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Jackie Edwards (musician)

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Jackie Edwards
Birth nameWilfred Gerald Edwards
Born1938
Jamaica
Died15 August 1992(1992-08-15) (aged 53–54)
GenresReggae
Occupation(s)Musician, songwriter, record producer
Years active1950–1992
LabelsIsland

Wilfred Gerald Edwards (1938 – 15 August 1992),[1] known as Jackie Edwards, was a Jamaican musician, songwriter and record producer, whose career took in ska, R&B, soul, rocksteady, reggae, and ballads.[2]

Career

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Edwards was born in Jamaica in 1938 where he was raised with fourteen siblings. Strongly influenced by Nat King Cole, he began performing at the age of 14.[3] He came to the attention of Chris Blackwell in 1959. Edwards had four number one singles in Jamaica between 1960 and 1961, all self-written ballads with Latin-influenced music.[3]

When Blackwell set up Island Records in London in 1962, Edwards travelled with him.[1] Edwards worked as a singer and songwriter for Island, recording as a solo artist and also duets with Millie Small, as well as performing duties such as delivering records.[2][3] He wrote both "Keep On Running" and "Somebody Help Me", that became number one singles in the United Kingdom for The Spencer Davis Group.[1][2] He continued to work as a recording artist himself, with regular album releases through to the mid-1980s. Much of his later work was produced by Bunny Lee. Edwards also worked with The Aggrovators : one of his most renowned songs he produced with that band was the roots sound systems favourite, a recut of Burning Spear's Invasion (Wadada).[1] Dionne Bromfield covered his song "Oh Henry" on her album Introducing Dionne Bromfield in 2009.

Edwards worked as a producer, co-producing the 1977 album Move Up Starsky by The Mexicano.[4] The majority of Edwards' catalogue is published through Fairwood Music (UK) Ltd.

He died in August 1992 from a heart attack.[1]

Discography

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Albums

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  • The Most of Jackie Edwards (1963) – Island
  • Stand Up for Jesus (1964) – Island
  • Come on Home (1965) – Island
  • By Demand (1966) – Island
  • Pledging My Love (1966) – Island (with Millie Small)
  • Premature Golden Sands (1967) – Island
  • Put Your Tears Away (1969) – Island
  • I Do Love You (1972) – Trojan
  • Do You Believe in Love (1976) – Klik
  • African Language (1977) – Harry J Records
  • Let It Be Me (1978) – Jamaica Sound (with Hortense Ellis)
  • Tell Me Darling (1978) – Imperial
  • Sincerely (1978) – Trojan
  • Come to Me Softly (1979) – Third World
  • Nothing Takes the Place of You (1981) – Starlight
  • King of the Ghetto (1982) – Black Music
  • Tell It Like It Is (1982) – Starlight
  • Love & Affection (1983) – Sky Note (feat. Kate Swadling)
  • The Original 'Mr. Cool Ruler' (1983) – Vista Sounds
  • The Dynamic Jackie Wilfred Edwards (1984) – Boss
  • Musical Treasures Disco Style (198?) – Imperial
  • Endless Love (1986) – World Enterprise
  • Heart to Heart (1990) – Justice
  • Escape (1995) – Peter Pan Industries
  • Dearest (1995) – Lagoon
  • In Paradise (1995) – Carl's Records

Compilation albums

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  • The Best of Jackie Edwards (1966) – Island
  • The Best of Jackie & Millie (1967) – Trojan (with Millie Small)
  • 20 Greatest Hits (1977) – Conflict
  • Starlight (1978) – Pye
  • 20 Super Hits (19??) – Sonic Sounds
  • In Paradise (1994) – Trojan
  • Memorial (19??) – Rhino
  • Singing Hits from Studio One and More (1995) – Rhino
  • Great Soul Hits: Put Your Tears Away (1997) – Marginal
  • This Is My Story: A History of Jamaica's Greatest Balladeer (2005) – Trojan
  • I Feel So Bad (2006) – Castle
  • 50 Greatest Hits (2013) – Alexander Music Group

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Biography by Steve Leggett". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
  2. ^ a b c Larkin, Colin (1998) The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae, Virgin Books, ISBN 0-7535-0242-9
  3. ^ a b c "Wilfred ‘Jackie’ Edwards, An Unsung Hero Of The 60s", Jamaica Gleaner, 24 May 2015. Retrieved 25 May 2015
  4. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 8 September 2008. Retrieved 23 July 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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