsin, an unincorporated community Othe ...

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

. Retrieved 2010-05-07 *Katz, David (2000) ''People Funny Boy: The Genius of Lee "Scratch" Perry'', Payback Press, *Thompson, Dave (2002) ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books,

External links

Alvin Ranglin
at Roots Archives {{DEFAULTSORT:Ranglin, Alvin 1942 births Living people Jamaican record producers Jamaican reggae musicians Jamaican reggae singers People from Clarendon Parish, Jamaica