Clive Bright (2 December 1966 – 13 August 1988), better known as Tenor Saw, was a Jamaican

dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots reggae, roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2 ...

singjay in the 1980s, considered one of the most influential singers of the early digital reggae era. His best-known song was the 1985 hit "Ring the Alarm" on the "Stalag"

riddim In Jamaican dancehall music, a riddim is the instrumental accompaniment to a song and is synonymous with the rhythm section. Jamaican music genres that use the term consist of the ''riddim'' plus the ''voicing'' (vocal part) sung by the deeja ...

Biography

Born in Victoria Jubilee Hospital,

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, ...

, Jamaica, Bright was raised as the fourth of six children in the Payne Land, Maverley and Olympic Gardens areas of West Kingston before the family settled in Duhaney Park.Bonitto, Brian (2013)
Tenor Saw Lives On
, ''

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 ...

'', 9 August 2013. Retrieved 10 August 2013 Bright had a religious upbringing and sang in the Seventh-day Adventist Church of God choir in Olympic Gardens. Seeking to make it as a recording artist, Bright approached several of Kingston's producers. After being rejected by several others, George Phang gave the youngster a chance; His first single, "Roll Call" was recorded in 1984 for Phang's Powerhouse label, on the "Queen Majesty" rhythm.Larkin, Colin (1998) "The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae", Virgin Books, Sawyer, Rick: , JAMSBIO Magazine, 4 September 2008 (archived version at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

He moved on, with his friend Nitty Gritty, to work with Sugar Minott's Youth Promotion sound system and Black Roots Records label, having hits in Jamaica with "Lots of Sign", "Pumpkin Belly", "Run Come Call Me", and "Fever". His most successful single, however, was "Ring the Alarm", voiced over the "Stalag" riddim for Winston Riley's Techniques label. The singles' success saw Tenor Saw work with King Jammy, recording "Pumpkin Belly" on Jammy's (then) new "

Sleng Teng "Sleng Teng" is the name given to one of the first fully computerized riddims, influential in Music of Jamaica, Jamaican music and beyond. The riddim, which was the result of work by Noel Davey, Wayne Smith (musician), Ian "Wayne" Smith, and King ...

" rhythm. Further hits followed in 1986 with "Golden Hen" (on the Uptempo label), and Minott issued Tenor Saw's debut album, ''Fever'', that year. In common with most dancehall albums of the period, most of the rhythms were digital adaptions of older tunes from the 1960s and 1970s, usually produced originally 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 ...

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 ...

. Thus, "Shirley Jones" is based on the "Rougher Yet" riddim (named after Keith "Slim" Smith's "Rougher Yet"), and "Eeni Meeni Mini Mo" uses the "Real Rock" riddim from Studio One, while "Roll Call" versions

The Techniques The Techniques were a Jamaican rocksteady band (music), vocal group mainly active in the 1960s. History The group was formed by Winston Riley in 1962 while still at school, with the initial line-up also featuring Slim Smith, Franklyn White, and ...

' "Queen Majesty" from

, and "Lots of Sign" uses the bassline of "Tonight" by Keith & Tex, produced by Derrick Harriott. By the time the album was released, Tenor Saw had relocated to Miami, joining the Skengdon crew, where he recorded "Dancehall Feeling" and "Bad Boys". He recorded "No Work On a Sunday" for Donovan Germain, before moving to New York City, where he recorded with

Freddie McGregor Fredrick "Freddie" McGregor (born 27 June 1956, in Clarendon, Jamaica) is a Jamaican singer, musician and record producer. His music career began when he was seven years old. Biography In 1963 he joined with Ernest Wilson and Peter Austin to ...

("Victory Train"). His last recording, "Chill Out Chill Out", was a duet with General Doggie. On 31 July 1988, Tenor Saw was seriously injured in a

hit and run In traffic laws, a hit and run or a hit-and-run is the criminal act of causing a traffic collision and not stopping afterwards. It is considered a supplemental crime in most jurisdictions. Additional obligation In many jurisdictions, there ma ...

accident in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, Texas. He received treatment at the Ben Taub General Hospital, but succumbed to his injuries two weeks later, on 13 August 1988. He died at 21 years of age. Although other sources insist that he was murdered, his official cause of death was a closed head injury and bumper injuries complicated by a lung infection. Strangely on 26 October 1988, the newspaper Jamaica Gleaner reported that Tenor Saw was shot and killed in New York City (Tenor Saw had been dead for around two months by this point). Tenor Saw is regarded as one of the most influential singers of the early digital reggae era of the mid-1980s.

Influence

Tenor Saw's friends and colleagues Nitty Gritty ("Who Killed Tenor Saw?") and

King Kong King Kong, also referred to simply as Kong, is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. The character has since become an international pop culture icon,Erb, Cynthia, 1998, ''Tracking Kin ...

("He was a Friend") both recorded tributes the year after his death. Super Cat's song "Nuff man a Dead" is about the death of Tenor Saw and other superstars of the time."Nuff man Dead" lyric

Big Audio Dynamite Big Audio Dynamite (later known as Big Audio Dynamite II and Big Audio, and often abbreviated BAD) were an English band, formed in London in 1984 by Mick Jones (The Clash guitarist), Mick Jones, former lead guitarist and co-lead vocalist of th ...

sampled "Ring the Alarm" in their song "Rewind" on their 1989 album '' Megatop Phoenix''. English

Hip Hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

duo The Nextmen also references Tenor Saw, as well as the song "Ring the Alarm" on their 2000 composition '' Amongst the Madness''. A short excerpt from "Ring the Alarm" ("Watch the soundman a-tremble, watch the soundman afraid...") is used in the opening credits of

Mark Ronson Mark Daniel Ronson (born 4 September 1975) is a British-American DJ, record producer, and songwriter. He has won nine Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year for Amy Winehouse's album '' Back to Black'' (2006), as well as two for Record ...

's 2021 six-episode

docuseries Television documentaries are televised media productions that screen documentaries. Television documentaries exist either as a television documentary series or as a television documentary film. * Television documentary series, sometimes called d ...

'' Watch the Sound with Mark Ronson'', about the use of various types of technology in modern pop music. Sublime's cover of the Bob Marley and Wailers song "Jailhouse", is essentially a medley, heavily borrowing from the song "Roll Call". Sublime's song "Caress Me Down" uses the

riddim - which Tenor Saw helped to popularize with his song "Pumpkin Belly".

Albums

*''Clash'' (1985) Witty (with Don Angelo) *''Fever'' (1986) Blue Mountain/ RAS *''Wake the Town: Tribute to Tenor Saw'' (1992) *''Strictly Livestock'' (1986)

Greensleeves "Greensleeves" is a traditional English folk song. A broadside ballad by the name "A Newe Northen Dittye of ye Ladye Greene Sleves" was registered by Richard Jones at the London Stationers' Company in September 1580,Frank Kidson, ''English F ...

(with Various Artists) *''Clash'' (1987) Witty (with Cocoa Tea) *''Tenor Saw Lives On'' (1992) Sky High *''With Lots Signs'' (2003) Jet Star (Tenor Saw meets Nitty Gritty) *''Tenor Saw Meets Nitty Gritty'' (2008) VP

References

External links

Discography at discogs.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tenor Saw 1966 births 1988 deaths Musicians from Kingston, Jamaica Jamaican reggae musicians Jamaican dancehall musicians Road incident deaths in Texas