Oscar Hibbert (25 August 1958 – 11 April 2005),Greene, Jo-Ann
Junior Delgado 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 ...

. Retrieved 25 April 2016 better known as Junior Delgado, was a

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, famed for his

roots A root is the part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors the plant body, and absorbs and stores water and nutrients. Root or roots may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''The Root'' (magazine), an online magazine focusin ...

style.

Biography

Born in 1958 in

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

, Jamaica, Junior Hibbert (as he was then known) performed in talent shows before forming the group Time Unlimited in the early 1970s, the group recording for Lee Perry and

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 ...

and having a hit with "Reaction".Thompson, Dave (2002) ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books, , pp. 92–94Junior Delgado
, ''

Encyclopædia Britannica The is a general knowledge, general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, ...

''. Retrieved 25 April 2016 He recorded solo material in the mid-1970s with

Rupie Edwards Rupert Lloyd Edwards (born 4 July 1945) is a Jamaican reggae singer and record producer. Biography Rupie Edwards was born in Goshen, in Saint Ann Parish.Thompson, Dave (2002) ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books, , pp. 103–105 The fam ...

(both as Junior Hibbert and The Heaven Singers), and the group also recorded for Tommy Cowan 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 ...

before Hibbert left the group and began recording as Junior Delgado. He recorded for Winston Holness ("Everyday Natty") and recorded "Every Natty" under the name Jooks, before finally finding success with

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 ...

's DEB label. He recorded "Tition" (short for "politician") for DEB in 1975, giving him his first of several hits in Jamaica, leading up to the release of his debut solo album, ''Taste of the Young Heart'', co-produced with Brown in 1978. In 1979 he set up his own label, Incredible Jux, and was a regular visitor to Britain.Talevski, Nick (2006) ''Knocking on Heaven's Door: Rock Obituaries'', Omnibus Press, , p. 127 He recorded with producer

Prince Jammy Lloyd Woodrowe James (born 26 October 1947),Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter: "Reggae: The Rough Guide", 1997, Rough Guides, better known as Prince Jammy or King Jammy, is a Jamaican dub mixer, sound system owner and record producer. He began hi ...

and

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 ...

before starting to produce his own work in the early 1980s. He returned to work with Perry on one of his best known tracks, "Sons of Slaves". His career was put on hold in 1983 when he was imprisoned for 18 months for a drugs offence. After his release in 1985 he attracted controversy by releasing "Broadwater Farm", the lyrics dealing with life on the London housing estate. When a riot broke out shortly afterwards, culminating in the murder of PC Keith Blakelock, the record was reportedly banned. Delgado reunited successfully with Pablo to record "Raggamuffin Year" in 1986, which embraced the new style of music emerging from Jamaica, with an album of the same name following. As well as working on his own music, Junior was also involved with the development of new artists such as Yami Bolo and the White Mice. He made his first appearance at

Reggae Sunsplash Reggae Sunsplash was a reggae music festival held annually in Jamaica from 1978 to 1996, with additional events in 1998 and 2006. The festival expanded to include international tours in 1985 and was revived as a virtual event in 2020 by Tryone ...

in 1988. Delgado was less prolific in the 1990s, but returned in 1998 with the album ''Fearless'', featuring rapper

Maxi Jazz Maxwell Alexander Fraser (14 June 1957 – 23 December 2022), better known by his stage name Maxi Jazz, was a British musician, rapper, singer, songwriter and DJ. He was the lead vocalist of British electronic band Faithless from 1995 to 2011 ...

from Faithless and

Jerry Dammers Jeremy David Hounsell Dammers GCOT (born 22 May 1955) is a British musician who was a founder, keyboard player and primary songwriter of the Coventry-based ska band the Specials (also known as the Special A.K.A.) and later the Spatial AKA Orch ...

of the Specials as well as many of the new wave of UK electronica stars such as the

Jungle Brothers Jungle Brothers are an American hip hop trio composed of Michael Small (Mike Gee), Nathaniel Hall (Afrika Baby Bam) and Sammy Burwell (DJ Sammy B). Hailed as pioneers of the fusion of jazz, hip-hop, and house music, they were the first hip-hop g ...

