Triston Palma (born 1962) is a Jamaican

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 ...

singer/

deejay A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at nightclubs or music festivals), mobile DJ ...

. He has been active since the mid-1970s.

Biography

Palma was born in 1961 and grew up in the Waltham Park area of Kingston, and decided from an early age that he wanted to be a singer.Larkin, Colin (1998) "The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae", Virgin Books, van Pelt, Carter (1998)
Interview by Carter Van Pelt
, 3 February 1998 He began by singing to the accompaniment of

Soul Syndicate Soul Syndicate, originally called the Rhythm Raiders, were one of the top reggae session bands in Jamaica from the early 1970s to the mid-1980s. History In the first half of the 1970s the band from the Greenwich Farm area of Kingston recorded ...

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

ist

Tony Chin Albert Valentine "Tony" Chin is a Jamaican guitarist, who has collaborated with many reggae artists including Bob Marley, Dennis Brown, Gregory Isaacs, Freddie McGregor, Bunny Wailer, Big Youth, U-Roy, Max Romeo, Don Carlos, Mikey Dread, Burning ...

. His first recording was "Love Is A Message" for producer

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 ...

when he was eight years old, which was followed by "A-Class Girl" for the Black Solidarity label, which was co-run by Palma and Ossie Thomas.Rebel Base interview
/ref>Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The Rough Guide to Reggae, 3rd edn.", Rough Guides, Palma made a major breakthrough with his performance in 1979 at the General Penitentiary Memorial Concert for Claudie Massop, which also featured

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981) was a Jamaican singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, he fused elements of reggae, ska and rocksteady and was renowned for his distinctive voca ...

.Triston Palma Biography
", Big Up Radio At one point in the early 1980s, Palma had nine songs in Jamaica's Top 40. They included his biggest career hit, the dancehall influenced "Entertainment" produced by Nkrumah Jah Thomas and using a reworking of the rhythm from Vin Gordon's "Heavenless". Palma became a popular artist in the "

singjay Singjaying is a Jamaican style of reggae vocals combining toasting and singing in an elastic format that encourages rhythmically compelling and texturally impressive vocal embellishments. The performer is called a singjay, a combination of singe ...

" style in the early 1980s. enjoying further successes with Jah Thomas including: "Water Bubbling", "Spliff Tail", "Raving", "Touch Me, Take Me" and "Run Around Woman". Palma has worked with

Linval Thompson Leval Alphonso Thompson (born 12 October 1954, Kingston, Jamaica), also known as Linval Thompson, is a Jamaican conscious roots reggae vocalist, dub musician and record producer. Biography Thompson was raised in Kingston, Jamaica, but spent ti ...

, who produced his ''Joker Lover'' and ''Settle Down Girl'' albums, and also

George Phang George Phang (born 29 March 1956 in Saint Andrew, Kingston) is a Jamaican reggae record producer, famously known for owning the ''Powerhouse'' label. Phang started his reggae label Powerhouse in the early 1980s. His first hits were Little John's " ...

, Tony Robinson,

Sugar Minott Lincoln Barrington "Sugar" Minott (25 May 1956 – 10 July 2010)Campbell, Howard (2010)Reggae singer Sugar Minott dies at 54, Associated Press, 11 July 2010. Retrieved 12 July 2010Peru, Yasmine (2010)Godfather of Dancehall, Sugar Minott, dead a ...

, Bunny Gemini, and Castro Brown. In the mid-1980s, Palma became involved in the famine-relief charity project Music is Life, along 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 ...

Mutabaruka Allan Hope CD (born 26 December 1952), better known as Mutabaruka, is a Jamaican Rastafari dub poet, musician, actor, educator, and talk-show host, who developed two of Jamaica's most popular radio programmes, ''The Cutting Edge'' and ''Stepp ...

Gregory Isaacs Gregory Anthony Isaacs OD (15 July 1951 – 25 October 2010)Thompson, p. 127. was a Jamaican reggae musician. Milo Miles, writing in ''The New York Times'', described Isaacs as "the most exquisite vocalist in reggae".Miles, Milo (1992),RECORDI ...

Third World The term Third World arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either NATO or the Warsaw Pact. The United States, Canada, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, the Southern Cone, NATO, Western European countries and oth ...

Edi Fitzroy Fitzroy Edwards (17 November 1955 – 4 March 2017), better known by his stage name Edi Fitzroy, was a Jamaican reggae singer, active from 1975 but best known for his work during the dancehall era. Early life Edwards was born on 17 November 1955 ...

, and

Steel Pulse Steel Pulse are a roots reggae band from the Handsworth area of Birmingham, England. They originally formed at Handsworth Wood Boys School, and were composed of David Hinds (lead vocals, guitar), Basil Gabbidon (lead guitar, vocals), and Ro ...

