Dennis Alcapone | |
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 Dennis Alcapone performing in 2006. | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Dennis Smith |
| Origin | Clarendon, Jamaica |
| Genres | Reggae, dancehall |
| Occupation(s) | DJ, producer |
Dennis Alcapone, born Dennis Smith, is a Jamaican reggae DJ and producer. In 2018, he received the Prime Minister's Medal of Appreciation from Andrew Holness. [1]
Alcapone was born in Clarendon, Jamaica. He initially trained as a welder and worked for the Jamaica Public Services. [2]
Inspired by the big sound systems that he had visited in his youth such as those run by Duke Reid, Coxsone Dodd and Prince Buster, and particularly King Tubby's Home Town Hi-Fi, which featured the DJ U-Roy, and the Kentone sound system featuring DJ Pampado, Smith teamed up with two friends, Lizzy and Samuel the First, to set up his own "El Paso" sound system in 1969. [2] [3]
With Smith as DJ, the El Paso sound system caught the attention of producer Keith Hudson, who asked him to record for him, starting with "Marker Version", [2] with singles following in the form of "Spanish Amigo", "Shades Of Hudson", "Revelation Version", "Maca Version" and "The Sky's The Limit", all in 1970. [4]
Smith then moved to Coxsone Dodd's Studio One where he decided on a change of name, 'Al Capone' being a nickname that had stuck with him since going to see a gangster movie with friends. [2] This resulted in the "Nanny Version" single, and his recordings for Dodd were collected on his debut album, Forever Version . [3]
Producer Duke Reid then employed the DJ on a series of singles in 1971 and 1972 such as "Number One Station", "The Great Woggie", "Teach The Children", and "Musical Alphabet", and in the same era, Alcapone also recorded singles for Bunny Lee [5] including "Ripe Cherry" and "Guns Don't Argue". In the period from 1970 to 1973, Alcapone made over 100 singles and released three albums, [3] [4] for a range of producers including Hudson, Dodd, Reid, Bunny Lee, Lee Perry, Joe Gibbs, Prince Buster, Alvin Ranglin, Prince Tony Robinson, J.J. Johnson and Phil Pratt, often recording for several producers on the same day. [6]
He also began working as a producer, working with artists such as Dennis Brown, Augustus Pablo and Delroy Wilson, as well as self-productions. [3] [4] He was named Best DJ by Jamaican magazine Swing in 1972. [3]
After several international tours in the first half of the 1970s, Alcapone relocated to London in 1974, [7] and after releasing four further albums between 1974 and 1977, became less active musically, particularly after the death of his mother in 1979, although still recorded occasionally. [7] He returned to live performance and recording in 1988 and appeared at WOMAD festival in 1989. [4] He returned to Jamaica in 1990 to record again with Bunny Lee, and also made an appearance on Adrian Sherwood's Two Bad Card album. [3] He released an album with Mad Professor in 1997, 21st Century Version. [3]
In 2018, he received the Prime Minister's Medal of Appreciation from Andrew Holness. [1]
Alcapone had his own distinct half-sung style [8] with high-pitched whoops, with his influence visible in DJ's that followed such as I-Roy and the later "sing-jays". The second-wave DJ Dillinger initially named himself after Alcapone, using the name 'Young Alcapone' before changing his name at the suggestion of Lee Perry.
Rocksteady is a music genre that originated in Jamaica around 1966. A successor of ska and a precursor to reggae, rocksteady was the dominant style of music in Jamaica for nearly two years, performed by many of the artists who helped establish reggae, including harmony groups such as the Techniques, the Paragons, the Heptones and the Gaylads; soulful singers such as Alton Ellis, Delroy Wilson, Bob Andy, Ken Boothe and Phyllis Dillon; musicians such as Jackie Mittoo, Lynn Taitt and Tommy McCook. The term rocksteady comes from a popular (slower) dance style mentioned in the Alton Ellis song "Rocksteady", that matched the new sound. Some rocksteady songs became hits outside Jamaica, as with ska, helping to secure the international base reggae music has today.
Ewart Beckford OD, known by the stage name U-Roy, was a Jamaican vocalist and pioneer of toasting. U-Roy was known for a melodic style of toasting applied with a highly developed sense of timing.
Horace Andy is a Jamaican roots reggae songwriter and singer, known for his distinctive vocals and hit songs such as "Government Land", as well as "Angel", "Spying Glass", and "Five Man Army" with English trip hop group Massive Attack. He is also famous for a cover version of "Ain't No Sunshine". Andy is often described as one of the most respected and influential singers in Jamaica.
Studio One is one of Jamaica's most renowned record labels and recording studios; it has been described as the Motown of Jamaica. The record label was involved with most of the major music movements in Jamaica during the 1960s and 1970s, including ska, rocksteady, reggae, dub and dancehall.
Delroy George Wilson CD was a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae singer. Wilson is often regarded as Jamaica's first child star, having first found success as a teenager. His youngest son, Karl "Konan" Wilson, has found success as part of British duo Krept and Konan.
Edward O'Sullivan Lee OD, 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 in the early 1970s, and later working with Lee "Scratch" Perry and King Tubby.
Kenneth George Boothe OD is a Jamaican vocalist known for his distinctive vibrato and timbre. Boothe achieved an international reputation as one of Jamaica's finest vocalists through a series of crossover hits that appealed to both reggae fans and mainstream audiences.
Joe Gibbs born Joel Arthur Gibson was a Jamaican reggae producer.
Dennis Emmanuel Brown CD 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 lovers rock, a subgenre of reggae. Bob Marley cited Brown as his favourite singer, dubbing him "The Crown Prince of Reggae", and Brown would prove influential on future generations of reggae singers.
Lester Bullock, better known by the stage name Dillinger, is a Jamaican reggae artist. He was part of the second wave of deejay toasters who rose to prominence during the mid-1970s.
Slim Smith was a ska, rocksteady and reggae singer. In their book Reggae: The Rough Guide (1997), Steve Barrow and Peter Dalton described Smith as "the greatest vocalist to emerge in the rocksteady era".
Roland Alphonso OD or Rolando Alphonsoa.k.a. "The Chief Musician" was a Jamaican tenor saxophonist, and one of the founding members of the Skatalites.
Derrick Clifton Harriott OD is a Jamaican singer and record producer. He was a member of the Jiving Juniors with Herman Sang before embarking on a solo career. He has produced recordings by Big Youth, Chariot Riders, The Chosen Few, Dennis Brown, The Ethiopians, Keith & Tex, The Kingstonians, Rudy Mills, Scotty, Sly & Revolutionaries, and Winston McAnuff.
Winston Sparkes, better known as King Stitt, was a Jamaican pioneer DJ.
Keith Hudson, was a Jamaican reggae artist and record producer. He is known for his influence on the dub movement.
Winston Holness, better known as Niney the Observer OD, is a Jamaican record producer and singer who was a key figure in the creation of many classic reggae recordings dating from the 1970s and early 1980s.
John Kenneth Holt CD was a Jamaican reggae singer who first found fame as a member of The Paragons, before establishing himself as a solo artist.
Roy Samuel Reid, better known as I-Roy, was a Jamaican deejay who had a very prolific career during the 1970s.
The Cables are a Jamaican rocksteady/reggae vocal trio led by Keble Drummond, who recorded for Studio One in the late 1960s.
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.
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