, Kid Loops, and Naked Funk. He performed at the

Glastonbury Glastonbury ( , ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury is less than across the River ...

and

Roskilde Roskilde ( , ) is a city west of Copenhagen on the Danish island of Zealand. With a population of 53,354 (), the city is a business and educational centre for the region and the 10th largest city in Denmark. It is governed by the administrative ...

festivals in 1999. ''Reasons'' followed in 2000, produced by the On-U sound system's

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 ...

and featured performances by

Doug Wimbish Douglas Arthur Wimbish (born September 22, 1956) is an American bassist, primarily known for being a member of rock band Living Colour and funk/dub/hip hop collective Tackhead, and as a session musician with artists such as Sugarhill Gang, G ...

, Skip McDonald and Keith LeBlanc. In 2001 he released a tribute to his late friend and mentor, ''Junior Delgado Sings Dennis Brown''. Delgado died in his sleep on 10/11 April 2005 in

South London South London is the southern part of Greater London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, Lon ...

, England. His spokesman said the death had been unexpected but was believed to have been from natural causes. He was survived by his widow Janet, and seven children. Reggae singer Junior Delgado dies
,

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

, 14 April 2005. Retrieved 25 April 2016 Delgado was the nephew of

Alpha Boys School Alpha Cottage School (often referred to as Alpha Boys' School, Convent of Mercy "Alpha" Academy and now called Alpha Institute) was the name of the vocational residential school on South Camp Road in Kingston, Jamaica, Kingston, Jamaica, still ru ...

bandmaster and

vibraphone The vibraphone (also called the vibraharp) is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using Percussion mallet, mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone ...

player Lennie Hibbert.Katz, David (2000) ''People Funny Boy: the Genius of Lee "Scratch" Perry'', Payback Press, , p. 210

Discography

*''Dance a Dub'' (1978), Incredible Jux *''Effort'' (1979), DEB – re-released as ''Sisters and Brothers'' *''Taste of the Young Heart'' (1979), DEB *''More She Love It'' (1981), Yvonne's Special *''Bush Master Revolution'' (1982), Incredible Jux *''Classics'' (1984), Maccabees *''Moving down the Road'' (1986), World Enterprise *''Raggamuffin Year'' (1986),

Mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree '' Mangifera indica''. It originated from the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South and Southeast As ...

*''Stranger'' (1986), Skengdon *''It Takes Two to Tango'' (1986),

Fashion Fashion is a term used interchangeably to describe the creation of clothing, footwear, Fashion accessory, accessories, cosmetics, and jewellery of different cultural aesthetics and their mix and match into Clothing, outfits that depict distinct ...

*''Road Block'' (1987), Blue Trac *''Dub School: A Junior Delgado Showcase'' (1989), Buffalo Music Production *''Run Away Love: A Junior Delgado Showcase'' (1991), Incredible Music *''Showcase'' (1992), Message – with

*''One Step More'' (1998), Mango *''Fearless'' (1998), Big Cat *''Reasons'' (1999), Big Cat *''Sings Dennis Brown'' (2000), Incredible Music *''Freedom Has Its Price'' (2003), Incredible Music *''Invisible Music'' (2005), Incredible Music *''Hot Stepping (Sip A Cup Showcase Vol. 8)'' (2009), Gussie P ;Compilations: *''20 Classic Hits'' (1991) *''Treasure Found'' (1995), Incredible Music *''More Treasure Found'' (1997), Incredible Muzic *''Tichen'' (1999), Rhino *''No Baby Lion – Treasure Found 3'' (2000), Incredible Music *''Original Guerilla Music'' (2003), Sound Boy *''Sons of Slaves'' (2005),

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 ...

*''Brothers'' (2006), DEB

References

External links

Jamaican Observer ObituaryDiscography
at Roots Archives

{{DEFAULTSORT:Delgado, Junior Jamaican reggae musicians 1958 births 2005 deaths Musicians from Kingston, Jamaica Jamaican expatriates in England