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Charles D. Lewis | |
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| Birth name | Charles Donavon Lewis |
| Genres | Carib-Pop, Carib-Soul, Soca-Fusion, Pop-Reggae, Bajan Beat, Calypso |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, singer, producer |
| Instruments | Vocals, bass, acoustic & electric guitar, piano |
| Years active | 1976–present |
| Labels | Carib Disc Records, Universal Music France, Universal Music Germany |
Charles D. Lewis (born 1955) is a Barbadian songwriter, recording artist, bassist, engineer, and producer.
Charles is best known for his writing and performance of Soca Dance, [1] released in Europe in 1990. It was number one for seven weeks in France & Belgium, gaining Gold Records in both countries. The song entered the charts in 22 other countries including TOP 10 in Germany, Switzerland & the Netherlands and sold over 3 million copies worldwide, eventually becoming the 25th highest selling single on the European Top 100 Singles Chart in 1990.
His album Do You Feel It [2] also reached #1 in France and Belgium was awarded 'Gold', and emerged the 25th Highest Selling Album on the European TOP 100 Albums Chart in 1990. "Soca Dance" has subsequently been recorded around the world in many languages, by over one hundred (100) other artists including Latin icon "CHAYANNE" for Sony Music.
In November 1990, Charles was granted The European Music & Media 'Diamond Award' and in February 1991 he received the Ampex Golden Reel Award. Successes followed one after the other with his BMG Ariola releases "Another Friday Night" and the Christmas-release "Life Is Beautiful" which Charles wrote for his two sons Raphael & Jamal.
After completing a Diploma in Audio Engineering at a College in Germany, Charles returned to the Caribbean. In his Barbados-based RaGaCha Studios. He has produced several successful Caribbean groups & Artists including the Soca Ambassadors SQUARE ONE. As a Mastering Engineer, Charles's name appears on countless Albums, having given the final magic touch to many Hit Albums from some of the Caribbean's Top Artists including Square One, Krosfyah, Traffic, Boogsie Sharpe and Coalition to mention a few.
In January 2006, Charles became the first recipient of the Barbados Music Awards' "Lifetime Achievement Award". [3]
In 2007, Carib Disc Records released a compilation album All My Goodness which features a collection of Hits from his award-winning "Do You Feel It" CD, along with several new and previously unreleased titles.
After a short break, Charles returned to the live stage in summer 2014. Since then he has been performing for concerts and TV shows across Europe. Appearances on TV shows like 'Patrick Sabastien, and M6's Top 50, have afforded him the distinct pleasure of sharing the stage with some top international, and French artists, including Seal, Morey Kante, The Weather Girls, Zouk Machine & Yannick Noah.
In January 2015 Charles, along with fellow Barbados and St. Lucia stars Red Plastic Bag, Wayne "Poonka" Willock, Anderson "Blood" Armstrong, Lennon "Blaze" Prospere, Sherwin "Dupes" Brice, and Nicholas Brancker were invited to Berlin, Germany, to participate in a week long cultural exchange project (workshop & concert), receiving high accolades from both critics and the general public.
Carib Disc Records has released volume 2 in 'the collection of Charles' popular songs', entitled ' More of my Goodness'.
Soca music is a genre of music defined by Lord Shorty, its inventor, as the Soul of Calypso, African and East Indian rhythms. It was originally spelt Sokah by its inventor but through an error in a local newspaper when reporting on the new music it was erroneously spelt Soca, Lord Shorty confirmed the error but chose to leave it that way to avoid confusion. It is a genre of music that originated in Trinidad and Tobago in the early 1970s and developed into a range of styles during the 1980s and after. Soca was initially developed by Lord Shorty in an effort to revive traditional Calypso, the popularity of which had been flagging amongst younger generations in Trinidad due to the rise in popularity of Reggae from Jamaica and Soul and Funk from the USA. Soca is an offshoot of Kaiso/Calypso, with influences from East Indian rhythms and hooks.
Leslie Sebastian Charles,, known professionally as Billy Ocean, is a Trinidadian–British recording artist who had a string of R&B international pop hits in the 1970s and 1980s. He was the most popular British R&B singer-songwriter of the early to mid-1980s. After scoring his first four UK Top 20 singles including two No. 2 hits in 1976 and 1977, seven years passed before he accumulated a series of transatlantic successes, including three US No.1's. His 1985 hit "When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going" reached No. 1 in the UK and No. 2 in the US. In 1985, Ocean won the Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for his worldwide hit "Caribbean Queen " and in 1987 was nominated for the Brit Award for Best British Male Artist. His 1988 hit "Get Outta My Dreams, Get into My Car" reached No. 1 in the US and No. 3 in the UK. His 1986 hit "There'll Be Sad Songs " also reached No. 1 in the US.
