Dr Alimantado (born Winston James Thompson; 1952), also known as ''The Ital Surgeon'', 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 ...

singer,

deejay 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 nightclubs or music festivals), mobile DJ ...

, and producer.Moskowitz, David V. (2006) ''Caribbean Popular Music: an Encyclopedia of Reggae, Mento, Ska, Rock Steady, and Dancehall'', Greenwood Press, , p. 295-6

Life and career

Thompson adopted the

Rastafarian Rastafari is an Abrahamic religion that developed in Jamaica during the 1930s. It is classified as both a new religious movement and a social movement by scholars of religion. There is no central authority in control of the movement and much ...

faith at an early age. He honed his talents on local

sound systems 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 ...

such as

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 ...

's 'Downbeat' and 'Lord Tippertone', and started to record very young under various names (Winston Price, Winston Cool, Ital Winston, or Youth Winston). His first recordings were for

Lee "Scratch" Perry Lee "Scratch" Perry (born Rainford Hugh Perry; 20 March 1936 – 29 August 2021) was a Jamaican record producer, songwriter and singer noted for his innovative studio techniques and production style. Perry was a pioneer in the 1970s development ...

and

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 ...

- "Place Called Africa Version 3" and "

Maccabees The Maccabees (), also spelled Machabees (, or , ; or ; , ), were a group of Jews, Jewish rebel warriors who took control of Judea, which at the time was part of the Seleucid Empire. Its leaders, the Hasmoneans, founded the Hasmonean dynasty ...

Version". He returned to

in 1976, recording the DJ portion of

Devon Irons Devon Russell (died 18 June 1997) was a Jamaican rocksteady and reggae singer and record producer who recorded between the 1960s and the 1990s, both as a solo artist and as a member of The Tartans and Cultural Roots. Biography Russell's career ...

' 12" "Ketch Vampire". Between 1971 and 1977 his singles were unreleased outside Jamaica, only being available in the UK on import. He built his reputation with tunes such as "Oil Crisis" (versioning

Horace Andy Horace Andy (born Horace Keith Hinds, 19 February 1951) is a Jamaican roots reggae songwriter and singer, known for his distinctive vocals and hit songs such as " Skylarking", as well as "Government Land", "Angel", "Spying Glass", and "Five Ma ...

's "Ain't No Sunshine", originally by

Bill Withers William Harrison Withers Jr. (July 4, 1938 – March 30, 2020) was an American singer and songwriter. He is known for having several hits over a career spanning 18 years, including "Ain't No Sunshine" (1971), "Grandma's Hands" (1971), "Use Me ( ...

), "Sons of Thunder", ( toasting over Jackie Brown's "Wiser Dread"), "Gimme Mi Gun" on

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 ...

' "Thief a Man" and "Poison Flour", on a recut of

The Paragons The Paragons were a ska and rocksteady vocal group from Kingston, Jamaica, initially active in the 1960s. Their most famous track was "The Tide Is High", written by band member John Holt. Career The Paragons were originally Garth "Tyrone" Ev ...

"Man Next Door" rhythm. He achieved more stable success and renown in the mid to late 1970s, with his best-known album being ''

Best Dressed Chicken in Town ''Best Dressed Chicken in Town'' is the debut album by Jamaican Deejay (Jamaican), deejay Dr. Alimantado. It was first released in 1978, and collects many of his self-produced singles from 1972 to 1978 , employing the engineering talents of Lee "S ...

'' (1978), a

Greensleeves Records Greensleeves Records is a record label specializing in dancehall and reggae music. The company was founded by Chris Cracknell and Chris Sedgwick. Based in Britain, Greensleeves Records started as a small record store in West Ealing, London, i ...

collection of tracks recorded in the mid-1970s, featuring Alimantado toasting over singers such as John Holt,

, Jackie Edwards and Horace Andy. His tunes mixed his

Rastafari movement Rastafari is an Abrahamic religion that developed in Jamaica during the 1930s. It is classified as both a new religious movement and a social movement by scholars of religion. There is no central authority in control of the movement and much ...

