Ainsworth Roy Rushton Shirley (18 July 1944 – July 2008), better known simply as Roy Shirley, and also known as King Roy Shirley and
The High Priest, was a Jamaican singer whose career spanned the
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 ...
,
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 ...
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 ...
eras, and whose "Hold Them" is regarded by some as the first ever rocksteady song. He was also one of the original members of
Slim Smith's band,
The Uniques.
Biography
Shirley was born on North Street 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 the Palisadoes, a long spit (landform), sand spit which connects the town of Por ...
, on 18 July 1944,
[Katz, David (2008), "Obituary: Roy Shirley", '']The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'', 28 August 2008. and grew up in
Trench Town, where he attended the Boys Town school, and after singing in his local church choir began his career performing in talent contests.
[Katz, David (2003), ''Solid Foundation – an Oral History of Reggae'', Bloomsbury, ][Roy Shirley, The Man Who Changed The Game]
, ''Jamaica Gleaner
''The Gleaner'' is an English-language, morning daily newspaper founded by two brothers, Jacob and Joshua de Cordova on 13 September 1834 in Kingston, Jamaica.
It is the oldest continuously published newspaper in the Western Hemisphere. Original ...
'', 23 September 2012; retrieved 23 September 2012. His second prize performance on
Vere Johns' talent show brought him to the attention of then Minister of Culture
Edward Seaga
Edward Philip George Seaga ( ; 28 May 1930 – 28 May 2019) was a Jamaican politician and record producer. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Jamaica, from 1980 to 1989, and the leader of the Jamaica Labour Party from 1974 to 2005. and bandleader
Byron Lee
Byron Lee ,
, ''Jamaica Gleaner'', 27 October 2008. born Byron Aloysius St. Elmo Lee ...
, who gave him work on shows that they promoted.
After early recordings for producer Simeon L. Smith went unreleased, he moved on to work with
Leslie Kong
Leslie Kong (20 December 1933 – 9 August 1971) was a Jamaican reggae producer.
Early life
Kong was born into a Chinese-Jamaican family. He had a "relatively comfortable upbringing" and attended St. George's College in Kingston.
Career ...
, who released his debut single "Oh Shirley", co-arranged with his friend
Jimmy Cliff
James Chambers, Jamaican Order of Merit, OM (born 30 July 1944), known professionally as Jimmy Cliff, is a Jamaican ska, rocksteady, reggae and soul musician, multi-instrumentalist, singer, and actor. He is the only living reggae musician to hol ...
, giving him a hit in 1965.
Shirley then formed The Leaders along with
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 ...
,
Joe White, and
Chuck Josephs. This group was unsuccessful, but Shirley went on to join
Slim Smith and
Franklyn White in the original line-up of
The Uniques.
When this line-up folded, Shirley recorded "Hold Them" in 1966, credited as one of the first
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 ...
songs,
[O'Brien Chang, Kevin & Chen, Wayne (1998), ''Reggae Routes'', Ian Randle Publishers, ] and inspired by the beat from a
Salvation Army
The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestantism, Protestant Christian church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. It is aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. The organisation reports a worldwide m ...
band.
Shirley attempted to perform "Hold Them" to a
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 ...
beat, but unable to make it work, slowed down the rhythm. He initially attempted to record the song with
Slim Smith 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 ...
for producer
Joe Gibbs
Joseph Jackson Gibbs (born November 25, 1940) is an American auto racing team owner and former American football, football coach. He served as the head coach of the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL) from 1981 Washingto ...
, but it didn't work out, with the other singers struggling to break away from the ska style, and
Gladstone Anderson suggested to Gibbs that Shirley perform the song solo. The song became a massive hit in Jamaica, and Shirley recorded several more singles for Gibbs, including "Dance Arena", "The World Needs Love", and "Music Is The Key", but these failed to match the success of the first single. Shirley moved on to work with
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 ...
giving the producer his first hit with "Music Field", which was followed by others such as "Get on the Ball".
[Larkin, Colin (1998), ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae'', Virgin Books, ] Shirley's style draws heavily from American soul singers such as
Solomon Burke
Solomon Vincent McDonald Burke (born James Solomon McDonald, March 21, 1940 – October 10, 2010) was an American singer who shaped the sound of rhythm and blues as one of the founding fathers of soul music in the 1960s. He has been called ...
.
He became renowned for his ecstatic stage performances, often performing wearing a long silver cape with a high collar,
and was described by the ''
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 ...
'' as "perhaps the most comedic performer to evolve out of Jamaican popular music".
