Gregory Isaacs — one of the most popular and versatile reggae singers of the late-Seventies, and the smooth-voiced dancehall crooner behind the genre’s landmark 1982 LP Night Nurse —

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Gregory Isaacs - Night Nurse (Live at Reggae Sunsplash 1983)

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyEP_st9csI

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Gregory Isaacs - My Number One

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9pgZe3ZkvE

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GREGORY ISAACS : Tune in

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cnw1nAVTmKY

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Gregory Isaacs - Cool Down The Pace

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-XmNm0inyM

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Gregory Isaacs - If I Don’t Have You

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Comments (0) Oct 26 2010

 Tribute to the Reggae Legend

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Gregory dies at 59; Jamaican singer pioneered reggae style known as lovers rock

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One of the genre major stars in the 1970’s, the ‘Cool Ruler’ had a polished sound and lyrics that focused on tales of love.  He was also known for his designer suits. 

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Gregory Isaacs, the Jamaican singer who pioneered the style of reggae music known as lovers rock and became one of the genre’s major stars in the 1970s, has died. He was 59.

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Isaacs died Monday at his home in London, according to his manager, Copeland Forbes. He had been diagnosed with lung cancer last year.

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Known as the “Cool Ruler,” as he styled himself in the title of a 1978 album, Isaacs cut a dapper figure in his designer suits and silk shirts — an image suited to a style of music that emphasized romantic yearning over reggae’s more traditional themes of spiritual and political transformation.

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“I’d say he’s one of the three geniuses I’ve known in the reggae music business, and I’ve known everyone,” said Gary Himelfarb, who recorded several Isaacs albums for his Washington, D.C.-based RAS Records label in the 1990s.

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“Gregory was the kind of person who could walk through a room of 20 people and come out the other side and tell you what everybody was wearing,” added Himelfarb, whose professional name is Doctor Dread. “He could sit at a piano and compose incredible tunes. He was really brilliant. He was on a whole other level than your typical Jamaican artist.”

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Isaacs was born in Kingston on July 15, 1951, and grew up in Denham Town. In school, he enjoyed reading, composition and painting, and at home he listened to American R&B on his family’s radio.

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Gregory Isaacs

July 15, 1951 - Oct 25, 2010

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Comments (0) Oct 25 2010

World Fastest Man —-Jamaican Usain Bolt

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Jamaican Olympic Winner

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Jamaican Track and Field Star

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Born Jamaican - By Tony Robinson

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There is nobody like a Jamaican, Nobody! Sometimes it’s difficult to determine where someone comes from. Drop us into the vast mosaic of the peoples of the world and try to figure out who is who.

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“Him is from China, no, is Japanese, but him could be Korean still.” The same goes for people from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, or Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana. We just can’t tell them apart. Not so with Jamaicans though, who stand out and stick out like beacons in the night. Foreigners know us in a flash, and we can identify each other from way across the street. We are so distinct that other people try to walk, talk and act like us.

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I’m so amused when I encounter Americans, Europeans, Japanese, [Madam Cleo, or Ron] trying to act Jamaican. “Hey mon, wha hoppening mon, eberyting irie?” I usually reply in my most proper English. If they are Japanese, I say, “Sukiyaki, Sayonara, Sony, Toyota Mitsubishi.” Just to keep them guessing.

 

OUT  OF  MANY  ONE  PEOPLE!

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“So you speak Japanese?”

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“Ah so, Nissan, Sanyo, Toyota Tercel..”

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But what makes us so different from other people? First it’s the walk, nobody walks like us. People in foreign walk briskly, head straight, arms swinging almost in military fashion, with a stride and purpose like they’re going somewhere. Not us though, who saunter with a rhythm that is almost slow motion. No hurry, no scurry, no flurry, no rushy rushy, just cool, with a bop and rhythm that could be put to music. Years ago we used to call it bop. For some it’s natural while others practiced it.

Bob Marley Commemorative Coin

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If you’re a girl in the middle of Paris, Madrid or Tokyo and hear, “psst, psst,” from across the street,

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Comments (0) Jul 31 2009