beliefs with commentary on events then going on in his community; "Poison Flour" referenced a January 1976 incident when 79 persons in Jamaica were acutely poisoned by consuming flour, contaminated by leakage of the insecticide

parathion Parathion, also called parathion-ethyl or diethyl parathion, is an organophosphate insecticide and acaricide. It was originally developed by IG Farben in the 1940s. It is highly toxic to non-target organisms, including humans, so its use has been ...

in a ship's hold. ( reports at the time attributed the contamination to the 2 products being in the same delivery truck ) Seventeen died. In 1978, he appeared as himself in the film Rockers, directed by Ted Bafaloukos. Alimantado became popular with punk rockers in the 1970s following

Johnny Rotten John Joseph Lydon ( ; born 31 January 1956), also known by his former stage name Johnny Rotten, is a British-born singer, songwriter, author, and television personality. He was the lead vocalist of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols, which was ...

praising him in an interview.Cook, Stephen " ''Best Dressed Chicken in Town'' Review,

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 Mus ...

, retrieved 2010-01-23 He was mentioned in the 1979 song "

Rudie Can't Fail "Rudie Can't Fail" is a song by the English punk rock band the Clash, featured on their 1979 album '' London Calling''. The song was written by Joe Strummer and Mick Jones, who sing it as a duet. Composition Like some songs on ''London Callin ...

" by

The Clash The Clash were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they are considered one of the most influential acts in the original wave of British punk rock, with their music fusing elements ...

in the line "Like the doctor who was born for a purpose". He recorded "Born for a Purpose" in 1977 at

Channel One Studios Channel One is a recording studio in Maxfield Avenue, West Kingston, Jamaica. The studio was built by the Hoo Kim brothers in 1972, and has had a profound influence on the development of reggae music. History Joseph Hoo Kim's parents ran a bar a ...

, one of Alimantado's biggest hits (along with "A Place Called Africa"). "Born for a Purpose" was originally released on his Vital Food label, and told of his Rastafarian faith supporting him after a bus hit him in Kingston on 26 December 1976, causing serious injuries.

Bim Sherman Jarret Lloyd Vincent (12 February 1950 – 17 November 2000), better known by one of his stage aliases Bim Sherman (others include Jarrett Tomlinson, Jarrett Vincent, Lloyd Vincent, J. L. Vincent, and Lloyd Tomlinson), was a Jamaican musician a ...

provided backing vocals on the track. The musicians who played on the record did so without payment. The single, and its accompanying version "Still Alive" were released in the UK firstly as two 7" 45s, then as a 12", featuring the full extended mixes. By 1977, he had largely abandoned his toasting style, apart from occasional records such as "Go Deh Natty Go Deh" on a heavily dubbed mix of

Delroy Wilson Delroy George Wilson CD (5 October 1948 – 6 March 1995) Greene, Jo-Ann, " Delroy Wilson Biography, allmusic.com, Macrovision Corporation was a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae singer. Wilson is often regarded as Jamaica's first child s ...

's "Trying to Conquer Me", preferring to release singing tunes, including "Mama (I Thank You)", "Jah Love Forever", and a cover of Billy Stewart's " Sitting in the Park". Following the success of ''Best Dressed Chicken'' and its follow-up compilation ''Sons of Thunder'' he signed to

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...

as a singer. While not without vocal talent, his singing records never captured the public imagination to the extent that his "toasting" records did. His last recording appears to be "Stop Your Fighting" for the

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, ...

's Ariwa label, on a

remake of Horace Andy's "Fever" rhythm. The film ''

Hancock Hancock may refer to: Places Places in the United States * Hancock, Iowa * Hancock, Maine * Hancock, Maryland * Hancock, Massachusetts * Hancock, Michigan * Hancock, Minnesota * Hancock, Missouri * Hancock, New Hampshire ** Hancock (CDP), New H ...

'' used the song "Best Dressed Chicken in Town". 2009 marked the 30th anniversary of the issue of ''Best Dressed Chicken in Town''. To mark the occasion, Alimantado re-released the album in its original sleeves with a bonus

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

on his own Keyman Records label.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alimantado, Dr 1952 births Living people Jamaican reggae musicians Musicians from Kingston, Jamaica Jamaican Rastafarians Greensleeves Records artists