Joseph Abraham Gordon (2 October 1934 – 15 April 2016), better known as Lord Tanamo, was a

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 ...

n-Canadian singer and songwriter best known for his

mento Mento is a style of Music of Jamaica, Jamaican folk music that predates and has greatly influenced ska and reggae music. It is a fusion of African rhythmic elements and European elements, which reached peak popularity in the 1940s and 1950s. ...

and

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 ...

work.

Career

Born 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, ...

and raised in Denham Town in the West of the city, Gordon was influenced by Lord Kitchener, who lived in Jamaica in the 1940s.Lord Tanamo Dies in Canada
, ''

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 ...

'', 24 April 2016. Retrieved 24 April 2016 His interest in music began at an early age when he heard a rumba box being played by local musician Cecil Lawes. He went on to perform locally as a teenager, singing calypsos accompanied by Lawes, and began performing in hotels in the early 1950s."Lord Tanamo's Switch to Ska Paid Off", ''Jamaica Star'', 5 June 1964 He first recorded for Kingston businessman and

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 ...

operator

Stanley Motta Stanley Motta was an electronics store proprietor who established a record label in Kingston, Jamaica and opened the first privately owned recording studio in Jamaica in 1951, jump starting Jamaica's music industry. Career Motta recorded cal ...

, and later recorded with a backing band that included Theophilus Beckford and

Ernest Ranglin Ernest Ranglin (born 19 June 1932) is a Jamaican guitarist and composer who established his career while working as a session guitarist and music director for various Jamaican record labels, including Studio One and Island Records. Ranglin pl ...

.Katz, David (2009) ''People Funny Boy: The Genius of Lee 'Scratch' Perry'', Omnibus Press, , p. 20 His early hits included "Blues Have Got Me Down" (1960) for producer Emil Shallit.Thompson, Dave (2002) ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books, , p. 182, 263, 326 He switched to ska in the early 1960s, and was a founding member of

the Skatalites The Skatalites are a ska band from Jamaica. They played initially between 1963 and 1965, and recorded many of their best known songs in the period, including "Guns of Navarone (song), Guns of Navarone." They also played on records by Prince Bus ...

, singing with the band on tracks such as "Come Down" and "I'm in the Mood For Ska".Augustyn, Heather (2013) ''Don Drummond: The Genius and Tragedy of the World's Greatest Trombonist'', McFarland, , p. 100 He recorded for

Clement 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 a ...

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 Lindon Pottinger in the 1960s, and had hits with adapted folk songs such as "Iron Bar" and "Matty Rag", and had further hits with songs such as "Ol' Fowl". In 1965 he won the Festival Song Contest with "Come Down". In 1970, he recorded a reggae cover of

Tony Joe White Tony Joe White (July 23, 1943 – October 24, 2018), nicknamed the Swamp Fox, was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist, best known for his 1969 hit " Polk Salad Annie" and for "Rainy Night in Georgia", which he wrote but which was first ...

's "

Rainy Night in Georgia "Rainy Night in Georgia" is a song written by Tony Joe White in 1967 and popularized by R&B vocalist Brook Benton in 1970. It was originally released by White on his 1969 album, '' Continued'', on Monument Records, shortly before Benton's hit ...

", which was a number one hit in Jamaica for seven weeks. He was based in Canada from the mid-1970s, where he married a local woman and opened the Record Nook shop, selling Jamaican-produced records, although he returned to Jamaica to record. During one of these trips back he recorded the 1979

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

''Calypso Reggae'', for

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 ...

. In 1990, his ska cover of "

I'm in the Mood for Love "I'm in the Mood for Love" is a popular song published in 1935. The music was written by Jimmy McHugh, with the lyrics by Dorothy Fields. The song was introduced by Frances Langford in the movie '' Every Night at Eight'' released that year. It ...

" gave him his only UK hit, reaching no. 58 in the UK Singles Chart after being featured in a television advert for

Paxo Paxo is a brand of stuffing and Bread crumbs in the United Kingdom, currently owned by Premier Foods. Paxo was devised in 1901 by John Crampton, a butcher from Eccles near Manchester, who wanted to have something extra to sell to his customers ...

in 1989. In 2002, Tanamo performed as part of the 'Legends of Ska' concerts in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, the performances recorded and released as a film in 2014. Tanamo continued to perform with the Skatalites into the 21st century, including a set at the 2003

Glastonbury Festival The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts (commonly referred to as simply Glastonbury Festival, known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts held near Pilton, Somerset, England, in most su ...

. In January 2008 it was stated in a Jamaican

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

that Tanamo was in a

nursing home A nursing home is a facility for the residential care of older people, senior citizens, or disabled people. Nursing homes may also be referred to as care homes, skilled nursing facilities (SNF), or long-term care facilities. Often, these terms ...

in Canada after suffering a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

that had left him unable to speak.
He died in Toronto on 15 April 2016.

Discography

Albums

*''Come, Come, Come To Jamaica – Independence Year 1962'' (1964), RCA Records, RCA – Lord Tanamo and his Calypsonians *''Festival Jump-Up'' (1965), Gaydisc *''Calypso Reggae'' (1979), Third World *''Rolling Steady'' (2007), Motion — The Skatalites *''Best Place in the World'' (2000), Grover — Lord Tanamo with Dr. Ring-Ding & The Senior Allstars ;Compilations: *''Skament-Movement'' (1992), Alpha Enterprise — Lord Tanamo with The Skatalites (reissued 1999 as ''Skamento Movement'') *''In the Mood For Ska'' (1993),

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 ...

– Lord Tanamo with The Skatalites *''I'm in the Mood for Ska! The Best of Lord Tanamo'' (2007), Trojan

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tanamo, Lord 1934 births 2016 deaths Musicians from Kingston, Jamaica Jamaican male singers Jamaican male songwriters Jamaican calypsonians Jamaican ska musicians Jamaican emigrants to Canada Mento Trojan Records artists Jamaican expatriates in Canada RCA Records artists