, contributing to the charity single "Land of Africa". His popularity continued through the 1980s with

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 ...

hits that included "Lick Shot", a track that utilized rhythms by

Robbie Shakespeare Robert Warren Dale Shakespeare (27 September 1953 – 8 December 2021) was a Jamaican bass guitarist and record producer, best known as half of the reggae rhythm section and production duo Sly and Robbie, with drummer Sly Dunbar. Regarded as on ...

and

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, and in the 1990s he recorded the ''Three Against War'' song and album with

Dennis Brown Dennis Emmanuel Brown CD (1 February 1957 – 1 July 1999) was a Jamaican reggae singer. During his prolific career, which began in the late 1960s when he was aged eleven, he recorded more than 75 albums and was one of the major stars of l ...

and

Beenie Man Moses Anthony Davis OD (born 22 August 1973), professionally known as Beenie Man, is a Jamaican dancehall deejay. His awards include DJ of the Year Award eight years in a row. His twelfth studio album '' Art and Life'' received a Grammy Award ...

. Palma has worked as a producer himself, working with artists such as

Phillip Frazer Phillip Frazer (born 1 May 1946, in Melbourne, Australia) is a writer, editor and publisher. He was a founder of the weekly teen pop newspaper ''Go-Set'' in 1966, NOTE: This PDF is 282 pages. which was a popular Australian music paper from 1966 ...

, Josey Wales, and

Robert Ffrench Robert Ffrench (born 1962) is a Jamaican reggae singer and record producer. Biography Robert Ffrench grew up in central Kingston and attended Kingston College. He recorded his first singles in 1979, at the age of 17.McDonald, Kandré (2007)Robe ...

, and has provided backing vocals for singers such as Sugar Minott,

Tony Tuff Winston Anthony Morris (1 April 1955 – 20 April 2024), known professionally as Tony Tuff, was a Jamaican conscious roots reggae singer and a member of The African Brothers in the late 1960s and 1970s before embarking on a solo career. Biogr ...

, and Freddie McGregor.Triston Palma at Roots Archives
/ref> He also built his own ''Star Creation'' studio.

Discography

Albums

*''Presenting Triston Palma'' (1981) Black Roots *''Fancyness'' (1982) Gorgon *''Joker Lover'' (1982) Jah Guidance *''Showcase In A Roots Radics Drum & Bass'' (1982) Midnight Rock/Vista Sounds/Gorgon *''Joker Smoker'' (1982)

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 ...

/Clocktower *''Touch Me, Take Me'' (1982) Midnight Rock/Vista Sounds/A&A *''Nice Time'' (1982) Jam Rock (with

Toyan Toyan aka Ranking Toyan (born ''Byron Everton Letts'', died 1991) was a Jamaican reggae deejay active since the mid-1970s and best known for his early 1980s recordings. Biography Toyan began his career in 1974, deejaying on Kingston's sound sy ...

) *''Entertainment'' (1982) Midnight Rock *''Settle Down Girl'' (1983)

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 ...

*''The Big Showdown'' (1984) Black Solidarity (Trison Palma and

) *''Triston Palma Meets Early B The Doctor'' (198?) Fantastique (Garrick Robertson Triston Palma and

Early B Earlando Arrington Neil (28 February 1957 – 11 September 1994) better known by his stage name Early B, was an early dancehall and reggae deejay whose lyrics had a cultural bent, noted mainly in his hits ''Visit of King Selassie'', ''Histor ...

) *''I and I and Inity'' (198?) Drum & Bass (with Philip Frazer) *''Wounded'' (1989) Bungem *''The Best of'' (198?) Rohit *''Three Against War'' (1995) VP (with Dennis Brown and Beenie Man) *''Triston Palmer Meets Jah Thomas Inna Disco Style'' (1996) Munich/Majestic *''Born Naked'' (1997) I&I Foundation *''On The Attack'' Blue Mountain *''Wounded'' Bungem *''Spliff Tail'' Black Solidarity *''Triston Palma Meets Michael Palmer'' Midnight Rock (with Michael Palmer) *''Two Roads'' (2000) Easy Star ;Contributing artist * ''

The Rough Guide to Reggae ''The Rough Guide to Reggae'' is a world music compilation album originally released in 1997. Part of the World Music Network Rough Guides series, the album broadly covers the reggae genre originating in Jamaica. The album was curated by Steve Ba ...

'' (1997)

World Music Network World Music Network is a UK-based record label specializing in world music. The World Music Network website features news, reviews, live music listings, and guide sections on world music. It also features an online "Battle of the Bands" competi ...

Singles

*"Melissa" (1982) JR 7" *"My Father Love" Vasco 7" *"Spliff Tail" Black Solidarity 7" *"Another Girl" with Phillip Frazier Solidarity International 7" *"Ghetto Vibes" I&I Foundation 7" *"The Struggle" with Norris Man I&I Foundation 7" *"Can't Let Them Do That" (1997) Artistic 7" *"Jah Is In Charge" (1997) Ruff Stock 7" *"Cuss Cuss" (1997) Massive B 7" *"Original Fussing & Fighting" (1998) Ranking Joe 7" *"Sweet Reggae Music" "Corner Stone 12"

References

External links

Triston Palma
on

Myspace Myspace (formerly stylized as MySpace, currently myspace; and sometimes my␣, with an elongated Whitespace character#Substitute images, open box symbol) is a social networking service based in the United States. Launched on August 1, 2003, it w ...

Triston Palmer at Last.fmTriston Palmer at riddimguide.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Palma, Triston 1962 births Living people Musicians from Kingston, Jamaica Jamaican reggae musicians Easy Star Records artists The African Brothers members