Enos McLeod (born 1946) is a Jamaican reggae singer and music producer whose career dates to the mid-1960s.

Biography

McLeod was born in 1946 in

Trenchtown Trench Town (also Trenchtown) is a neighbourhood located in the parish of St. Andrew, part of which is in Kingston, the capital and largest city of Jamaica. Today Trench Town is the location of the Trench Town Culture Yard Museum, a National He ...

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 the Palisadoes, a long spit (landform), sand spit which connects the town of Por ...

, and before his career in music he trained as a cabinet-maker and a

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: *Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing * Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

.Larkin, p.192 His debut release was "Mackie", which was produced by Sid Bucknor, who at the time was the resident engineer at Studio One. Under Bucknor's tutelage, McLeod learned the basics of record production, soon having success with late 1960s releases such as "Young Love" by Lloyd Clarke.Thompson, p. 314 His production work included recordings with some of Jamaica's top singers, including

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 ...

Ken Boothe Kenneth George Boothe OD (born 22 March 1948) is a Jamaican vocalist known for his distinctive vibrato and timbre. Boothe achieved an international reputation as one of Jamaica's finest vocalists through a series of crossover hits that appeal ...

, and

The Gaylads The Gaylads are a Jamaican vocal group. They were one of the top rocksteady vocal groups active in Jamaica between 1963 and 1973. History The group, formed in Kingston, originally consisted of singers Harris "B.B." Seaton, Winston Delano St ...

. McLeod also produced the first recording by Michael Williams credited to

Prince Far I Prince Far I (23 March 1945 – 15 September 1983) was a Jamaican reggae deejay and producer, and a Rastafarian. He was known for his gruff voice and critical assessment of the Jamaican government. His track "Heavy Manners" used lyrics abou ...

, previous recordings being issued under the name King Cry Cry, with the new stage name given to Williams by McLeod.Moskowitz, p.240 McLeod also produced

Augustus Pablo Horace Michael Swaby (21 June 1953 – 18 May 1999), Thompson, Dave (2002). ''Reggae & Caribbean Music''. Backbeat Books. , pp. 200–202. also known as Augustus Pablo, was a Jamaican roots reggae and dub composer, performer, record produc ...

's 1975 album ''Thriller''. McLeod continued to work as a singer, having hits in Jamaica with singles such as "Tel Aviv", "Hi-Jacking", and "If You Love Jah", and the combination hits "Jestering" (with Shorty the President) and "Jericho" (with

The Mighty Diamonds The Mighty Diamonds were a Jamaican harmony trio, recording roots reggae with a strong Rastafarian influence. The group was formed in 1969 and were best known for their 1976 debut album, '' Right Time'', produced by Joseph Hoo Kim, and the 1979 ...

). In the mid-1970s, McLeod's boxing skills saw him employed by

Joe Gibbs Joseph Jackson Gibbs (born November 25, 1940) is an American auto racing team owner and former American football, football coach. He served as the head coach of the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL) from 1981 Washingto ...

as a bouncer at the latter's recording studio on Retirement Crescent, also working on recording sessions with resident engineer Errol Thompson, with McLeod vocal sides from this era including "Money Worries", and his biggest hit, "By the Look", a version of the

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 ...

hit, "Cheater". He also recorded several singles under the name Preacher including "Black Moses", "Psalms of David" and "Rhythm Bible".Greene McLeod continued recording sporadically, and became based in Europe from the 1990s.

Discography

*''By the Look in Your Eyes'' (1978)-Soul Beat *''Ram Jam Party'' (1996)-President *''Dance Hall Style'' (1997) *''Love of My Life'' (2005)-Orbit Compilations: *''Telaviv'' (1981)-Orbit *''Goodies Best'' (1995)-Century *''Enos in Dub'' (1995)-Century *''The Genius of Enos'' (1996)-Pressure Sounds *''Reggae Mix-Tures'' (2003)-Century *''Enos McLeod & Friends''

Notes

References

*Greene, Jo-Ann " Enos McLeod 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 Mus ...

'', Macrovision Corporation *Larkin, Colin (1998) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae'', Virgin Books, *Moskowitz, David V. (2006) ''Caribbean Music: an Encyclopedia of Reggae, Mento, Ska, Rock Steady, and Dancehall'', Greenwood Press, *Thompson, Dave (2002) ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books,

External links

Enos McLeod
at Roots Archives {{DEFAULTSORT:McLeod, Enos 1946 births Living people Musicians from Kingston, Jamaica Jamaican male singers Jamaican reggae musicians Jamaican record producers