Emmanuel "Rico" Rodriguez (17 October 1934 – 4 September 2015), also known as Rico, Reco or El Reco, was a Cuban-born Jamaican

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

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 ...

trombonist. He recorded with producers such as Karl Pitterson,

Prince Buster Cecil Bustamente Campbell (24 May 1938 – 8 September 2016), known professionally as Prince Buster, was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and producer. The records he released in the 1960s influenced and shaped the course of Jamaican contemporary ...

, and Lloyd Daley. He was known as one of the first ska musicians. Beginning in the 1960s, he worked with

the Members The Members is a British punk rock, punk band that originated in Camberley, Surrey, England. In the UK, they are best known for their single "The Sound of the Suburbs", reaching No. 12 in the UK Singles Chart in 1979, and in Australia, "Radio" ...

the Specials The Specials, also known as the Special AKA, were an English 2 tone and ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry. After some early changes, the first stable lineup of the group consisted of Terry Hall and Neville Staple on vocals, J ...

Jools Holland Julian Miles Holland (born 24 January 1958) is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer and television presenter. He was an original member of the band Squeeze and has worked with many artists including Marc Almond, Jayne County, To ...

, and

Paul Young Paul Antony Young (born 17 January 1956) is an English musician, singer and songwriter. Formerly the frontman of the short-lived bands Kat Kool & the Kool Cats, Streetband and Q-Tips, he became a teen idol with his solo success in the 1980s. H ...

Career

Rodriguez was born in

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.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 ...

.Campbell, Howard (2012)
Rico Rodriguez: Man From Wareika
, ''

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 ...

'', 22 June 2012; retrieved 24 June 2012. He grew up there 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 was taught to play the

trombone The trombone (, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's lips vibrate inside a mouthpiece, causing the Standing wave, air c ...

by his slightly older schoolmate

Don Drummond Don Drummond (12 March 1934 – 6 May 1969) was a Jamaican ska trombonist and composer. He was one of the original members of The Skatalites, and composed many of their tunes. In 1966, Drummond was convicted of murdering his 23-year-old ...

at the

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 ...

. In the 1950s, Rodriguez became a

Rastafarian Rastafari is an Abrahamic religion that developed in Jamaica during the 1930s. It is classified as both a new religious movement and a social movement by scholars of religion. There is no central authority in control of the movement and much ...

and was closely associated musically to the rasta drummer Count Ossie. In 1961, Rodriguez moved to the UK, where he joined live bands such as

Georgie Fame Georgie Fame (born Clive Powell; 26 June 1943) is an English R&B and jazz musician. Fame, who had a string of 1960s hits, is still performing, often working with contemporaries such as Alan Price, Van Morrison and Bill Wyman. Fame is the only B ...

's Blue Flames"Musgrave For Rico Rodriguez"
'' The Jamaica Gleaner'', 9 October 2012. and started to play in

bands. Rodriguez also began recording with his own band, Rico's All Stars, and later formed the group Rico and the Rudies, recording the 1969 albums ''Blow Your Horn'' and ''Brixton Cat''. In 1976, he recorded the album '' Man from Wareika'' under a contract with

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 ...

. In the late 1970s, he recorded a song called "Offshore Banking Business" with

and with the arrival of the

2 tone Two-tone, two tone, or 2 tone, etc., may refer to: Audio and sound * Second-order intercept point#Two-tone analysis, Two-tone analysis, in nonlinear system measurement * Two-tone attention signal * Two-tone Warning chime, chime, such as the "ding ...

genre, he played with ska revival bands such as

including their single "

A Message to You, Rudy "A Message to You Rudy" is a 1967 rocksteady song by Dandy Livingstone. Originally titled "Rudy a Message to You", the song later achieved broader success when, in 1979, a cover version by the Specials reached number 10 on the UK Singles Chart. ...

". Rodriguez is mentioned in the

Ian Dury Ian Robins Dury (12 May 1942 27 March 2000) was an English singer, songwriter and actor who rose to fame in the late 1970s, during the punk rock, punk and new wave music, new wave era of rock music. He was the lead singer and lyricist of Kilburn ...

and

the Blockheads The Blockheads are an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1977. Originally fronted by lead singer Ian Dury as Ian Dury and the Blockheads or Ian and the Blockheads, the band has continued to perform since Dury's death in 2000. me ...

song "

Reasons to Be Cheerful, Part 3 "Reasons to Be Cheerful, Part 3" is a song and single by Ian Dury and the Blockheads, initially released as the single "Reasons to be Cheerful, Part 3 / Common as Muck" on 27 July 1979, which reached number 3 in the UK singles chart the followin ...

