Wingless Angels are 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 ...

Rastafari Rastafari is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic religion that developed in Jamaica during the 1930s. It is classified as both a new religious movement and a social movement by Religious studies, scholars of religion. There is no central authori ...

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 ...

group led by

Justin Hinds Justin Hinds (7 May 1942 – 16 March 2005) was a Jamaican ska and conscious roots reggae vocalist with his backing singers the Dominoes. He is best known for his work with Duke Reid's Treasure Isle Records, where his most notable song, "Car ...

, best known for their self-titled album executive produced by

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943) is an English musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who is an original member, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-principal songwriter of the Rolling Stones. His songwriting partnership wi ...

and issued on his Mindless Records imprint.

History

Veteran reggae musician Justin Hinds had by the 1990s moved back to live in his rural home town of Steertown near

Ocho Rios Ocho Rios (Spanish for "Eight Rivers") () is a town in the parish of Saint Ann on the north coast of Jamaica, and is more widely referred to as ''Ochi'' by locals. Beginning as a sleepy fishing village, Ocho Rios has seen explosive growth ...

where he led a group of nyabinghi musicians, including Winston "Black Skull" Thomas (who had previously worked with

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1975.Talking Heads

and

Bad Brains Bad Brains are an American punk rock band formed in Washington, D.C., in 1976. They are widely regarded as pioneers of hardcore punk, though the band's members have objected to the use of this term to describe their music. They are also an ade ...

),Larkin, Colin (1998) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae'', Virgin Books, , pp. 319–320 Milton "Bongo Neville" Beckerd, "Bongo" Locksey Whitlock, Warrin Williamson, Maureen Fremantle (aka Sister Maureen), Vincent "Jackie" Ellis, and Bongo Jackie (aka Iron Lion).

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

guitarist Keith Richards had bought a home in Ocho Rios in the mid-1970s and befriended Hinds.Leggett, Steve " Wingless Angels Biography, ''

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

'', Macrovision Corporation, retrieved 29 November 2009Keith Richards To Release Roots Reggae Album
,

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

, 23 October 1997, retrieved 29 November 2009 Richards and producer

Rob Fraboni Robert Alan Fraboni (born 23 April 1951) is an American, California-born record producer and audio engineer, well known for his work with Bob Dylan, The Band, Eric Clapton, The Rolling Stones, Tim Hardin, The Beach Boys, Joe Cocker, and Bonnie Rai ...

recorded the group one evening in 1995 playing in his own living room, shortly after the death of Bongo Jackie, and with overdubs added by himself,

Blondie Chaplin Terrence William "Blondie" Chaplin (born 7 July 1951) is a South African singer and guitarist from Durban, where he played in the band the Flames in the mid to late 1960s. From 1972 to 1973, he was a member of the Beach Boys and contributed ...

, and Irish

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

ist Frankie Gavin, he released the recordings as an album on his own Mindless Records imprint (via

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 1997, dubbing the group "Wingless Angels". The album was reissued on keithrichards.com in 2003 and by Polygram in 2008.Munro, Eden (2008) "", ''

Vue Weekly ''Vue Weekly'' was an alternative weekly newspaper published in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, with issues released every Thursday. It covered topics on artists and events that are often ignored, marginalized, or misrepresented by the mainstream medi ...

'', 7 August 2008, retrieved 29 November 2009 According to a news release on winglessangels.com in June 2010, new recordings made shortly before the death of Justin Hinds will be issued in September 2010 on Mindless Records. Wingless Angels II, the last known recording of Justin Hinds, is now available.

Discography

*''Wingless Angels'' (October 1997), Mindless/Island Jamaica *''Wingless Angels II'' (23 September 2010), Mindless Records *''Wingless Angels Deluxe Edition'' (23 September 2010), Mindless Records

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wingless Angels Jamaican reggae musical groups