Chutney music is a fusion genre of Indian folk music, specifically Bhojpuri folk music, with local Caribbean calypso and soca music, and later on Bollywood music. This genre of music that developed in Trinidad and Tobago is popular in Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Suriname, Jamaica, other parts of the Caribbean, Fiji, Mauritius, and South Africa. Chutney music emerged mid-20th century and reached a peak of popularity during the 1980s. Several sub-genres have developed.
Christian Jay "C. J." Bolland is an English-Belgian electronic music producer and remixer with British roots.
Edmond Montague Grant is a Guyanese–British singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known his genre-blending sound; his music has blended elements of electronic pop, reggae, British rock, African polyrhythms, soul, funk and Latin samba, among many others. In addition to this, he also helped to pioneer the genre of ringbang. He was a founding member of The Equals, one of the United Kingdom's first racially-integrated pop groups. His subsequent solo career included the platinum single "Electric Avenue", which is his biggest international hit.
Byron Lee and the Dragonaires are a Jamaican ska, calypso and soca band. The band played a crucial pioneering role in bringing Caribbean music to the world. Byron Lee died on 4 November 2008, after suffering from cancer for a sustained period.
Josep Sergi Capdevila Querol, professionally known as Sergio Dalma, is a Spanish singer. He is one of Spain's best-selling recording artists, having topped Spain's official Productores de Música de España national album chart nine times, including an unbroken string of five number one albums between 2008 and 2013.
Alison Amanda Hinds is a British-born Bajan soca artist based in Barbados. She is one of the most popular soca singers in the world and has been given the nickname the "Queen of Soca".
Tempo Networks is a pan-Caribbean television channel broadcasting the music and culture of the Caribbean. Programming includes music videos, news, dramas, and documentaries addressing all aspects of Caribbean life. Musical genres broadcast include Reggae, Soca, Dancehall, Ska, Calypso, Chutney, Chutney Soca, Reggaeton, and Punta rock. Although programming is largely in English, TEMPO seeks to bring together the English, Spanish, French, and Dutch cultures of the Caribbean into one united Caribbean.
Machel Montano is a Trinidadian soca singer, actor, record producer and songwriter. Known for his high energy, fast-paced, and often unpredictable on-stage performances, he is one of the genre’s most popular artists in the world.
The Southern Caribbean is a group of islands that neighbor mainland South America in the West Indies. Saint Lucia lies to the north of the region, Barbados in the east, Trinidad and Tobago at its southernmost point, and Aruba at the most westerly section.
Krosfyah is a Soca band from the Caribbean island of Barbados. The group is best known for the hits "Road Jam", "Pump Me Up", and "Sak Passe".
Hypasounds, born Damien Etienne on 5 December 1982, is a Barbadian male soca artist based in the Caribbean island of Barbados.
"Soca Dance" is a 1990 song written and recorded by the artist Charles D. Lewis. It was released as a single from his album Do You Feel It and became a summer hit, topping the charts in France and Belgium. The song also gave its name to the dance performed on it.
Orville Richard Burrell CD OJ, better known by his stage name Shaggy, is a Jamaican reggae musician, singer, deejay, and actor who scored hits with the songs "It Wasn't Me", "Boombastic", "In The Summertime", "Oh Carolina", and "Angel". He has been nominated for seven Grammy Awards, winning twice for Best Reggae Album with Boombastic in 1996 and 44/876 with Sting in 2019, and has won the Brit Award for International Male Solo Artist in 2002.
Square One is a Bajan soca band formed in December 1986. It continued until 2004, when singer Alison Hinds left the group, then re-formed in 2010.
Rhona Fox is an American businesswoman of Indo-Guyanese descent who founded the soca music record label Fox Fuse. Fox was born in Essequibo, Guyana, raised in Nassau, Bahamas, and is based in New York City.
Fox Fuse is a leading digital music label for Caribbean music and is the largest label worldwide for soca and chutney music. Based in Tampa, Florida, Fox Fuse has built a strong reputation working with superstar clients such as Pitbull, Lil Jon and Shaggy, and has some of the top performers and producers in Caribbean music exclusively-signed to its roster.
Zack Cohen is the CEO of and co-owner of Fox Fuse. Cohen oversees distribution, licensing, bookings and artist management for Fox Fuse. His partner at Fox Fuse is Rhona Fox.
"Del Mar" is a song by Puerto Rican singer Ozuna, American rapper Doja Cat and Australian singer-songwriter Sia. The track was released as part of Ozuna's forth studio album ENOC on September 4, 2020, and was later sent to radio as the album's sixth single in October 2020. Over a reggaeton instrumental, the singers perform in verses which alternate between Spanish and English. It was the first-ever Spanish language song and collaboration for both Sia and Doja Cat.
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