[Walker, Karyl (2004),]
ROY SHIRLEY Still going strong after 40 years
, ''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 October 2004. In late 1968, Shirley set up his own ''Public'' label and began self-production, releasing tracks such as "
Prophecy
In religion, mythology, and fiction, a prophecy is a message that has been communicated to a person (typically called a ''prophet'') by a supernatural entity. Prophecies are a feature of many cultures and belief systems and usually contain di ...
Fulfilling", "Flying Reggae", and "On Board".
Shirley had another big hit in 1971 with "A Sugar" for Randy's.
He toured the United Kingdom in 1972 with
U-Roy
Ewart Beckford OD (21 September 1942 – 17 February 2021), known by the stage name U-Roy, was a Jamaican vocalist and pioneer of toasting.Jo-Ann GreeneU-Roy Biography, AllMusic. Retrieved 11 April 2013. U-Roy was known for a melodic style ...
and
Max Romeo
Maxwell Livingston Smith (22 November 1944 – 11 April 2025), known professionally as Max Romeo, was a Jamaican reggae and roots reggae recording musician who achieved chart success in his home country and in the United Kingdom. He had several ...
,
and became based in the UK from 1973, setting up his ''All Stars Artistic Federated Union'' in 1976, with the aim of helping other artists to avoid some of the pitfalls of the music business.
He released his first album in 1976, with ''The Winner''.
[Thompson, Dave (2002), "Reggae & Caribbean Music", Backbeat Books, ] He recorded a single, "Love Your Mother" backed with "I Am The Merciful" which was released on
Raymond Morrison's Hawk label in 1979.
[''Tighten Up!: The History of Reggae in the UK'', Michael De Koningh, Marc Griffiths · 2003 ]
PAGE 248 Name: Hawk
/ref> He performed 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 1982, and was included on the album of performances from the festival.[Thompson, Dave (2002), "Reggae & Caribbean Music", Backbeat Books, ] Shirley opened a record shop in Dalston
Dalston () is an area of East London, in the London Borough of Hackney. It is northeast of Charing Cross. Dalston began as a hamlet on either side of Dalston Lane, and as the area urbanised the term also came to apply to surrounding areas i ...
, London, and in his later years he set up the British Universal Talent Development Association, with the aim of supporting talented but underprivileged youngsters.[Roy Shirley: Reggae Singer]
, ''The Times
''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'', 3 September 2008. He continued to perform occasionally, and his last show was at the Sierra Nevada World Music Festival in June 2008.
Roy Shirley died at his home in Thamesmead
Thamesmead () is an area of south-east London, England, straddling the border between the Royal Borough of Greenwich and the London Borough of Bexley. It is located east of Charing Cross, north-east of Woolwich and west of Erith. It mainly c ...
, London, in July 2008, aged 63. A memorial concert was held on 30 August, featuring performances from the likes of Derrick Morgan
Derrick Morgan OD (born 27 March 1940)Walters, Basil (2012)A New Day – Songs heralding JA’s Independence", ''Jamaica Observer'', 3 June 2012, retrieved 3 June 2012 is a Jamaican musical artist who was popular in the 1960s and 1970s. He w ...
, 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 ...
, B. B. Seaton and Michael Prophet
Michael George Haynes (3 March 1957 – 16 December 2017), known professionally as Michael Prophet, was a Jamaican roots reggae singer known for his "crying" tenor vocal style, whose recording career began in 1977. Prophet was one of Jamaica’s ...
. With the assistance of the 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 government his body was returned to Jamaica, where he was buried and where a memorial service was held, attended by musicians including 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 ...
and Dwight Pinkney
Dwight Pinkney Order of Distinction, OD (born 1945), also known as Brother Dee, is a Jamaican guitarist best known for his work as a session musician and as a member of Zap Pow and the Roots Radics, who since 1999 has recorded as a solo artist.
...
and representatives of the government.[Cooke, Mel (2008),]
Roy Shirley sent off as a true original
, ''Jamaica Gleaner'', 17 September 2008.
Albums
*''The Winner'' (1976) Trenchtown
*''Good News'' (1981) GG's
*''The Return of the High Priest'' (1982) Weed Beat
*''Control Them Volume One'' (1995) Della International
*''Black Lion Negus Rastafari'' (1996) Lion Roots
*''Get in the Groove'' (1997) Rocky One
*''Music Is The Key'' (2003) 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 ...
*''Nice Up The City'' (2003) King Roy
*''Your Musical Priest'' (2004) Westside/Demon
*''The High Priest: The Great Roy Shirley'' Rhino
References
External links
Official website
Roy Shirley at Roots Archives
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shirley, Roy
1948 births
2008 deaths
Singers from Kingston, Jamaica
Jamaican reggae musicians
Island Records artists
Trojan Records artists
Rocksteady musicians
The Uniques (Jamaican group) members
Hawk Records (UK label) artists