Keith Hudson (18 March 1946 – 14 November 1984),Thompson, p.311 was 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 ...

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 in Kingston, where he organized school concerts with schoolmates including

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981) was a Jamaican singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, he fused elements of reggae, ska and rocksteady and was renowned for his distinctive voca ...

, Delroy Wilson, and

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 ...

.Larkin, p.128 He was an ardent follower of

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''

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 ...

and was soon hanging out with musicians such as Don Drummond, carrying his trombone into sessions at Dodd's Brentford Road studio when he was around fourteen. His first release circa 1969 was "Shades of Hudson" by DJ

Dennis Alcapone Dennis Alcapone, born Dennis Smith, is a Jamaican reggae Deejay (Jamaican), DJ and Record producer, producer. In 2018, he received the Prime Minister's Medal of Appreciation from Andrew Holness.Johnson, Richard (2018)'Clean up your act!'", ''Ja ...

on his own Inbidimts label, using a rocksteady track that had been recorded a few years before. After leaving school he served an apprenticeship in dentistry, and used these skills to raise money for recording sessions. In the same year he obtained some Termites and Carl Bryan rocksteady rhythms from Olympic Records, and recorded new vocals over them, such as "Old Broom" and "You Must be Popular". These early 45s on his own Imbidmts and Rebind labels enjoyed sufficient success to enable him to purchase some studio time of his own. His first recording session produced

's Jamaican hit "Old Fashioned Way", later versioned by

as "Spanish Omega" and U Roy as "Dynamic Fashion Way". In the following months he worked with vocalists Delroy Wilson ("Run, Run"), Alton Ellis, Bunny Gale and John Holt ("Never Will I Hurt My Baby"). He was one of the first to record DJ U-Roy in 1969, although U-Roy's first recording had in fact been made with

Peter Tosh Winston Hubert McIntosh (19 October 1944 – 11 September 1987), professionally known as Peter Tosh, was a Jamaican reggae musician. Along with Bob Marley and Bunny Wailer, he was one of the core members of the band Bob Marley and the Wa ...

for Lee Perry – "Earth's Rightful Ruler". Other deejay productions included numerous tunes with

(e.g. "Shades of Hudson"), and

Big Youth Manley Augustus Buchanan (born 19 April 1949, Trenchtown, Kingston, Jamaica, Kingston, Jamaica),Thompson, Dave (2002) "Reggae & Caribbean Music", Backbeat Books, better known as Big Youth (sometimes called Jah Youth), is a Jamaican Toasting (J ...

's "S.90 Skank" released in 1972 became the deejay's biggest hit, with added motorcycle noises recorded in the studio beginning a trend followed by other producers such as Dodd and Perry. In the first half of the 1970s he regularly used the Soul Syndicate band, featuring George "Fully" Fullwood and Carlton "Santa" Davis.Barrow, p.118 In 1970 he began to record his own vocal tracks. Whilst always somewhat limited vocally, he recorded countless tracks as a singer, and concentrated on his singing career from 1972. He started further record labels such as the Mafia label. His early Jamaican albums ''Furnace'' and ''Class and Subject'' featured his own distinctive rasping vocals, along with dubs and deejay versions. In 1974, Hudson released his classic '' Pick a Dub'', widely considered to have been the first deliberately thematic dub album, with tracks specifically mixed in the dub style for the purpose of appearing together on an album. It featured dubwise mixes of his "We Will Work It Out", the basic track for "S-90 Skank", with a fresh

melodica The melodica is a handheld free-reed instrument similar to a pump organ or harmonica. It features a musical keyboard on top, and is played by blowing air through a mouthpiece that fits into a hole in the side of the instrument. The keyboard usu ...

part by Augustus Pablo, Skiddy and Detroit's "The Exile Song", and remakes of

The Abyssinians The Abyssinians are a Jamaican roots reggae group, famous for their close harmonies and promotion of the Rastafari movement in their lyrics. History The vocal trio was originally formed in 1968 by Bernard Collins and Donald Manning. Their fi ...

"Satta Massagana" and "Declaration of Rights". It was also the first dub album to gain a release in the United Kingdom.Barrow, p. 221 By now, he had effectively stopped recording other singers and DJs to concentrate on his own singing. He had completed a large number of backing tracks and, after the limited success of his third LP '' Entering the Dragon'' he emigrated to the United Kingdom, where he signed up with Brent Clarke's Atra label and worked at Chalk Farm Studios in London with a number of British-based reggae musicians, overdubbing his Jamaican rhythms. The first album to emanate from these sessions was ''Flesh of My Skin, Blood of my Blood'' (1974), his first UK only release and an album that has been described by Colin Larkin as "a masterpiece",Larkin, p.129 and one of the first reggae albums proper, rather than merely a collection of singles and fillers. It has also been described as "reggae's first true concept album", with the lyrics relating to black history and "conscious" themes. The album was not released in Jamaica, although it acquired a formidable reputation there amongst more progressive musicians. His next UK-based album ''Torch of Freedom'' featured vocal cuts with their instrumental versions following immediately after, a format that was to come into fashion three years later during the "Showcase" craze. In 1976 he moved to New York City and signed a four-year contract with

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), ...

