Delroy Washington (5 November 1952 – 27 March 2020) was a Jamaican-British

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 best known for his releases for

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a worldw ...

in the late 1970s.

Biography

Born in

Westmoreland, Jamaica Westmoreland is the westernmost parish in Jamaica, located on the south side of the island. It is situated south of Hanover, southwest of Saint James, and northwest of Saint Elizabeth, in the county of Cornwall. The chief town and capital is ...

, Washington moved with his family 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 ...

in the early 1960s.Larkin, Colin (1998) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae'', Virgin Books, , p. 315 His early experience in the music industry was as a session musician and tour manager. As a member of the band Rebel he recorded material for CBS Records which was not released. In 1973 he released an independently produced single "Lonely Street" on the Count Shelly label. He recorded backing vocals for

The Wailers ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

on the ''

Catch a Fire ''Catch a Fire'' is the fifth studio album by the reggae band The Wailers (aka Bob Marley and the Wailers), released in April 1973. It was their first album released by Island Records. After finishing a UK tour with Johnny Nash, they had star ...

'' album, after befriending

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 o ...

in the early 1970s, and he continued to provide backing vocals for Wailers albums until the late 1970s.Moskowitz, David V. (2006) ''Caribbean Popular Music: an Encyclopedia of Reggae, Mento, Ska, Rock Steady, and Dancehall'', Greenwood Press, , p. 315-6 Washington wrote songs with Marley and worked with him on making Marley's lyrics more suitable for European listeners.Masouri, John (2010) ''Wailing Blues: The Story of Bob Marley's Wailers'', Omnibus Press, He also provided backing vocals on the debut album from

Aswad Aswad are a British reggae group, noted for adding strong R&B and soul influences to the reggae sound. They have been performing since the mid-1970s, having released a total of 21 albums. Their UK hit singles include the number one " Don't T ...

. He continued to record as a solo artist and was one of the first reggae artists signed by Virgin Records in the mid-1970s, his "Give All the Praise to Jah" single became a success on the British reggae charts. He released two albums on Virgin, ''I Sus'' in 1976 and ''Rasta'' in 1977. Both albums featured musicians such as Al Anderson, Rico Rodriguez, and

George Oban George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...

. After leaving Virgin he released a handful of singles on different labels up to the early 1980s. He appeared on the 1984 Jah Shaka album ''Message From Africa'', singing the opening track "Help One Another". Both of his Virgin albums were reissued in the early 2000s.Birchmeier, Jason
Delroy Washington Biography
,

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 22 September 2012 Washington founded the Federation of Reggae Music, which worked with

Brent Council Brent London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Brent in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. It is based at Brent Civic Centre in Engineers ...

to install a

blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term i ...

on the house in

Neasden Neasden is a suburban area in northwest London, England. It is located around the centre of the London Borough of Brent and is within the NW2 ( Cricklewood) and NW10 (Willesden) postal districts. Neasden is near Wembley Stadium, the Welsh Harp ...

where the Wailers lived in the early 1970s.Bewley, Hannah (2012)
Bob Marley's mark on Neasden honoured with a plaque
, ''Harrow Observer'', 20 September 2012, retrieved 22 September 2012 Washington was

diabetic Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level (hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...

, but he followed a healthful lifestyle to manage the disease: He was a

pescetarian Pescetarianism (; sometimes spelled pescatarianism) is the practice of incorporating seafood into an otherwise vegetarian diet. Pescetarians may or may not consume other animal products such as eggs and dairy products. Approximately 3% of adults ...

and practiced

karate (; ; Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the influence of Chinese martial arts, particularly Fuj ...

. Washington died in

on 27 March 2020 from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickl ...

.British reggae pioneer Delroy Washington dies
Published by Voice Online on March 27, 2020, and retrieved on the same day

Discography

Albums

*''I Sus'' (1976),

Virgin Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

*''Rasta'' (1977), Virgin

Singles

*"Jah Man a Come" (1973), Lord Koos *"Lonely Street" (1973), Count Shelly *"Papa Was a Rolling Stone" (1973), Sir Christopher *"Freedom Fighters" (1976), Axum *"Give All the Praise to Jah" (1977), Virgin - 12-inch *"Memories" (1978), Burning Sounds - Delroy Washington & Jah Son *"It's Like Magic" (1980), Burning Vibrations - 12-inch *"Magic" (1980), Direction Discs/Ballistic - Delroy Washington Band *"Cool Rasta" (1980), Ballistic *"For Your Love" (1981), Ankh/

Pinnacle A pinnacle is an architectural element originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations. The pinnacle looks like a small spire. It was mainl ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Washington, Delroy 1952 births 2020 deaths Jamaican emigrants to the United Kingdom Jamaican reggae musicians Afro-Jamaican People from Westmoreland Parish Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in England