Dennis Alcapone, born Dennis Smith, is a Jamaican

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

DJ and producer. In 2018, he received the Prime Minister's Medal of Appreciation from

Andrew Holness Andrew Michael Holness, (born 22 July 1972) is a Jamaican politician who has served as Prime Minister of Jamaica since 3 March 2016, having previously served from 2011 to 2012, and as Leader of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) since 2011. Ho ...

.Johnson, Richard (2018)
'Clean up your act!'
", ''

Jamaica Observer The ''Jamaica Observer'' is a daily newspaper published in Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by ...

'', 26 April 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018

Early life

Alcapone was born in Clarendon,

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

. He initially trained as a welder and worked for the Jamaica Public Service.Interview with Aad van der Hoek in London, England, January 1995, from the sleeve notes to the King Of The Track LP (1995 reissue)

Career

Inspired by the big

sound system Sound system may refer to: Technology media * Sound reinforcement system, a system for amplifying audio for an audience * High fidelity, a sound system intended for accurate reproduction of music in the home * Public address system, an institution ...

s that he had visited in his youth such as those run by

Duke Reid Arthur "Duke" Reid CD (21 July 1915 – 1 January 1975) was a Jamaican record producer, DJ and record 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 Tr ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

, and particularly

King Tubby Osbourne Ruddock (28 January 1941 – 6 February 1989), better known as King Tubby, was a Jamaican sound engineer who influenced the development of dub music in the 1960s and 1970s. Tubby's studio work, in which as a mixing engineer he achiev ...

's Home Town Hi-Fi, which featured the DJ

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 ...

, and the Kentone sound system featuring DJ Pampado, Smith teamed up with two friends, Lizzy and Samuel the First, to set up his own "El Paso" sound system in 1969.Thompson, Dave (2002) ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books, , p. 19-21 With Smith as DJ, the El Paso sound system caught the attention of producer

Keith Hudson Keith Hudson (18 March 1946 – 14 November 1984),Thompson, p.311 was a Jamaican reggae artist and record producer. He is known for his influence on the dub movement. Biography Raised in a musical family, Hudson attended Boys Town School i ...

, who asked him to record for him, starting with "Marker Version", with singles following in the form of "Spanish Amigo", "Shades Of Hudson", "Revelation Version", "Maca Version" and "The Sky's The Limit", all in 1970. Smith then moved to

's Studio One where he decided on a change of name, 'Al Capone' being a nickname that had stuck with him since going to see a gangster movie with friends. This resulted in the "Nanny Version" single, and his recordings for Dodd were collected on his debut album, ''

Forever Version ''Forever Version'' is the debut album from Jamaican reggae Deejay (Jamaican), deejay Dennis Alcapone. It was released in 1971 by Studio One (record label), Studio One, and features Alcapone toasting over some of the label's greatest hits.Barrow, ...

''. Producer

then employed the DJ on a series of singles in 1971 and 1972 such as "Number One Station", "The Great Woggie", "Teach The Children", and "Musical Alphabet", and in the same era, Alcapone also recorded singles for

Bunny Lee Edward O'Sullivan Lee OD (23 August 1941 – 6 October 2020), better known as Bunny "Striker" Lee, was a Jamaican record producer. He was known as a pioneer of the United Kingdom reggae market, licensing his productions to Trojan Records i ...

including "Ripe Cherry" and "Guns Don't Argue". In the period from 1970 to 1973, Alcapone made over 100 singles and released three albums, for a range of producers including Hudson, Dodd, Reid, Bunny Lee, Lee Perry, Joe Gibbs,

, Alvin Ranglin, Prince Tony Robinson, J.J. Johnson and Phil Pratt, often recording for several producers on the same day. He also began working as a producer, working with artists such as

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 l ...

, Augustus Pablo and Delroy Wilson, as well as self-productions. He was named Best DJ by Jamaican magazine ''Swing'' in 1972. After several international tours in the first half of the 1970s, Alcapone relocated to London in 1974,Moskowitz, David V. (2006) ''Caribbean Popular Music: an Encyclopedia of Reggae, Mento, Ska, Rock Steady, and Dancehall'', Greenwood Press, , p. 8 and after releasing four further albums between 1974 and 1977, became less active musically, particularly after the death of his mother in 1979, although still recorded occasionally. He returned to live performance and recording in 1988 and appeared at

WOMAD WOMAD ( ; World of Music, Arts and Dance) is an international arts festival. The central aim of WOMAD is to celebrate the world's many forms of music, arts and dance. History WOMAD was founded in 1980 by English rock musician Peter Gabriel, w ...

festival in 1989. He returned to Jamaica in 1990 to record again with Bunny Lee, and also made an appearance on

Adrian Sherwood Adrian Maxwell Sherwood (born 20 January 1958) is an English record producer specialising in the genre of dub music. He has created a distinctive production style based on the application of dub effects and dub mixing techniques to other forms ...

's ''Two Bad Card'' album. He released an album with

Mad Professor Neil Joseph Stephen Fraser (born 27 March 1955, Georgetown, Guyana) known by his stage-name Mad Professor, is a British dub music producer, engineer and remixer. He has collaborated with reggae artists Lee "Scratch" Perry, Sly and Robbie, ...

in 1997, ''21st Century Version''.

Awards

In 2018, he received the Prime Minister's Medal of Appreciation from

Influence

Alcapone had his own distinct half-sung style with high-pitched whoops, with his influence visible in DJ's that followed such as I-Roy and the later "sing-jays". The second-wave DJ Dillinger initially named himself after Alcapone, using the name 'Young Alcapone' before changing his name at the suggestion of Lee Perry.

Discography

*''

'' (1971, Studio One) *''Guns Don't Argue'' (1971, Attack/

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 ...

) *''Soul To Soul DJ's Choice'' with Lizzy (1973, Treasure Isle/Trojan) *''King Of The Track'' (1974, Magnet) aka ''Musical Liquidator'' *''Belch It Off'' (1974, Attack) *''Dread Capone'' (1976, Third World) *''Investigator Rock'' (1977, Third World) aka ''Peace and Love'' *''Six Million Dollar Man'' (1977, Third World) aka ''Universal Rockers'' *''21st Century Version'' (1997, Ariwa) – with

References

External links

Discography at Roots Archives45cat.com
* Biography at allmusic* Dennis Alcapone: {{DEFAULTSORT:Alcapone, Dennis Jamaican reggae musicians Jamaican record producers Musicians from Clarendon Parish, Jamaica Trojan Records artists Living people Year of birth missing (living people)