Kentrick Patrick OD (21 August 1935 – 30 June 2023), known professionally as Lord Creator, was a Trinidadian calypso, R&B,

ska Ska (; , ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a w ...

, and

rocksteady Rocksteady is a music genre that originated in Jamaica around 1966. A successor of ska and a precursor to reggae, rocksteady was the dominant style of music in Jamaica for nearly two years, performed by many of the artists who helped establish ...

musician and singer. Alongside Cuban-born

Roland Alphonso Roland Alphonso OD or Rolando Alphonso "The Chief Musician" (12 January 1931 – 20 November 1998)Thompson, p. 262 was a Jamaican tenor saxophonist, and one of the founding members of the Skatalites. Biography Born in Havana, Cuba, Alphonso c ...

Barbadian Barbadian may refer to: * anything related to Barbados * Barbadians, people from Barbados or of Barbadian descent ** Afro-Barbadians ** Barbadian Americans ** Barbadian Brazilians ** Barbadian British ** Barbadian Canadians ** White Barbadian * C ...

Jackie Opel Dalton Sinclair Bishop (27 August 1937 – 9 March 1970), better known as Jackie Opel, was a Barbadian singer who possessed a rich, powerful voice with a high octave range. He was known as the " Jackie Wilson of Barbadian culture" and was al ...

and fellow Trinidadians

Lynn Taitt Nerlynn Taitt (22 June 1934 – 20 January 2010) was a guitarist born in San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago, who later moved to Jamaica and became a pioneer of rocksteady music. Biography Born Nerlynn Taitt, in San Fernando, Trinidad, he got h ...

and Lord Brynner, Lord Creator was an important and positive "outside" influence during the early development of the

Jamaican music The music of Jamaica includes Jamaican folk music and many popular genres, such as mento, ska, rocksteady, reggae, dub music, dancehall, reggae fusion and related styles. Reggae is especially popular through the fame of Bob Marley. Jamaican mus ...

scene.

Life and career

Kentrick Patrick was born in

San Fernando San Fernando may refer to: People *Ferdinand III of Castile (c. 1200–1252), called ''San Fernando'' (Spanish) or ''Saint Ferdinand'', King of Castile, León, and Galicia Places Argentina *San Fernando de la Buena Vista, city of Greater Buenos ...

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

on 21 August 1935.Walters, Basil (2012)
A New Day – Songs heralding JA’s Independence
, ''

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 ...

'', 3 June 2012. Retrieved 3 June 2012. Patrick started as a calypso singer in Trinidad under the stage name Lord Creator and recorded his first

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014, a British compilation album s ...

, "The Cockhead" and "Evening News", in Trinidad in 1958 and 1959, respectively, with Fitz Vaughan Bryan's

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...

. Due to the success of his hit "Evening News", which was released in Trinidad on the Cook label and also in the UK on the Melodisc label, he moved to

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 ...

in late 1959 to perform and record and decided to settle there. In 1962, he recorded "Independent Jamaica" with producer

Vincent "Randy" Chin Vincent "Randy" Chin (3October 19372February 2003) was a Jamaican record producer and entrepreneur who ran the Randy's shop, recording studio, and record label, later moving to New York City and setting up the VP Records empire, now the world's l ...

,Campbell, Howard (2012)
Lord Creator marks JA's Independence celebration
, ''

'', 3 August 2012. Retrieved 6 August 2012 which became the official song marking Jamaica's independence from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

on 6 August 1962. That song was also the first record on

Chris Blackwell Christopher Percy Gordon Blackwell OJ (born 22 June 1937) is a Jamaican-British former record producer and the founder of Island Records, which has been called "one of Britain's great independent labels". According to the Rock and Roll Hall ...

's newly founded

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...

label in the United Kingdom (Island 001). In 1963, "Don't Stay Out Late", produced by Chin, became a hit in Jamaica. In 1964, he had a further hit with "Big Bamboo", produced by

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 ...

with

Tommy McCook Tommy McCook (4 March 1927 – 5 May 1998) was a Jamaican saxophonist. A founding member of The Skatalites, he also directed The Supersonics for Duke Reid, and backed many sessions for Bunny Lee or with The Revolutionaries at Channel ...

on saxophone. After "Little Princess" in 1964, he recorded a calypso album, ''Jamaica Time'', at Studio One. It included calypso classics like "

Jamaica Farewell "Jamaica Farewell" is a Jamaican-style folk song (mento). The lyrics for the song were written by Lord Burgess ( Irving Burgie), an American-born, half- Barbadian songwriter. It is about the beauties of the West Indian Islands. Harry Belafont ...