, the first release being the soul-influenced album, ''Too Expensive'', which was poorly received by critics and didn't sell well. Hudson returned to reggae with the "(Jonah) Come Out Now" single, released under the pseudonym Lloyd Linberg, and Virgin terminated his contract. Hudson then started a new label of his own, Joint. He resumed working with the Soul Syndicate, who had backed him on many of his best recordings in Jamaica. His album ''Rasta Communication'' (1978), which had been preceded by its issue on dub as ''Brand'', was well received by a wider audience and is considered a

roots reggae Roots reggae is a subgenre of reggae that deals with the everyday lives and aspirations of Ethnic groups of Africa, Africans and those in the African Diaspora, including the spiritual side of Rastafari, black liberation, revolution and the ho ...

classic. It was followed by ''Nuh Skin Up Dub'' and its vocal counterpart ''From One Extreme to Another'' in 1979. Hudson also released a deejay album by

Militant Barry The English word ''militant'' is both an adjective and a noun, and it is generally used to mean vigorously active, combative and/or aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in "militant reformers". It comes from the 15th century Lat ...

based on the ''Brand'' rhythms, ''Green Valley''. By the early 1980s, he was considerably out of step with modern trends in "dancehall" music. He reverted to his classic rhythms for his next to last album ''Playing It Cool'' (1981), recording new vocals on heavily overdubbed mixes of the earlier tunes. He released one final album in 1982, ''Steaming Jungle'', which attracted little attention. It was reported in 1984 that he was once more working with

Aston Aston is an area of inner Birmingham, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Located immediately to the north-west of Birmingham city centre, Central Birmingham, Aston constitutes a wards of the United Kingdom, war ...

and

Carlton Barrett Carlton Barrett (17 December 1950 – 17 April 1987) was a Jamaican musician best known for being the long-time drummer for Bob Marley & The Wailers. Recognized for his innovative style, which featured a highly syncopated, broken triplet patt ...

, who had played on ''Pick a Dub'' and ''Torch of Freedom''. Hudson was diagnosed with lung cancer in August 1984, and appeared to be responding well to treatment, but on the morning of 14 November he complained of stomach pains, collapsed and died.

Albums discography

Albums

*''Class & Subject'' – 1972 – Mafia *''Furnace'' – 1972 – Imbidimts *'' Pick a Dub'' – 1974 – Mamba / Atra / Blood & Fire (CD) *''Entering The Dragon'' – 1974 – Magnet (reissued by Trojan in 2006 and by Sunspot in 2011) *''Flesh of My Skin, Blood of My Blood'' – 1974 – Mamba /Atra 1988 – (Reissued by Basic Replay 2004) *''Torch of Freedom'' – 1975 – Mamba / Atra *''Too Expensive'' – 1976 –

*''Brand'' – 1977 – Joint International (US) / Brand (UK) / Pressure Sounds (CD) *''Rasta Communication'' – 1978 – Joint International (US), Greensleeves Records (UK) *''From One Extreme To Another'' – 1979 – Joint International (US) *''Playing It Cool, Playing It Right'' – 1981 – Joint International (US) (Reissued by Basic Replay 2003) *''Nuh Skin Up Dub'' – 1982 – Joint International (US) *''Steaming Jungle'' – 1982 – Disc Disk

Compilations

*Various Artists – ''The Big J of Reggae'' (Joint International, 1978) *Keith Hudson & Various Artists – ''Studio Kinda Cloudy'' (Trojan 1988) *Keith Hudson – ''Sky High & The Mau Mau Presents Keith Hudson's Greatest Hits Part 1'' (Sky High) *Keith Hudson & Various Artists – ''Shades of Hudson'' (VP, 1996) *Keith Hudson & Friends – ''The Hudson Affair'' (Trojan 2004) *Various Artists – '' The Rough Guide to Dub'' ( World Music Network, 2005)

Family

His youngest son Keith Hudson Jr better known as Tryfle is following his own step in music Industry. Currently living in New York City Keith "Tryfle" Hudson is currently signed to The Nu Breed Music Group owned and operated by Anthony "Fate" Lynch.

Influence

Ian Curtis Ian Kevin Curtis (15 July 1956 – 18 May 1980) was an English singer, songwriter and musician. He was the lead singer, lyricist and occasional guitarist of the band Joy Division, with whom he released the albums ''Unknown Pleasures'' (197 ...

of the

post punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

band

Joy Division Joy Division were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist, guitarist and lyricist Ian Curtis, guitarist and keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris (musici ...

was a fan of Keith Hudson. New Order covered the Keith Hudson song "Turn the Heater On" in their 1982

Peel Session John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ...

.New Order's Peel Session, Transmitted 1 June 1982
at the

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 ...

's ''Keeping It Peel'' site

References

;General * Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) ''The Rough Guide to Reggae, 3rd edn.'', Rough Guides, * Larkin, Colin (1998) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae'', Virgin Books, * Thompson, Dave (2003) ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books,

External links

Keith Hudson
at Roots Archives {{DEFAULTSORT:Hudson, Keith Jamaican dub musicians Jamaican reggae singers VP Records artists Trojan Records artists Virgin Records artists Jamaican record producers 20th-century Jamaican male singers Jamaican Rastafarians 1946 births 1984 deaths Deaths from lung cancer in New York (state) Greensleeves Records artists 20th-century Jamaican people