". The song was released just months before Rico joined the Specials. In 1982, he returned to Jamaica to retire from performing professionally; however, in 1987 he returned to tour with the Heart Beat Band, and between 1992 and 1995 he would also play with Jazz Jamaica, as well as with

Linton Kwesi Johnson Linton Kwesi Johnson Order of Distinction, OD (born 24 August 1952), also known as LKJ, is a Jamaica-born, British-based dub poetry, dub poet and activist. In 2002, he became the second living poet, and the only black one, to be published in th ...

during this era. In 1995, Island Records released the album '' Roots to the Bone'', an updated version of Rodriguez's earlier work ''Man from Wareika''. From 1996, among other engagements, he played with

's Rhythm and Blues Orchestra and also performed at various ska

festivals A festival is an event celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, Melā, mela, or Muslim holidays, eid. A ...

throughout Europe with his own band. He retired from performing with Jools Holland in 2012. He was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE) in the 2007 New Year Honours, for services to music. In October 2012, he was awarded the Silver

Musgrave Medal The Musgrave Medal is an annual award by the Institute of Jamaica in recognition of achievement in art, science, and literature.Webster, Valerie J. (2000), ''Awards, Honors & Prizes, Volume 2'', Gale Group, , p. 447. Originally conceived in 1889 ...

by the Institute of Jamaica in recognition of his contribution to Jamaican music.Campbell, Howard (2012)
Trombonist Rico Rodriguez gets his due
, ''Jamaica Observer'', 11 October 2012; retrieved 11 October 2012.

Death

On 4 September 2015, following a short illness in a London hospital, Rodriguez died aged 80. A tribute to him by Youthsayers alongside

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 ...

was performed at the Lambeth Country Show in 2016 to a crowd of 80,000.

Discography

* ''Reco in Reggae Land (Paying Tribute to

)'',

Pama Records Pama Records is a British record label active during the 1960s and 1970s. Initially focused on soul music, it became one of the major outlets for reggae in the UK. Background The label was set up by the Palmer Brothers – Harry, Jeff, and Carl ...

(1969) * '' Man from Wareika'',

(1976) * ''Wareika Dub'', Ghetto Rockers (1977) * ''That Man Is Forward'',

2 Tone Records 2 Tone Records was an English independent record label that mostly released ska and reggae-influenced music with a punk rock and pop music overtone. It was founded by Jerry Dammers of the Specials and backed by Chrysalis Records. History J ...

(1981) * ''Jama Rico'',

(1982) * ''Rising in the East'', Jove Music (1994) * ''Return from Wareika Hill'', Alpha Enterprise (1994) * ''You Must Be Crazy'' (live, as Rico & His Band), Grover Records (1994) * ''Wonderful World'', Quattro, (1995) * ''Get Up Your Foot'', (as Rico & His Band), Grover Records, (2000) * ''Going West'', (as Rico & Friends), Creole Records (2002) * ''Togetherness'', (as Rico Rodriguez & Roots to the Bone Band), Subterannia Discos (2005) * ''Japa-Rico - Rico Rodriguez Meets Japan'',

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

(2006) * ''Wareika Vibes'', Jamdown (2006)

References

External links

Rico Rodriguez
– unofficial site * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rodriguez, Rico 1934 births 2015 deaths Members of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Musgrave Medal Musicians from Kingston, Jamaica Jamaican reggae musicians Reggae trombonists Jamaican ska trombonists Jamaican Rastafarians Jamaican emigrants to the United Kingdom 20th-century Black British musicians The Specials members Blue Cat Records (UK) artists Island Records artists 2 Tone Records artists Musicians from Havana Cuban musicians Jamaican people of Cuban descent Jools Holland's Rhythm and Blues Orchestra members The Spatial AKA Orchestra members People educated at Alpha Boys School

Career

Death

Discography

See also

References

External links