" and "Yellowbird", as well as a

cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of c ...

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

's "

Blowin' in the Wind "Blowin' in the Wind" is a song written by Bob Dylan in 1962. It was released as a single and included on his album '' The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan'' in 1963. It has been described as a protest song and poses a series of rhetorical questions about ...

". His next album, ''Big Bamboo'', was recorded at Dynamic Studios sometime after 1969, when the studio was established by

Byron Lee Byron Lee ,
, ''Jamaica Gleaner'', 27 October 2008. born Byron Aloysius St. Elmo Lee ...

. Carlton Lee is listed as the producer. Lord Creator had another big hit with " Kingston Town", a tune he recorded for producer

Clancy Eccles Clancy Eccles (9 December 1940 in Dean Pen, St. Mary, Jamaica – 30 June 2005 in Spanish Town, Jamaica)Katz was a Jamaican ska and reggae singer, songwriter, arranger, promoter, record producer and talent scout. Known mostly for his early re ...

in 1970. After that, Lord Creator virtually disappeared from the

music industry The music industry are individuals and organizations that earn money by Songwriter, writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music and sheet music, presenting live music, concerts, ...

; although in 1976, he still recorded "Big Pussy Sally", a no-holding-back, free-spirited song which was done on the same tape as Fay Bennett's equally lewd and light-hearted "Big Cocky Wally" for

Lee 'Scratch' Perry Lee may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Lee'' (2007 film), Tamil-language sports action film * ''Lee'' (2017 film), Kannada-language action film * ''Lee'' (2023 film), biographical drama about Lee Miller, American photojournalist * ''L ...

in the

Black Ark The Black Ark was the recording studio of reggae and dub music, dub producer Lee "Scratch" Perry, built in 1973 and located behind his family's home in the Washington Gardens neighborhood of Kingston, Jamaica, Kingston, Jamaica. Despite the ru ...

studio. Both songs were released on two separate

singles in the UK, both on the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

accompanied by two different Upsetters dubs. In 1978 Creator returned to the Black Ark to re-record his in 1968 in Randy's studio recorded, Vincent Chin produced song, "Such is Life". Lord Creator returned to Trinidad and Tobago after suffering two strokes. In 1989, the British band

UB40 UB40 are an English reggae band, formed in December 1978 in Birmingham, England. The band has had more than 50 singles in the UK Singles Chart and has also achieved considerable international success. They have been nominated for the Grammy ...

recorded a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of " Kingston Town", which helped to revive Lord Creator's career. He appeared in oldies shows in Jamaica, and toured Japan. Following the success of the UB40 cover, Patrick returned to Jamaica, living in

Montego Bay Montego Bay () is the capital of the Parishes of Jamaica, parish of Saint James Parish, Jamaica, St. James in Jamaica. The city is the fourth most populous urban area in the country, after Kingston, Jamaica, Kingston, Spanish Town, and Portmore ...

. As of August 2020 Patrick resided in

Hanover Parish Hanover () is a parish located on the northwestern tip of the island of Jamaica. It is a part of the county of Cornwall, bordered by St. James in the east and Westmoreland in the south. With the exception of Kingston, it is the smallest par ...

. In 2022 he was the recipient of Jamaica's

Order of Distinction The Order of Distinction (OD) is a national order in the Jamaican honours system. It is the sixth in order of precedence of the Orders of Societies of Honour, which were instituted by an Act of Parliament (''The National Honours and Awards Ac ...

(Officer). Lord Creator died on 30 June 2023, at the age of 87.

References

External links

In the Battle for Emergent Independence: Calypsos of Decolonization, by Ray Funk
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lord Creator 1935 births 2023 deaths 20th-century Trinidad and Tobago male singers 20th-century Trinidad and Tobago singers Trinidad and Tobago calypsonians Jamaican ska musicians Trinidad and Tobago ska musicians Rocksteady musicians Island Records artists People from San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago Officers of the Order of Distinction